Writing an Argument of Substance…
It is becoming more and more important to produce digital citizens and for teachers
to teach valuable digital arguments. Debating is a long tradition of human nature,
and today with all the “fake news” and sensitivity to opinion on social media, our
students need to learn to be productive citizens and to use the opportunities
available with digital writing for the greater good (Troy, 2013).
to teach valuable digital arguments. Debating is a long tradition of human nature,
and today with all the “fake news” and sensitivity to opinion on social media, our
students need to learn to be productive citizens and to use the opportunities
available with digital writing for the greater good (Troy, 2013).
“Posting a selfie or retweeting someone else’s post is one thing. Creating one’s own
valuable piece of writing that offers an argument of substance is quite another. We
want students to create content, not just redistribute it. More than ever before,
students need intelligent, compassionate conversational partners, because
conversations—some of which are truly interactive and dialogic, and others that are
didactic and one-sided—are happening all around them, all the time. Teaching our
students to craft digital arguments is, again, more than a skill for college or career.
It is a skill for life.” (Turner & Hicks, 2017, p. 14).
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| Check out this #sschat Tweet about creating listening spaces for credible sources in productive classroom debate. |
According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term fake news means
the “printing and dissemination of spurious news.” Sometimes stories are shared
that are several years old, from sitaric websites and not credible sources, or just
one-sided opinions. Also, we have moved passed the respective ‘there are two
sides to every story’ and jumped right into ‘I do not agree with you and therefore
we cannot be civil.’ Students are in need of a ‘think before you share’ workshop
where there are steps utilized to promote healthy research based arguments.
the “printing and dissemination of spurious news.” Sometimes stories are shared
that are several years old, from sitaric websites and not credible sources, or just
one-sided opinions. Also, we have moved passed the respective ‘there are two
sides to every story’ and jumped right into ‘I do not agree with you and therefore
we cannot be civil.’ Students are in need of a ‘think before you share’ workshop
where there are steps utilized to promote healthy research based arguments.
Here is a TEDTalk video on how fake news does real harm...
Remi Kalir and Antero Garcia‘s forthcoming manuscript, Annotation, in that they
request that commentary adhere to the following:
request that commentary adhere to the following:
Civil. We can disagree. And when we do so,
let’s also respect one another.
Constructive. Share what you know. And build
upon ideas that are relevant and informative.
Curious. Ask honest questions and listen openly
to responses.
Creative. Model generative dialogue. Have fun.
Contribute to and learn from the process.
In conclusion, healthy argumentative dialogue is paramount for digital literacy.
We as teachers should practice debate in our classroom where students see
both sides with research based facts. This skill is important for our students
to not only identify factual information, but to share that information on social
media and be able to defend that information with research based evidence.
We as teachers should practice debate in our classroom where students see
both sides with research based facts. This skill is important for our students
to not only identify factual information, but to share that information on social
media and be able to defend that information with research based evidence.
References
Busari, S. (2017). How fake news does real harm [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/stephanie_busari_how_fake_news_does_real_harm
How Is 'Fake News' Defined, and When Will It Be Added to the Dictionary? (n.d.).
Retrieved from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-real-story-of-fake-news
Retrieved from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-real-story-of-fake-news
Kalir, R. (2019, June 22). An Annotation Annotation Invitation. Retrieved from http://www.theamericancrawl.com/?p=1745
Troy, H. (2013). Crafting digital writing: composing texts across media and
genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: teaching adolescents
to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post. The video posted in your blog was a very powerful and effective way to show how “fake news” stories can affect someone’s life. Just like it is stated in the video, people tend to share stories just from reading the title. Readers and writers need to evaluate the message they are sending when sharing stories online. Everything we post, write, or share online is creating a digital footprint that is being used to define our character. Users need to be cognizant of the statement they are making when sharing or creating a digital argument. As Tucker and Hicks state, technology allows for “newfound opportunities to create rich, compelling arguments” (2017, p. 11). Technology gives writers the tools to craft substantial, viable arguments. However, writers need to be taught how to create arguments that are productive for society.
ReplyDeleteThis Ted Talk video is powerful! It is hard to imagine anything happening to my children; especially if the news was not being completely honest about the situation. When the speaker talks about how some people do not read past an article's headline, it reminded me of how some of my students share "he-said, she-said" information before verifying the validity of the information. Turner and Hicks stated, "Careful reading of arguments in social medias shows the ability to respond to counterclaims with decorum sets apart thoughtful, mindful individuals from a mass of knee-jerk reactors" (2017,p.35). This is why teaching research based facts is so important.
ReplyDeleteBrooke,
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with your points that touch on the importance of teaching our students digital literacy through digital arguments and digital citizenship. We truly live in a digital age. Information, credible and unreliable, is at the fingertips of many. This makes it even more important to teach our students how to not fall for "fake news" like you mentioned, but also how to write digital arguments free of this "fake news." Resources to gain sources are varied and as Turner and Hicks (2017) stated, "some of these arguments come from reliable sources that include credentialed experts and reputable news organizations [while] others come from anonymous marketers and opinionated individuals" (p. 2). As teachers, we must make it a point to teach our students how to read and write up a digital argument so that they can become informed, engaged citizens in the digital world.