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
Dr. Zakharova,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eli Pariser that there is a "filter bubble" and these bubbles create echo chambers that reinforce peoples’ biases. They can create a climate of polarization like we are experiencing now in our political, social, and religious environments. The confirmation bias is so strong that groups of people are now their “Hyper-selves” because they do not question the information they are fed through these filter bubbles, they do not search out the other perspectives and they only know one side of the story or a bit of the information. It is the responsibility of educators to teach the new literacies that are needed in the 21 century life. A great deal of that curriculum is about searching and evaluating information. Discerning the reliability and validity of the information and respecting other views are important but it will be hard to accomplish if the “filter bubbles” continue to feed individuals exactly what they think they want, without regard for opposing views to be presented as well. Part of this is the advertising industry and corporations attempting to sway consumers to their products. Teachers have to instruct students to look for other information options and to compare them and research them fully, not just because it fits the student's current beliefs.
I liked how Eli Pariser compared the old Broadcast “gate keepers” to the new algorithmic “gate keepers” in how they filter what they think the public wants and/or needs but without any real ethical consciousness. “Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should”, said by Jeff Goldblum in the movie Jurassic Park rings to mind as I think about technology companies and social media sites filtering information. I think freedom of speech includes freedom to search what ever is wanted or needed without being led in a certain direction by a computer equation, even if that formula is based on previous behavior and choices. I have lived long enough to know that perception is reality and if the reality is false or at least not a full view then students and society will have incomplete information which to make decisions.
The term "Filter Bubbles" is a very interesting reality. Unfortunately this truth is not only beginning to affect the internet, but snowball effect has caused it to leak into real world scenarios. By speaking on the topic of how search engines were beginning to filter out what it thought the user may be looking for only shows how very dangerous it can be to search for information on topics we know nothing about. The internet was supposed to be the go-to for answers to the questions that we had about random topics, but the answers to those topics may vary based on what questions we had prior to this or where we are located, or even what device we are utilizing. If I want to know the purpose of government, why would my results produce something different if I am on a dell desktop in an Oklahoma City library versus on a macbook in a Starbucks in Seattle?
ReplyDeleteThis same type of "filter bubble" has infiltrated education in its own way. Courses such as history are different already depending on where you are taught. Students should be able to utilize the internet to validate their knowledge. One of the only ways I have found to help with this is to require students to have multiple sources, peer reviewed or academic in nature. If you require students to utilize only sources like online libraries, you have already limited their search - similar to the "filter bubble". These selective searches are really only dangerous to those that deny the existence.
This was an amazing presentation. Thank you for sharing that. It answered a lot of questions that I had churning in my mind lately. "Filter bubbles" are an interesting issue. They keep one isolated based on what the program thinks one wants, and scarily enough it can be accurate. Filter bubbles are already an issue in education, especially if you utilize BYOD. I believe teaching students the skill of validation of multiple sources is key to successfully coaxing them out of their filter bubble. In addition, teaching them to dig deeper than the first link that may appear. Online searching is a great tool if it is properly utilized.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have heard of the term "filter bubble". When I read the description I did not know what to expect. I was very surprised when Eli explained the 57 signals that google uses to tailor your query results. When Eli compared his two friends search results for "Egypt" the differences were concerning. The filter bubble seems to be complex. Search results depend on those 57 signals to give you what the internet *thinks* you want to see or the information it *thinks* you want to know. It is honestly intriguing that the internet is able to do that, but concerning at the same time. How does the internet actually know what we are looking for? It doesn't. I like Eli's explanation of 'information junk food' and 'information diet'. That example was a relatable explanation of how the internet tailors to individuals. We need to decide what information comes through and what doesn't. We need to see things that may be uncomfortable and challenging and not just what the internet believes is relevant. That is the point of learning- it takes us out of our comfort zone and helps us grow. This was an interesting Ted Talk!
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting video! I am an internet lover. I am always on the internet searching for information for specific things and never new that it was giving me pictures and articles based on my interests. Unfortunately, this can give people a false narrative. Like Eli Pariser said, people need to be uncomfortable and be exposed to things that will challenge their view points. They need to be able to see other peoples point of view or else they are basically living in their own fantasy. I had no idea "filter bubbles" existed until after watching this video. I find it very interesting that these search engines work this way to fit our agenda. In order to really learn, you need to be challenged and learn new material. You need to see other view points and be open-minded.
ReplyDeleteI like how Pariser showed an example of his 2 friends' search results. It was amazing to see how different they were based on what they searched on the internet or where they were located. My husband and I just searched "cars" on the internet and on my browser I had more articles about cars and on his browser he had more information about cars to buy. I had to test it out to see for myself how these "filter bubbles" work. As educators, we are responsible for getting information to our students. We should allow them to search certain information on their own and view different sources or different point of views. Students already come from different homes that view things differently so it's important to keep those different lines open for them to learn.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat video! I like that he brought up the idea of editors as gatekeepers, because that was the parallel my mind was drawing the entire time. Indeed, the coders of today are the gatekeepers of modern information dissemination. I've worked firsthand with the algorithmic selection done by Google. As a public relations professional, I've helped company websites get their information higher up on search engine lists through a technique called Search Engine Optimization. It's a way of writing, tagging, and actively participating on the internet that tells the "spyders" (robots that Google uses to track down relevant results for a search), that their websites are the most relevant. It's nothing underhanded. It's nothing sneaky. Since Google implemented the algorithmic change, businesses found that they weren't showing up in many searches, and so was born SEO. In some ways these algorithms can serve a good purpose, as with businesses and SEO, but in terms of finding information and delivering the news, I have to agree with our speaker in that it is detrimental to society. Filter bubbles are limiting in so many ways. Hopefully many of the modern gatekeepers will heed Pariser's call to writing code in such a way that we achieve the balance of seeing both personally relevant AND personally challenging news and points of view.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of education, I think that it is important to be aware of these filter bubbles and to purposefully seek out the hard information. Conduct your own research by asking friends to search the same things as you. Look at both sets of results. Educate your students on this filter effect and encourage them to seek out information from many sources, both online and in the real world.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard the term "filter bubble," but after watching the video, I immediately realized that I've been a victim of it and never knew. I always wondered why Google search always knew exactly what I was looking for, or why it would try to fill in the blanks when I searched for things. In the field of education, especially ELA, I see filter bubbles being extremely dangerous when it comes to searching for plausible information, as it doesn't really give you all of the information you need--it just gives you the information it thinks you need based off of previous interest and searches. I think that the best way to combat this issue is to show students how to use online library sources (and real life libraries too, of course). Most times, a student's idea of research is typing something in on Google, which is dangerous because of the filter bubbles. This is why we should expose them to different forms of research. It's sad that the average student doesn't even know how to navigate through an online encyclopedia or virtual library.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very interesting to me! Prior to watching this, I was not familiar with the term filter bubble nor did I what all it entailed. Now that I have watched the video and have a better understanding, I can certainly see where this holds to be true as it is evident in my own internet use.
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles can greatly impact education in many ways. For instance, if a student was researching different political parties, based on previous searches, information may be filtered creating bias in the information provided. This can cause trouble in education as it limits the content that students have access to. As a 21st century learner, we need access to all information, that which allows us to see information with view points that may differ from our own. With such filter bubbles, the internet is truly causing "problems" in education because our students (as well as teachers) are being limited as to the information that they are actually having access to, even without realizing it.
As educators, while we cannot change such internet algorithms, there are some things which we can encourage of our students to ensure access to information. First and foremost, making students aware of bubble filters would be a good place to start as most probably are unaware of the way that the internet filters the information in which we are given access to. Also, students should realize that relying on one single source of information is never a good research strategy. As educators we need to teach our students to use the internet in safe ways that will provide us information needed, rather than filtering information based upon what it perceives that we may want to see. Cross checking information with different sources, examining all sides of information (rather than just our view point), and using reliable websites are all good skills to ensure that our students know so that they are receiving access to information needed.
This video is really an eye opener to just how careful we really need to be about the information we get online. If the "filter bubble" really does what he is saying then when we search things and do research we are actually not getting a "good flow of information", we are getting what the algorithms think we want to see according to what we have looked at in the past. When it comes to education, this will really limit our students in researching all the facts to come up with an unbiased answer. When using the internet for research, I want all the information I can get so that I can make the best decision or choice about whatever it is I am researching. I can understand the thought in "weeding" out what the program thinks we would not be interested in but when it comes to research and education. we must look at things from all perspectives before making a final conclusion.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the TED talks video, I believe the way the internet “knows” what should pop up in our searches is scary. The most interesting part of the presentation was when he pulled up two of his friends’ results for Egypt on the search engine, Google. The fact that two very different results came up for two different people is amazing to me. I am also amazed that when I use Google to look up a product I may be interested in purchasing whether it is clothes or something for my home, the advertisements pop up for those products on other websites. I do not like that there is so much information about what I am doing on the internet.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I can see that this would be a problem for students when researching topics for school. Unlike when I was a child, the internet is the way most students conduct their research for school projects. The fact that two different students can come up with such different information for the same subject in the same search engine is disconcerting. I believe as a teacher of younger students, it may be best to give the students certain websites to find their information that you know to be correct. That way, the students will have the information that you expect at their fingertips. By giving them several different websites to choose from, they are still able to actively research the subject.
I've always noticed that sometimes when I "Google" something, it seems to be more aimed at the things I have searched for before. I have never heard it called a "filter bubble" before, but found it a very intriguing and frightening concept. I believe that this backfires and basically is the opposite of what the internet is intended for. I think that if someone is trying to research something and find out information that is based upon facts, not information that is based on their search history/demographic, then by using their own computer, they are not receiving an unbiased search. This creates issues for research purposes. It is also somewhat scary that everything you do on the internet/search for is being tracked. We should always be careful when finding information on the internet while researching because it is not always unbiased, factual information.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very informative. I have not heard of "filter bubbles". I knew the web could customize search results based on previous queries, but I did not realize it was possible to this extent. I was amazed to hear Google has 57 signals to customize search results. I do not think search results should be filtered without the internet user giving input on what those filters should be. I agreed with the speaker that algorithms are the new gatekeepers of information. Therefore, they should be encoded in a way to use ethical standards.
ReplyDelete"Filter bubbles" can impact education in many ways. If students are given a course assignment, each student could possibly receive different search results based on previous searches. Also, if you click on links relevant to your beliefs, your future search results will be affected to show similar results. This could give a distorted view of an issue because you would not be receiving all the available information. To be a well-rounded student, I believe you must be able to see all viewpoints before you make a final judgement.
An educator’s role is to provide an education, not an opinion. Therefore, educators have a responsibility to provide access to all information on a subject matter, not filtered information. No one can form an educated opinion without hearing all the information available on the subject. Education is not about persuading students to agree with you. Education is about giving students all available information and empowering them to form their own opinions.
Before watching the presentation by Eli Pariser I was not educated on the term “Filter Bubbles.” I found it interesting that when an individual is searching for a particular topic they will receive information based on the individual’s previous online behaviors in order to tailor to that person’s opinion or view on the topic. That was a little bit scary to me to read. When I search the internet I would like to receive all of the available information back in order to ensure that I have a complete understanding of the material. I agree with Eli in that some people are accepting of only receiving information that is personalized to them but it is also alarming to me that a person can search for information and not get all of the different views. I think that is absolutely limiting a person’s overall comprehension of materials and or information on a variety of topics from different stand points. I think that “filter bubbles” can affect education because it is also limiting our students to different views and overall material that they need to be well rounded students who can actively participate in society. I think that as educators we should strive for our students to search outside of their comfort zone for material in order to ensure an overall comprehension of material and not just from what they believe or view certain topics. I thought this information on “filter bubbles” was very interesting and I now have a different look on the material that is given back to me from the internet.
ReplyDeleteBefore watching the video, I had never heard the term "filter bubble." After listening to Eli Pariser explain it I immediately realized that I have experienced the effects of these filter bubbles, or algorithms that calculate the way information is presented to us on the internet. This can be a major concern of educators because we are not able to control what the search engines provide us. This can greatly impact the exposure of differentiating thoughts and ideas to our students. I believe that educating our students about these filter bubbles may encourage them to go beyond the internet or collaborate with others. I really like Mary Helen's idea of providing specific websites so that students obtain unbiased results in their search engine. Hopefully the employees at these large corporations will listen to Eli's plea and give us the power to control what we see on the internet.
ReplyDeleteWe are an amalgam of our influences and choices. Reduce those and you reduce our potential. This channeling by algorythm is a built-in bias filter. Even if we believe that the filter is echoing our own tastes, it limits our exposure to the unexplored avenues that collectively expanded our understanding, that were part of an evolution in our thought process. It limits our potential by narrowing the influences on our ability to adapt and grow. Exposure to a wide horizon of information is essential to intellectual stimulation and growth, fundamental to balanced research and evaluation. That freedom of access is an indispensable part of the education process. The value of technology within education begins with its role as an access point to challenge our preconceptions, our bias and comfort. Educators must be actively engaged in challenging anything that unreasonably limits that capacity.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the phrase "filter bubble." I was not sure what to initially think of this when I read the blogger post. After watching the video, I realized that I encounter filter bubbles each day at work, on social media, and when researching professional and personal information. I have noticed that when I talk about a specific restaurant or fast food location, that within hours I will have an ad pop up for that place. I always thought it was scary how closely we are monitored on our phones and computers. Now that I have seen this video, the algorithms make so much sense. It explains why my husband's google searches displays more information regarding politics than my own search engine does. Because of his interest in politics, he receives more information about it than I do, which leaves me in the dark about a lot of things going on in the world.
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles drastically affects education in the sense of how it controls what students and educators are exposed to. The internet is supposed to be this useful tool that provides people with unlimited information, but with algorithms, the information is indeed very limited and geared to what the website thinks you should see rather. This is very scary for the world of education.
The responsibilities of educators is to expose students to effective internet research strategies. We can do this by ingraining in our students to double check, triple check, and quadruple check their sources and the information that they give them. The best way to teach them this is to ensure they know to never rely on one source for information; and if they read a story on one website, go to another to verify its content.