![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Editorial: We need to implement digital literacy classes
Home schooling during lockdown/Compare Fibre/ Unsplash/CC-BY-SA
Kids should have access to digital literacy classes to gain crucial skills necessary to become mindful internet consumers.
March 17, 2023
The internet is always right.
Most people have heard this phrase tossed around before in their lives. The speaker might have jokingly tossed this remark around, but a certain danger arises when the audience actually believes this statement.
When you’re on the internet, you’re on a device that connects you to virtually every other device on the globe; this becomes your new reality. There are constantly new things to watch on the internet, meaning the information flow, whether real or fake, never stops. As a result, people are turning to the media they consume.
Algorithms are designed so that apps take your past digital footprint and filter out content for you to read that aligns with your previous history. Social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, or Youtube home pages only show you things that you’ll agree with.
The point of algorithms is to keep you engaged on the app, and the marketers keep you addicted. As a result, you’ve fallen into an echo chamber of your own beliefs on social media when you’ve constantly been spoonfed the same information.
Many Americans utilize these platforms as their sources, believing this information because of confirmation bias, whether real or not.
The spread of misinformation is incurable as the internet can’t be stopped, and we can’t limit an individual’s freedom of speech. However, we can address the problem to reduce the harmful effects since the digital age is here to stay.
We can attempt to teach the upcoming generations to be aware of these issues and be mindful of future information consumers.
This issue is as imperative as ever. In a recent survey from the University of Michigan’s children’s hospital, many kids have already arrived on the social media scene. Parents report that 49% of kids ages 10-12 report using social media. In this same survey, 32% of children aged 7-9 report using social media.
This new generation gets their information online since that’s where they chronically reside. Kids live in an internet culture that values humor and viral content over facts. They’re more likely to see viral but possibly false information because of how social media algorithms work.
In response, we must teach them how to read through the noise. We need to implement digital literacy classes from a young age to educate kids on mindful internet consumption.
If kids are taught how to navigate the internet properly, then they’d be able to find and evaluate information strategically. The incoming generations should learn how to evaluate sources to determine credibility, identify relevant videos, understand how wording can convey certain biases, and other essential skills that will ultimately help them distinguish fake information from factual information.
These skills should be implemented in the core curriculum, and kids should be required to participate in digital literacy classes beginning in elementary school. This way, kids can be well-equipped with skills to tackle the internet head-on before they jump into the depths of social media.
This story was originally published on Scot Scoop News on March 15, 2023.
