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Finding balance and perspective

Time Needed: 30 minutes

Supplies Needed:

  • One or more classroom- and age-appropriate news articles about algorithms (find them here), adjusted for language, reading level and accessibility as needed, with enough copies for the class.
  • Three designated areas of the classroom, with signs that say, “I already knew this”, “I didn’t know this” and “I want to know more about this”

Learning Goal: Learners will demonstrate understanding that algorithms limit what we experience, and that they can influence how we understand the world through reviewing a current events article.

Activate (8 minutes):

  • Ask learners to listen as you read the article aloud to them. Take lots of pauses between sentences so they can move about the classroom.
  • Ask them to listen for issues or ideas that they a) already knew b) didn’t know and c) only know a little bit about.
  • As you read, have them move between the areas with the signs, noting where their greatest strengths and gaps of knowledge are.

Acquire (5 minutes):

  • When the article is finished, ask the learners to share what they noticed in the classroom and how the information relates to their experiences online and at school. What were some ideas that people had a variety of experience in? What were some ideas that people generally shared their level of experience and knowledge? You may find this discussion guide helpful.
  • Based on these experiences, help learners recognize how the main ideas from the article are manifested in their lives, and where some gaps in learning exist.
  • Repeat with another article if desired and if there’s enough time.

Apply (17 minutes):

  • In small groups, have students come up with three “tech tips” for navigating the issue discussed in the article, based on what they discovered during the activity are areas for improvement of understanding.
  • Learners can now share to the class, use the tips to create technology rules for their own classroom, and/or discuss each others’ tips to gain personal understanding and agency over their own experiences online. This sharing could take many forms, including posters, video public service announcements, memes or any other mode of communication.