I an age of misinformation and social media dependence, Dr. Samantha Yammine, aka Science Sam (@Science.sam) is a Science communicator with a PhD in Neuroscience and Cell Biology who focuses not just on the negative aspects of social media but the positives of social media in the context of Science. If you know me, of course you know that this is very much aligned with my own thinking that banning and blocking social media isn’t as effective helping students leverage it.
I watched her coffee and a keynote this weekend; a professional learning series I was honoured to be a part of in March 2021. Yammine begins with the “ugly”. We know that our increasing use of social media has made some students more dependent. As well, as we have seen in recent years, misinformation in social media has particularly been connected to Science. Yammine reminds us with this image dating back centuries, that fear around science has always existed and thus has always contributed to the spread of misinformation.
She confirms that simply pausing to reflect on cognitive biases before sharing can be a powerful deterrent.
Who to follow on social media
One of the things I ask students in grade 10 Careers class to think about is, “What is Your Dream Job?” “What are your passions and interests?” and “Where are you thinking about going to school?” and then, “What are the accounts you are currently following which are connected to those three questions?” Most students have never thought of social media as a way to get insight into post secondary institutions. That simple exercise has been an effective way to help kids understand that social media can help them to learn and can be a much more powerful tool than just a source of entertainment.
Over the years, I have learned so much from Helen the Shark, a researcher from Ocerch.org and her friend, Katherine the Shark both who post from the perspective of a shark!
Science Sam (who is an excellent follow herself) shares accounts connected to STEM and science including:
@Drbecky_s on TikTok and Instagram, an Oxford trained Astrophysicist
Darrion Nguyen, the person behind Lab Shenanigans making science education fun.
She also suggested that students use TikTok as a search engine (which if you know any teenagers you also know this is so accurate) about STEM jobs. She shared this TikTok by @Cbsunstoppable about STEM jobs that allow you to work outside:
@cbsunstoppable STEM jobs you can do outside! You might need some gear from the #EquipExpo ♬ original sound – CBSUnstoppable
How powerful would it be for teachers to model how we can use TikTok as a search engine to help students to determine which accounts are credible and reliable and an excellent source of Science info?
Thanks Dr. Alec Couros, Dr. Samantha Yammine and Let’s Talk Science for the great Saturday morning learning via Coffee and a Keynote.
Speaking of STEM, did you hear about the two teens Rohan Kalahasty, 18, and Sai Mattapalli, 17, who launched a $12.5 million start up using AI to monitor brain health? Read about it here and show your students how many more opportunities they have today than we did when we were kids.