Kate In Context

Literacy is, and has been, a significant concern in education. For most of the time formal education has existed, literacy has mainly referred to reading and writing. These are obviously still very important (you wouldn't be reading this post without them!), but the concept of literacy has expanded beyond those essential skills. Digital literacy is a relatively new focus for educators, at least partially because the internet itself is relatively new. As I mentioned in last week's post , the 2008 update to CIPA (enforced 2012) mandated implementation of what amounted to digital literacy programs, though without that specific language. Around this time, digital literacy and social media literacy pioneers like Renee Hobbs and Howard Rheingold were discussing what the core competencies and skills of these literacies should be. Social media and the digital landscape as a whole has great potential to empower both young people and adults, but as Rheingold says, "access to many me...

[Personal Image] As I prepare to exit graduate school and enter the information profession proper, I've been thinking about how I will stay connected with my classmates and professors, and how I will build new connections with my colleagues across the world. I decided that building a professional learning network  would best help me accomplish this goal. And so begins the story of my first five days on Bluesky. Day 1 - Setting up My First Steps: Set up my account , added my profile picture and cover image, and wrote a bio (for the first time!). Followed several library-related starter packs from  Christian Lauersen's running list . Ended up following nearly 400 accounts just from starter packs. Wrote a brief introduction post after reading that you should do that before following a whole bunch of accounts (whoops). Almost immediately felt anxiety that this platform will suck me into mindless scrolling. But also, excitement at having a digital community to share the cool t...