"The Silk Road has Become an Information Superhighway."

    This last week I have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Reynolds Redekopp of the University of Manitoba about the sociological ramifications associated with Global Digital Citizenship. We live in a truly global culture thanks to technology, and we are arguably more intelligent than ever before because of it. Technology has provided an avenue for scientific advancements that have done wonders for modern medicine, and it has become a saving grace during the pandemic in regards to education alone. The Silk Road has become an information superhighway. We have so much power in the palm of our hands and it's truly remarkable. However, to quote Dr. Redekopp "you cannot have the benefits of Globalization without the responsibility," or as Spider-Man says: "with great power comes great responsibility." To exemplify the notion, our class watched anBandi Mbubi's Ted Talk called "Congo Calling Back", where he discusses the evil truth behind the cultivation of tantalum, a mineral used in the production of smartphones, which has caused a 'War for Blood Minerals' in The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mbubi says:

"Our mobile phones connect us to our loved ones and colleagues, at home and overseas. 

They are symbols of our interconnected world. But they leave a bloody trail. 

Tantalum is mined in the Congo as Coltan, for use in phones, and all sorts of medical and other equipment. The Congo consistently scores dreadfully in global poverty and health rankings, 

but the worth of the country has been estimated as over $24 trillion. The extraction of tantalum has financed and fuelled an ongoing war. It has contributed to terrible suffering – killings, rape, depopulation. 30,000 children are enlisted and made to fight in armed groups. The 

state-regulated mining industry has collapsed, so control has splintered and is easily taken by 

armed groups, who disguise the minerals and use illegal trade routes into Rwanda."

 "But don’t throw away your phones just yet."

"The irony is that this technology that has brought such suffering, has also brought the situation to our attention. The mobile phone has given people around the world an important tool in gaining their 

political freedom."

"We are faced with a paradox."

It was a lot to take in on a Monday, tbh.

    The uncomfortable truth about our smartphones is not new to me. In fact, I distinctly remember even watching a documentary in my Global Issues class my senior year called "Blood in the Mobile". I remember feeling guilty, and motivated, but it never went any further than that.

    Ironically this week, as if to cosmically complement this call to action, there was a 4 hour Science Jam live stream from the Arctic Basecamp called "Make Earth Cool Again". The Livestream featured a series of keynote scientists and celebrities, along with some musical performances all focused on informing the public about climate change. More importantly, these dignified people offered concrete ways to get involved and urged of the importance to do so right now.  'Make the Earth Cool Again' reminded us that by 2027 the earth will reach a 'danger zone' for temperature and the damage will be irreversible by 2042. Well, I'll be 50 in 2042 and I don't want to retire in eternal hellfire thank you very much. But, I am only one voice and it's fairly loud but highly incapable of saving the world. So, what could I do?                            

                                    I can inspire my students to use their voices alongside mine.

*Image by Carolyn Suzuki 

(FYI: Apparently, apple actually responds to students.) I feel so grateful to be an educator right now and I hope I get to teach Global Issues! Fingers crossed. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I urge you to educate yourselves more on both of these topics and find a way to get involved. I'd love to see what you come up with! 

Some resources to get you started: 

• YouTube: Blood in the Mobile (Full Documentary)
• Make Earth Cool Again (LiveStream Recording)
• Ted Talk: Bandi Mbubi "Congo Calling Back"

"Climate War" by Brooklyn artist Josh MacPhee

Lots to think about. The wisdom must steep! Get lots of fresh air this weekend, please! if you're in Manitoba it's supposed to be nice to go exploring. Drink all of the teas. Earl Grey pairs so nicely with lavender and honey, btw. 

♡

See you Space Cowboys, 

Lady C 

"Go to the Student Portal and Click Jedi."

    I concluded my previous blog post explaining how in a matter of months I will evolve from Student to Teacher, and will thus presumably be tasked with replicating the classroom experience for remote learners. The "impossible".  

    This week I had the opportunity to hear from Andy Mead, the Principal of the Manitoba Remote Learning Centre to gain insight into how the province is tackling the push for effective online learning. While Manitoba public school students are currently in class, or alternating classroom and home days, as mentioned before, there are still students who for whatever reason cannot risk entering a physical space with other people amidst the pandemic. This is where MRLC comes into play. While carousing their website, mbremotelearning.ca, I discovered that there are also resources for teachers who are teaching remotely, or partly remote. The Guiding Principles of the centre are community, efficacy, and autonomy, the values we seek to foster in the Education Program. In my limited experience, I have had the opportunity to work with a group of part-time remote learners, and will again soon. I'm thankful for the help! 

    

    

"Robo-Cass Reporting For Duty."

Don't worry I'm not actually a robot. Yet. At least I don't think I am... 

    The concept of robots replacing teachers might seem outlandish to some but with the rate of technological advancements and the push for cutting edge software amidst COVID, some are predicting this grim reality will occur within the next decade. Well, if that is true then I can say with all honesty (having been an online student now for 5 months) that we have a long way to go. After the first month I resorted to handwriting my notes, including a detail of breakout room discussions and attendees, because I needed something physical to jog my memory. I started using different colours and graphic organizers, as if to mimic learning something in a particular place. I even tried having different classes in different rooms in my house! "Ahh, yes. I remember that class. It was in the loo." I hadn't realized how dependent my brain was on physical spaces. Looking back on it now, I legitimately think my body was on autopilot when I was on campus, navigating class to class by sheer muscle memory and yet I retained more information having that physical space to associate with the lessons.  Side note, The Mind Explained on Netflix actually talks about our brains sense of place and how vital it is for our memory. It's here on YouTube for free if you are interested: The Mind Explained: Memory (full episode) Another primary component of memory that is discussed in the documentary is emotions, and uses the simplest example of an angry face being more memorable among mostly neutral or content. This honestly makes a lot of sense to me, and as previously mentioned in another post, I remember both the best and worst teachers I had, primarily because of the way they made me feel, and their demeanour was a significant factor. And it's more than that, it was their body language and the use of their physical space. Until there is a bubbly little purple-haired robot with keen insight and lived experiences, who seamlessly makes use of their learning environment in an engaging, personable way... I'm here to stay. And I am so excited to be living proof of the value in people. Try as you may, you can't replicate the magic of a classroom and robots will not replace teachers. Unfortunately remote learning will still be a reality for some, if not at all of us again at some point. Soon I won't be a student anymore though I'll be the teacher trying her hardest to replicate the impossible. 

TT#1 "Siri, Google Cassandra Wilson."

  If you google my name, a very talented and beautiful jazz singer will appear. I'm both sad and relieved.

    I've had Facebook for nearly 15 years and Instagram for nearly 10, but you can't find them by searching my name (I use my cat's name as my surname). Either way, it seems as though an online presence is expected if not demanded so as mentioned in my previous post, it's time to get serious. As a requirement for my Internet for Educators class, I had to join Twitter, and I was pleasantly surprised by how useful it is. I was particularly delighted to follow my favourite authors and Educational Leaders, and although I'm hesitant to make any posts just yet, I have retweeted several. I can see myself becoming more active on this platform simply for the diversity of information. I'm going to tinker around on it more and do another blog I think! ^ . ^

       I have a 13-year-old cousin who is glued to her phone, although she doesn't use Facebook because that's for "old people". I'm as offended as you are. Anyway, recently I got a follow request on Instagram from her username followed by the word "spam". As I'm Facetiming her I open up the profile and see that it is not private (meaning I did not have to request to follow) and yet there were hundreds of pictures of her and her friends. When asked what the account was and why it wasn't private, she said that people have been creating spam accounts so they can upload multiple times a day without overloading someone's newsfeed, and it was not private so she could get more followers. These fricken kids. I must have told her a million times before this about being safe online. Instead of another lecture from her teacher/cousin I simply said "hmm, I get more followers when I'm private because then people can't just creep, they have to actually follow...". Low and behold her account is now private. Of course, this was only a temporary solution. I was trying to remember how my parents or teachers approached the subject and I couldn't remember. I think I learned to keep everything private (secured privacy settings) after reading horror stories about teens who were subjected to either online bullies or predators. I hadn't considered keeping it private for professionalism until University. Since beginning this blog post I have discovered various resources for approaching the subject with teens because I think it is important and quickly becoming the new way of life. On safeteen.ca for example, there is a multitude of resources. One I found particularly interesting was CommonSenseMedia.org. Here I discovered a blog/newsletter that keeps adults up to date on current internet trends, in addition to providing tips for educating youth on internet safety, including digital identities.

(* ´ο`*)

See ya, Space Cowboys

Lady C

    

  

    

"Alexa, play Lo-fi HipHop Study Music."

“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous 

gadgets and mesmerizing video displays,

 let me remind you that information is not knowledge, 

knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. 

Each grows out of the other, and we need them all.”

 

- Arthur C. Clarke

    Did you know that the intercontinental internet is powered by hundreds of underwater cables, spanning millions of kilometers? I only discovered this tidbit of information last summer, and I was/still am in utter disbelief. The best part is that these cables are often tampered with by bratty sharks who mistake them for chew toys. I just can't get over how simply archaic the entire process is, but I guess it's because I always assumed the internet was something much more complex, involving only satellites. I was also surprised to discover that all computer data is stored in massive data centers with rows and rows of hardware. That means that somewhere in the world there is a physical space that contains data for my Animal Crossing island, and my cat's Instagram account. I really need to get out more.

    When I first started using computers, aside from the cereal box computer game phase, I remember having to connect to the internet first using dial-up. I shudder to think how many hours of my life I wasted watching Salad Fingers or playing RuneScape in the early 2000s. Now I wake up in the morning and tell an AI to turn on the light and start the coffee while I watch Schitt's Creek in the shower on my phone before my University Zoom class. I've come to realize that I rely on the internet a lot these days, especially during the dumpster fire of a year we've had. It was a source of companionship, entertainment, and creativity amongst the chaos of uncertainty on rainy days. 

    I am the friend who forgets her phone everywhere she goes or forgets to bring it at all. At times I have so many notifications piled up that I procrastinate checking them all together. When I do finally get to the multitude of social media notifications, I lose track of time, and before I know it I'm dehydrated and entering my PayPal information to purchase Pusheen slippers from a Facebook ad. I both hate and love personalized advertisements. *She says checking the package tracker one second after placing the order.*

    There was a time when I was more active on social media than in the real world. When you're unhappy it's comforting having an online community to vent to/with. The recent Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma" said that people post more on social media when they are unhappy. No kidding. Alas, I am on the wrong side of 25, and entering a profession where my online persona will be scrutinized if it not squeaky clean, so my days of emo statuses are behind me. And it's a rule of thumb that any and all memes that would offend your great aunt should only be posted from an alt account anyway. 

See ya, Space Cowboys 

-Lady C