The exponential expansion of the information on the web resulted
in more powerful and more sophisticated search engines. Modern search engines
use intricate algorithms to select information based on the user’s previous
online behavior to tailor search results to what the user is most likely to
like or agree with. As a result, the user is exposed to a personalized set of
information, links, sites, and pages while being under the impression that he
or she is seeing an untampered view of the World Wide Web. Though most consumers benefit from quick finds of desirable products, some
intellectuals, like Eli Pariser and Tim Berners-Lee, sounded an alarm claiming
that it would lead to information bubbles which will lock people within
comfortable but isolated, their own cultural, educational, and ideological
mini-worlds. Eli Pariser coined the term “Filter Bubble” and spoke eloquently
against limiting people’s exposure to conflicting viewpoints and information.
Watch his 9 minute presentation at
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html and post
your thoughts on the issue. How can “filter bubbles” affect education and what
is the role and responsibility of educators in ensuring free access to
information?
Eli Pariser
http://www.ted.com/speakers/eli_pariser.html
Tim Berners-Lee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
This was such an interesting video to watch! I cannot tell you how many times I have been on Facebook and seen someone on my feed and I have no idea who they are. I always wonder why I am being told what they are doing with their lives when some of my best friends never appear in my feed. The way the internet filters what we see without asking us what we want is very interesting. When Eli Pariser discussed his friends googling Egypt and the different results it makes you wonder as a teacher how some students could research information and get different results as well. We are now relying so much on the internet to gain information, but we are in no way going to all get the same information. While this can be a problem it could also lead to some good discussions. Say as a class you are researching about Egypt, when you come together to discuss the information, one student may bring up a fact that the rest of the class did not get to learn about. It could then form new discussions to branch off of that one fact. It is impossible for everyone to read every article about a topic so a filter must be put in place, but perhaps a quick questioner for each individual user could help with custom filters.
ReplyDeleteARamon
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ReplyDeleteWhile I knew that Facebook tweaked newsfeeds and tailored ads, I hadn't given much thought to the use of "algorithmic editing" on Google. (Because I sat in on library instruction with my college freshmen) I was aware that Google results aren't always the same, though not to the extent Pariser describes in the TED talk. The 'filter bubble' is concerning to me, in that we are less likely to grow from exposure to different ideas. As Pariser states, we're prevented from seeing "what we need to see": content that's "challenging" and "uncomfortable." I think this exposure is especially important for students, who are forming their identities and preparing for life in the real world. Educators can ensure that students access a mix of information by making sure a variety of resources and different points of view are incorporated in the classroom. I've found that the resource Opposing Viewpoints is especially helpful in addressing this. You could also encourage students to use alternatives to Google, like the Alabama Virtual Library and other scholarly online databases, in which students are less likely to receive results that are filtered for personal preferences/browsing history (I think).
ReplyDeleteAPlovanich
Just the other day a co-worker/friend and I were looking for websites to use for reading. We both used Google, but got different results. When watching Netflix at different friend's houses there are movie suggestions that don't show up on my Netflix account. This video makes it all make sense. "Filter Bubbles" can have a serious affect on education. Different people are being shown different things. The internet is determining what it thinks we should see and not what we need to see. When teachers, students, or anyone uses the internet they should be shown a little bit of both, what they need and what they want. We should be able to make a choice as to what website we would like to visit and not have a robot make decisions for us. Educators should ensure that students are using a variety of search engines as well as books and articles for information. The internet is a wonderful resource if we use it cautiously. Google is also a wonderful resource but if it is filtering our information, it should not be used often.
ReplyDeleteL. Taylor
First of all I love Ted Talks! The speakers always make the information so easy to digest, no pun intended from the video. I had no idea search engines filtered results as much as they do. When I search for something I try a variety of phrases and words when looking for something. I thought I had to do that to receive different results. I never would have guessed my results were being displayed based on past searches for something completely unrelated. I think this information is important for students who must research a topic for a school project. Who knows what type of information they may receive if searching on a school computer or their parents computer. Its a little scary to me that everyone doesn't get the same results.
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ReplyDeleteThis video was very interesting! I had no idea that my search engine was giving me results based on what "it" thought I wanted to see, my location, my search engine, and my device. It makes me wonder what information my students are missing out on and viewing because of their past/recent searches. I am eager to have all my students search a subject and see the difference in information available. The "filter bubble" and the way people are detected is a little scary. The video made me think of something very concerning. If I post a picture on Facebook, it automatically recognizes the people in the photo and wants to share the photo with them. I am not sure if this is referred to as filtering, but as Ted mentioned, we are not in control.
ReplyDeleteI found this Ted lecture to be very surprising. I knew Facebook was filtering my news feed because I am constantly deleting posts I don't want to see and I don't know why I am seeing them in the first place. I never realized it was tailored to what it thinks I want to see or that it could be deleting posts automatically based on what I view most often. I view lots of different things, what ever catches my eyes so I don't know how it can automatically assume what I do and do not want to see in my news feed. I honestly never realized though, that Google was also tailoring my search results according to what it thinks I want to view in my results. This is very interesting because we use the internet on a daily basis, even in school, students use the internet frequently and to know the search results may be different for all students is very eye opening. It could be a good thing because some students may come up with different ideas or topics to discuss based on their results and it could be troublesome if you are wanting the students to find the same exact facts in their search results. This filter bubble is a totally new concept to me and I think we should be a little worried that this is happening. What if we are missing out on important news or events that are happening because Google or Yahoo News or whatever search engine we use doesn't think it is what we want to see? We could be missing out on very important news, facts, and events happening in the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI found this Ted lecture to be very surprising. I knew Facebook was filtering my news feed because I am constantly deleting posts I don't want to see and I don't know why I am seeing them in the first place. I never realized it was tailored to what it thinks I want to see or that it could be deleting posts automatically based on what I view most often. I view lots of different things, what ever catches my eyes so I don't know how it can automatically assume what I do and do not want to see in my news feed. I honestly never realized though, that Google was also tailoring my search results according to what it thinks I want to view in my results. This is very interesting because we use the internet on a daily basis, even in school, students use the internet frequently and to know the search results may be different for all students is very eye opening. It could be a good thing because some students may come up with different ideas or topics to discuss based on their results and it could be troublesome if you are wanting the students to find the same exact facts in their search results. This filter bubble is a totally new concept to me and I think we should be a little worried that this is happening. What if we are missing out on important news or events that are happening because Google or Yahoo News or whatever search engine we use doesn't think it is what we want to see? We could be missing out on very important news, facts, and events happening in the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI found Eli Pariser's comments about Filter Bubbles really interesting and full of truths. I don't think much about why exactly certain ads or friend-possibilities or other attention-grabbing blips come at me as I search on Google or browse Facebook's newsfeed. This way that search engines grab tidbits about my personal likes and interests and tries to enforce those likes is annoying, not to mention possibly problematic. Pariser has been linked to asserting "personalized search might be narrowing our worldview." He demonstrates this in examples about his FB links being limited by FB itself in promoting liberal-thinking friends over his right-wing pals. While I may have once thought this curtailing of my interests (Amazon, for example, and how things I've purchased become linked to other possible buys) to be simply irritating, I really might think it's more intrusive than I previously did.
ReplyDeleteI was enlightened by this TED Talk. Each and every time I search, purchase, or read an item online, it automatically choose other items to discover. These are all programmed via "algorithms" that decide what we see. It is scary to think that every time I search it puts me into a smaller and smaller window from which I can see through. As educators, we must open up the window by exposing kids to varying viewpoints and ideas than what they might get at home or in the neighborhood so that they know there are other options out there rather than what their window is showing them. If we can do this, our students will be more successful.
ReplyDeleteI like to watch TED talks; they are usually informative and thoughtful. The filter bubble reminded me of high school. I went to a private Christian school, Briarwood, where most of the students went to church together. Sometimes we would jokingly call it Briarworld. It's a similar idea that you can become too surrounded by people and ideas like you or your environment.
ReplyDeleteIn Briarworld, you knew you were in a "bubble"; this is scarier cause you don't realize that what you think is balanced is not. I think Eli Pariser, is correct that there needs to more not me in my filter.
"Filter Bubbles" can affect education because it can limit the information that a teacher or student is provided. For example, if my student only uses the internet to view Manga novels and etc, when his teacher asks him to look at Asian literature as a whole, it may only focus on Manga. When it needs to discuss religious literature, poems, and etc. I noticed that my search bar would save my searches, but I had no idea that the algorithm caused it to edit my search results and leave out certain links. This is counter-productive to why I get on the world wide web. It is the teacher's responsibility to encourage the student to go outside of the internet for sources and research. As Mr. Pariser showed in his example, it would even be interesting to dig further into how different a classes search of the same topic would be. Next, the class could find ways to weed out the primary information from the secondary information.
ReplyDeleteTED talks are great to watch. They are so informative and they discuss so many diverse topics. I am so glad that we get to discuss "filter bubbles". I was not aware of this term but I was aware that different websites and search engines tend to filter what you are searching for. I've witness this on Facebook, Youtube and Google. On Facebook, I would always see the same individuals on my newsfeed and I always wondered why it kept doing that. With Youtube, it would always recommend videos based on what I recently watched. Both these cases are not necessarily bad but I did have a Google incident very similar to the Egypt example in the TED video, which definitely questions Google's reliability. My friend and I had looked up the same news story on Google and he saw information that I did not see when I looked it up. It goes to show that our online accounts are "personalized" but not in good way. When people remain in the "filter bubble", they fail to see information from different sources and opinions from different perspectives. This is a huge dilemma for the education world. It makes you question, what your students are actually viewing when they look up information through the internet. I agree that there should be a balance of information or else you become isolated from the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching this video!
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles affect the way our society functions. Rather than being exposed to all information or perspectives regarding a certain topic, we are only exposed to ones that seem most fitting with our perspectives. This stunts our intellectual growth for sure! Filter bubbles keep us ignorant to true reality by only exposing us to what "suits" us.
Furthermore, I can definitely see how filter bubbles affect education. Just imagine what would a student's Google search look like in their conservative household versus their liberal teacher's classroom?
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ReplyDeleteThis video made me realize that Filter Bubbles may hinder learning in the classroom setting. I had not thought about all of the variables that go into an internet search but after watching this video, I looked at my search results and they were exactly tailored to things that are factors in my life. I will not go into details about what those search results showed but I compared to a friend who is on the opposite end of the cultural spectrum and his results were starkly different. I can imagine that if the students are using school computers or computers that are provided to them by the school district then they are limited to only using websites approved by the district. If the district and most of the teachers are very conservative and lean toward specific religious views then the students may be pulling up search results that are tailored to that preference and miss out on cultural news and information that could potentially help them develop more liberal or open-minded and unbiased views of news and events. This is alarming because I would not want my own children to be limited in the things they search for but want them to see what all the views are so that they can be well informed and make good decisions based on fact not biased material. As a cultural geographer, I want to view things that are free from bias and allow me to truly develop an understanding of global culture and news but I can see that would be altered by my personal religious views and daily habits. This is something that should seriously be addressed so that there is no limitation on learning. Teaching should be something that we allow students to get all of the information and equip them to critically think and evaluate situations effectively.
ReplyDeleteThis video sounded like a bit of a wake up call in my opinion. Nowadays technology is taking a bigger and bigger importance in the society and social medias are starting to almost control a lot of people's life. This TED video is actually quite eye opening and scary. The society is making us think that technology is for the best and allows us to know more about the world and to open up to it when it can actually subjectively and against your will cut you off from certain news and informations. This is why I believe that educators especially in higher education should encourage students to read newspapers which we are seeing less and less. Their role is to make sure they keep their students open to the world and are aware of their surrondings
ReplyDeleteI love TED talks in general but this one was particularly interesting, it got me thinking about not only the importance of social medias in the society but also it's potential. This video showed that technology in general and social medias in this case were so advanced that they could influence our lives in whatever way they want to. It almost feel like we are powerless and insignificant in front of their control over information. Filter bubbles will influence student's grade as Google could give two different results for two different students in the same class. I believe that the internet should not use filter bubbles and let each individual be their own filters
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the background information and viewing the TED talk on "filter bubbles". This is a phenomenon that I have noticed when browsing the web but never really considered the effects of it thoughtfully. Filter bubbles can have a negative effect on education. By limiting what you are able to access, filter bubbles prevent academics from having access to all of the information on a subject. I agree with Mr. Pariser's comments that information needs to be relevant, important, uncomfortable, and include different points of view. By limiting the points of view presented in web search results, filter bubbles are promoting a unilateral approach to information. Information from all sides of a topic should easily be accessible. The most surprising part is that filter bubbles are being used and many users are unaware. I believe it is the responsibility of educators to promote full access to information. This provides students the opportunity to view challenging ideas and promote deeper, critical thinking when drawing conclusions.
ReplyDeleteIt is so strange that I watched this video today. Just yesterday I was talking to my girlfriend who is a third grade teacher about instructional scaffolding. We both typed scaffolding into Google and she had educational links pop up and I had Home Depot pop up first. I thought that was so strange, but didn't realize that search engines and websites actually filter things out for you. I don't feel comfortable with this and agree with the TED talks video. Our searches should be sorted by their relevance and importance to the subject at hand.
ReplyDeleteJGilmore
Filter bubbles can affect education by limiting the internet resources to a particular person based on one's personal interest. The filtering was coined as personalizing the search results according to past interests. I see this as monitoring. When we type in information on the internet we are being monitored by various interested parties. It was stated in the video that the search results depends on who you are and what you do. Other markers that are used to determine the type of results that are given in the type of computer, the browser used, and the location. I notice that the information that I receive on my home computer is different from the information on my work computer. But if I am logged in to my Google account, the information is the same. one problem that we have as educators working within a school system is limited access to certain sites on the internet. Instead of having free access to all relevant, and important information, we have filtered information. The school system has to do better with loosening filtering the types of information made available.
ReplyDeleteThere are 57 signals that Google looks at to personally tailor your query results. This ranges from the type of computer you are using to your location. "The internet is now showing us what it thinks we want to see but not what we need to see" (Pariser, T., 2011). He calls all of this your filter bubble which depends on who you are and what you do. The problem with this filter bubble is that you don't control it and you also don't see what is edited out. I totally agree that this is a problem, but at the same time I can see what the algorithms goal is. There is SO much information on the internet. If these algorithms filter based on the user, it may be able to provide the most relevant information. However, I believe that we as users should be able to see what is edited out. We should be able to control these filters.
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