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WHAT IS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION? Executive Function is a term that comes up more and more in the world of psychological research and education support. A recent article in the journal Neuropsychology tries to provide some clarification on this increasingly popular yet often ill-defined phrase. Authors Paul T. Cirino, Yusra Ahmed, Jeremy Miciak, W. Pat Taylor, and Elyssa H. Gerst from the University of Houston and Marcia A. Barnes from the University of Texas at Austin set out to clarify what Executive Function (EF) means from the sometimes diverse perspectives of neuropsychology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology. They are trying to determine if Executive Function means the same thing from all these perspectives or to what degree there is any overlap in meaning. The authors begin with the broad understanding of Executive Function as the process that helps us manage goal directed behaviour. In other words, it’s the process that allows us to navigate and manage our lives to accomplish the things we need to do. This broad and important process affects everything from studying for an exam to managing our workload so we can spend time with family. The specific purpose of the article is to discuss how the many different components of executive function are related to each other. The authors outline three approaches that are generally taken when studying EF; the first studies damage to the brain that affects EF, the second studies the cognitive functions (planning, remembering) that help us accomplish our goals, and the third focuses on problem solving and reflecting on solutions. The article limits its study to the last two, leaving aside issues of the effect brain injuries have on EF. The article draws on the study of 846 elementary students in grades 3 to 5, ages 8 to 11 in the United States. Elementary students were chosen because, while it is expected that the basics of math and reading are accomplished by this level, it is a developmentally sensitive age for the skills associated with executive function such as planning, task initiation, and general independence. 8 components of executive function are listed, they include “(1) working memory; (2) inhibition; (3) shifting; (4) planning; (5) generative fluency; (6) self-regulated learning; (7) metacognition; and (8) behavioral regulation” (Cirino et. al. 2018). These 8 components represent an attempt to be inclusive of the different aspects that are sometimes contained under the heading “executive function”. Other notable accounts, for example Miyake et al. (2000), describe only three: inhibition, shifting, and updating (working memory). As we shall see, some of these 8 can be reduced to, or are strongly correlated with, these three. Let’s take a moment to describe each of these components: 1) Working memory refers, generally, to the ability to hold information in mind while taking in the current situation and, in this study, was assessed using tasks that required “(a) recall with manipulation, (b) simultaneous processing and storage, or (c) ongoing maintenance/updating of information in active memory” (Cirino et al. 2018). A simple example of working memory in action would be cooking from a recipe but wanting to make a double batch. You need to recall the amount of an ingredient needed and then double it for the current batch. You are keeping information in mind but also working on it (manipulating it) for the current situation. 2) Inhibition represents our ability to resist an initial impulse or reaction in order to provide a more considered response. This can be thought of as our ability to suppress our ‘knee-jerk’ reaction. A popular way of assessing this is called the Stroop test, in it people are shown the names of colours in differently coloured fonts and asked to say the word rather than the colour of the font. In the example “BLUE”, we resist, or inhibit, the impulse to say the font colour (black) and instead say the word (blue). 3) The component of executive function known as shifting refers to our ability to mentally change tasks that have different rules or guidelines. For example, if you were asked to sort fruit according to weight and then asked to begin sorting according colour instead, this would require the kind of mental ‘shift’ that is described by this term. 4) Planning in this context means much the same as its everyday use: to anticipate and account for the steps required to accomplish a goal. 5) Generative Fluency, often called verbal fluency, is the ability to recall words speedily from a certain group or category. For example: name as many capitals as you can, as fast as you can. 6) The way that we navigate and direct our own learning is called Self-Regulated Learning (SLR). This includes, not only how we go about learning something (the plan we make) but also how we navigate obstacles and difficulties along the way. 7) Metacognition, generally, refers to our ability to think about our thinking. In the context of executive function this means reflecting on and evaluating the conclusions and processes of our thoughts. 8) When we manage our behaviour, specifically in terms of our emotional reaction, attention, and focus, this is called behaviour regulation. It is similar to self-regulated learning but applies to a broader range of our activities. It is generally accepted that these 8 components, or some combination or variation of them, constitute executive function. When the disciplines of psychology and education talk about EF, they are talking about some or all of these 8 items. The purpose of the article by Cirino et al. is to try to determine the relationship between these components and executive function. Do all 8 have something underlying that is common to all of them or have we collected a set of distinct features under the single heading of executive function? The conclusion of the study is that the truth seems to be a mix of the two options. “The present study is unable to conclude that indicators of EF are interchangeable and each contributes similarly to a unitary factor; it is also unable to conclude that hypothesized factors are separable and nonoverlapping” (Cirino et al. 2018) There are certain components that seem to be distinct from each other, notably self-regulated learning and metacognition. What this means is that success or deficiency in these areas is not directly correlated to success or deficiency in the other components studied. However, the authors urge that it is beneficial to have a broad perspective of executive function and that there was found to be strong overlap amongst, or correlation between, components such as shifting, working memory, planning, and generative fluency (Cirino et al. 2018). While this study does not provide a definitive description of executive function, it does provide important insight into the components of executive function and the interrelation of those components with each other and the concept of executive function itself. As the authors themselves indicate, it will be left to future experimental studies to work out the role that this information will play in the strategies and techniques we develop to support those with executive function deficits. Articles Cited: Cirino, P., Ahmed, Y., Miciak, J., Taylor, W., Gerst, E., & Barnes, M. (2018). A framework for executive function in the late elementary years. Neuropsychology, 32(2), 176-189. doi: 10.1037/neu0000427 Miyake, A., Friedman, N., Emerson, M., Witzki, A., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. (2000). The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49-100. doi: 10.1006/cogp.1999.0734 If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss executive function in general, please email me at mbruder@aristoseducation.ca Dr. Michael Bruder (Philosophy)

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COACHING AND TUTORING Academic Behaviour Coaching is called coaching rather than tutoring for two important reasons. The first reason is based on the content, we want to distinguish the executive function and other skill types that we promote from academic content knowledge. While we may provide content support, especially in the application of EF skills, it is not the core of this ABC’s purpose. The second reason is based on the relationship between the coach and the student. Tutors and teachers are often viewed by students as outside sources of information and expectations (assignments, rote knowledge, etc,). This can create a sense of a one-directional relationship in which thes student feels like a passive vessel rather than an active participant. We want our student clients to identify their coaches as someone on the same side of the education dynamic as them. A coach’s ultimate goal is not to impart information (although this can be a necessary step), it is to develop skills. Our coaches do not provide demands from outside the student, they provide skills and strategies for succeeding in the face of those demands. Executive Function skills, like other skills, can be developed, improved, and supported through the appropriate techniques. ABC coaches introduce students to these techniques by applying them at school and at home. Content support may help for this day or week or term in school, but the skills developed through ABC will help students every day, for life. In a very real sense, these students are learning to learn. BACK TO MANUAL CONTENTS

Questionnaire Adult Executive Function The purpose of the Adult Executive Function program is to develop and supplement Executive Function (EF) skills in adults. Part of the motivation for this is improved performance and the strengthening of life-skills that are necessary for professional and social success Executive Function Adult EF Executive Skill Support Ongoing support for adults who would benefit from organization techniques, professional support, life preparation and planning, time management, and comprehension skills. All ages Psycho-Educational Assessment Review and Planning Many people are unsure of how to make the best use of the results from a Psycho-Educational Assessment. The education experts at Aristos can work with you to best understand what the results mean, and most importantly what strategies and skills you need to succeed in light of the assessment’s recommendations. All ages Referrals Aristos focuses on academic supports, however we have a strong network of psychologists and counsellors to whom we can refer.

MOTIVATION AND REWARD PROGRAM Having a motivated student is important for productive sessions and skill progress. It is a long-term goal of coaching to have the student be self-motivating and to have internal motivation for effort. However, having an external reward system is effective for achieving initial buy-in from the student and can serve as a good motivator while internal motivation is being developed. Reward programs are effective when they are cumulative so that the student is working toward a goal that is not accomplished in a single session. The tokens toward a mid-range goal should provide some immediate motivation within the session. Tokens that count toward the reward should be awarding with specific praise connected to student effort, rather than results. This is consistent with the overall approach to build confidence and reward development rather than static ability. Reward Token Tracker in Word Reward Token Tracker in pdf See the Session Structure and Content page for more details on implementing the reward program. BACK TO MANUAL CONTENTS

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Dr. Michael Bruder CEO and Director of Research Dr. Bruder received his PhD from McMaster University in Philosophy and brings over a decade of experience in private education to his role of Director of Research at Aristos.

TECHNIQUES BY EXECUTIVE FUNCTION This section contains techniques and approaches relevant to executive function skills such as those related to WORKING MEMORY , ORGANIZATION , PLANNING , and INHIBITORY CONTROL . Working Memory: Working Memory allows us to keep information ready at-hand in out thoughts while incorporating new information, or performing an operation. Some students will have very different working memory abilities for visual versus auditory information, and also meaningfully related versus unrelated information. For students who struggle with working memory relative to unrelated information, creating a personally meaningful narrative out of seemingly unrelated or abstract information can be an effective strategy. Working Memory training not only improves recall of specific items but also fluid reasoning and reading comprehension (Zhang et al. 2018). For this reason working memory training should be implemented along with other reasoning and reading skills as appropriate. Students who need support in this area may struggle with the following skills (click to jump to section): DUE DATE TRACKING MULTI-STEP INSTRUCTIONS AND MULTITASKING REMEMBERING ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS RECALLING NEW INFORMATION DUE DATE TRACKING: -decide on a method (agenda, digital device, wall calendar) and discuss the value of knowing dates for events that matter to the student in extra-curricular life. Connect this to academic date tracking, not only what is due but how many days until the weekend, holidays, etc. -the student will need to build the habit of recognizing that the teacher is mentioning a due date. -role-play listening for clues that the student should be recording a date -make a game of noticing dates, script: "At some point during the session today, I'm going to mention a date, see if you can notice and write it down without me asking you to". MULTI-STEP ISTRUCTIONS AND MULTITASKING: Depending on the level of ability and degree of working memory deficit, different strategies may be more or less effective. Students with very low working memory should build the habit of short note taking on a pad that is always on hand, on top of the desk/table. Students who require this level of support should have an accommodation allowing this in the classroom. Build the habit of recognizing when a list or set of instructions is about to be given and when multitasking is required. Discuss some topics that would likely include a set of steps ("ok class next we are going to....), and some that would not ("We are going to discuss our favourite part of the book"). Practise noticing cue words: after, before, first, next, starting with, while, during, at the same time, etc. Have the student visualize a hero figure completing the steps as they are described and make it into a story the student can repeat back to you. Multitasking activities should be broken down into the different tasks and recorded on a note pad for reference. Working memory has been shown to not only affect the speed of multitasking but also the accuracy of the completed work (Buehner et al. 2006). For this reason, students should always review and compare the final product with assignment expectations. REMEMBERING ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS: Remembering the rules of a game while playing is an excellent analogue for remembering assignment requirements while working. Students who struggle with working memory may lose track of assignment requirements while working and this results in completed work that does not meet classroom expectations. Playing simple games can help build the habit of keeping expectations in mind. Have the student retell the rules before playing; students who struggle with working memory to a more severe degree should have a short a reference sheet and get in the habit of checking it as they play. This sheet should be provided by the coach initially but eventually students will learn to create their own. Using a villain/foil can be a fun way to anticipate rules/requirements that would be broken or not followed by the character. Students should regularly check in with assignment instructions as they are working and always do so before considering work completed. RECALLING NEW INFORMATION: Narrative Association is a powerful tool to establish new information. To help students remember new information, make connections and associations for the student through narrative and play-based activities. These must be consistently used and reinforced by the coach. I.e. if a fictional character is used to demonstrate poor inhibitory control, the same character should not be used as the ideal of inhibitory control (unless the character is an example of how these behaviours can improve). Acrostics and Acronyms are excellent tools for learning lists of items. It is easier to create these with non-sequential items but the technique can be used for sequential items as well. The student will remember these more easily if they have a personal meaning for them or are silly and unusual. Categorize large numbers of items into sub-categories and have the student then study each category separately (an acrostic can be made for the categories themselves if there are 3+). Flash Cards : single term per card, term on one side, definition on the other. The definition must be brief, point form, in the student’s own words. Formulating the definition briefly engages the student to conceptualize the concept more clearly. Creating definitions using four or fewer words has been shown to increase retention of larger concepts (Schultz and Evans 2015). Note-taking : outline style, Cornell, fill in the blank (guided notes). Having a note-taking method has also been shown to reduce distraction in the classroom (Schulz and Evans 2015). After instructing and guiding note-taking, independent attempts at note-taking should be reviewed with detailed feedback from the coach with reference to instructional points. Organization: Students with a diagnosis of ADHD are often disorganized in terms of their possessions, thoughts, and behaviour (Schultz and Evans 2015). This is also true of students without a diagnosis of ADHD but with weak executive function skills. -Physical Organization tracking (use skill mastery sheet to track overall progress): select a personal item or area (book bag, binder, room, study area) and have the student describe what this would look like when organized. Create an organizational checklist from this description and have the student do a self-assessment at each session. The coach should offer constructive feedback and make suggestions as necessary after the student self-assessment. The checklist should be consulted until mastery is achieved for each item needing organization. Once the coach feels the student is ready (multiple organizational items mastered), the student can attempt to independently organize a new item and identify items/areas in need of organization. -it has been noted by some researchers that an organization skill can take around 16 sessions to show consistent improvement. The most common trend of development is seeming inconsistency between sessions but an overall trend of improvement (Schultz and Evans 2015). The organizational checklist for a backpack may include the following: -no loose papers/papers filed in folder or binder -stationary materials in a pencil case -no old lunch food -completely closed with nothing sticking out -clean -binders or folders -agenda Students may also need a checklist to consult when packing the backpack to go to school and and packing it to come home from school again. If possible, these checklists should be fastened to the bag zipper so that the student is reminder to check the list when opening and closing the backpack. These lists may include: -lunch containers -water bottle -any outdoor gear (boots, umbrellas, mittens, etc) -mask(s) (during Covid protocols) -agenda -assignment sheets Students should be encouraged to decorate the list with drawings, stickers, etc. with colours and characters that they enjoy. Symbols or pictures can be used in place of words to create a checklist for those who are still learning to read. Students can sometimes feel at the mercy of events that are part of their daily life. Discussing the morning routine so they can understand its purpose and anticipate it can give the student a greater sense of involvement in the daily routine, and it is a great way to introduce the concept of planning. Planning: Planning and time management are among the most important base skills for academic success in general and these skills can be particularly challenging for students with ADHD. -agenda/calendar use -practise estimating how long different activities take, record estimate, time actual work and compare results -enter precise timeframe for each scheduled activity and note if the time scheduled is too much or too little -enter exact activities to be accomplished in the scheduled event. I.e.rather than “5pm-5:30pm Study” the student should enter “5pm-5:30pm create flash cards for definitions 1-10”. -enter social and non-academic events and responsibilities as well to show how organization is about life, not just about school. -enter time for activities the student enjoys that are not school-related -learn to set, snooze, and edit digital alerts and notifications (discuss best use) -consult online calendars, resources, and classroom teacher notes -being in contact with the classroom teacher ensures effective planning of due dates until the student develops independence Inhibitory Control: Inhibitory control refers to the ability to resist our initial, reflex reaction to a situation or question and consider alternatives and options before acting. This ability is important in situations ranging from emotional response management to multiple choice quizzes. There is evidence that control over response can be developed by practicing similar activities (Zhang et al. 2019). There is even some evidence to suggest that improving inhibitory control also improves working memory (Zhao et al. 2015), perhaps because we need to hold rules or exceptions in mind to resist an initial reaction. Types of activities that are used to practice and assess inhibitory control include: the Stroop task, Go/No-Go task, Stop-signal task, and the flanker task. The Stroop task presents students with the names of colours, but written in a coloured font that may or may not match the colour name. For example YELLOW , RED , etc, and asks students to respond with the colour of the font rather than the word written (the correct example responses would be Green and Yellow respectively). The student must build the habit of resisting the existing habit of reading the word, and instead think about the font. Cards or slides can be created by the coach to practise this task. This activity is not recommended for students who are still learning to read colour names. An online demo can be found here: https://www.psytoolkit.org/experiment-library/stroop.html Go/No-Go tasks present students with two types of of stimuli; one type requires a response (Go), and the other requires the student to resist responding (No-Go). An example could be created using a deck of playing cards and having the student respond quickly when a black card is dealt but resist responding when a red card is dealt. The Stop-Signal task is a more complex version of the Go/No-G o task in which there are still two types of stimuli, but each type does require a response, unless a third signal is present, in which case the student must resist responding. An online demo can be found here: https://www.psytoolkit.org/experiment-library/stopsignal.html The Flanker task asks student to provide a response based on whether the focal stimulus is from one of two groups, but the stimulus is flanked on either side by contrary or irrelevant stimuli. An online demo can be found here: https://www.psytoolkit.org/experiment-library/flanker.html Coaches can easily create quick games that employ these principles. Some card games that have elements of inhibitory control practice include go-fish, and war. References: Buehner, Markus & König, Cornelius & Pick, Marion & Krumm, Stefan. (2006). Working Memory Dimensions as Differential Predictors of the Speed and Error Aspect of Multitasking Performance. Human Performance. 19. 253-275. 10.1207/s15327043hup1903_4. Zhang, Wang, C., Zhao, Q., Yang, L., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2019). The malleability of executive function in early childhood: Effects of schooling and targeted training. Developmental Science, 22(2), e12748–n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12748 Zhao, Chen, L., Fu, L., & Maes, J. H. . (2015). “Wesley says”: A children’s response inhibition playground training game yields preliminary evidence of transfer effects. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 207–207. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00207 ORGANIZATION Working Memory Due Date Tracking Multi-step Instructions Remembering Instructions Recalling Information Planning Inhibitory Control BACK TO COACHING PORTAL

< Back Episode 4 - Cyber Civil Liberties Michael: Welcome to the Cyberethics Podcast. I am joined today by a very special guest. Rory Mehr is the Associate Director of Community Organizing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They coordinate EFF's support of local advocacy groups, primarily through the grassroots information sharing network, the Electronic Frontier Alliance. Prior to joining the EFF, Rory studied activist pedagogy and adolescent use of social media as a doctoral student of psychology. As a student, instructor, and researcher, they advocated for student and worker privacy, open science, and open education on campus. They were also active in several New York City community projects like the SciPIR Collective, an EFA member group focused on accessible digital security trainings. Welcome, Rory. Read More Rory: Thanks so much for having me. Michael: Well, it's our pleasure. So to get started, I'd like you to just give us a brief history of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and some examples of the kinds of projects that they work on. Rory: Sure. So yeah, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit civil liberty law firm that has about thirty-three years of history behind it and has had a lot of different iterations in that time. It started off as a project answering new infringements on folks' digital rights. It's most famously kicking off with the Secret Service raiding Steve Jackson games, a small GameMaker in Texas, under suspicion of file sharing and whatnot. And our founders basically identified this as, hey, this is a clear infringement, but it's not getting those same legal protections because it's in the digital space. And basically rallied support for legal representation. EFF's early days were really meant to be a foundation. It's no longer really a foundation for getting legal support to folks that are facing those sort of issues. And then it kind of iterated into, well, we'll have some hired lawyers that can build the expertise in that area and be also a law firm. And then that was the case for a while. Tried to have chapter organizations. So there's a few other electronic frontier locals still around. But then it really came at a point in close to the late nineties of like, we need to actually advocate for better legislation, not just fight it in the courts, even though courts are really important to the lawyers. But, you know, if you have better legislation, you can make better legal arguments. And that's when it really expanded into what it is today. Essentially, a civil liberties defending lobbying group that yeah, wants to make sure that our civil rights apply even when a computer is involved, which is often treated as this, like, magical, like, you can't infringe on people's rights when there's a computer. And so, yeah, and that we've been doing that since and have been growing really rapidly more recently in light of the growing threats. And our mission is to make sure that technology works for everyone in the world. and defend privacy innovation. And yeah, digital technology is now touching every subject. So our scope has definitely expanded quite a bit in that time as well. That's right. Michael: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense that the organization has grown in light of the, as you say, increasingly online lives that we live. As you mentioned, digital aspects of existence are creeping into ever new areas as the technology advances. Thank you for that. Tell us a little bit about your own background. How did you come to the EFF? Rory: Yeah, so I was always into nerdy stuff like hacking and putting together like my own server and stuff like that growing up. But I was really going on a different path of how digital technology can improve and education equity was. I had kind of a roundabout path, but that's where I landed, going to grad school for that. And in that time, I really dove a lot into community education as like a form of praxis and as a way of taking these often, you know, political things that require action to improve our lives and make technology more equitable through uh, grassroots education. Um, and I started doing that kind of as a side project when procrastinating, uh, during my, um, doctoral studies, which, um, so much great organizing work happens with procrastinating, uh, grad students. Um, and yeah, during that time, um, I, uh, co-founded Cypric Collective, um, a digital security, um, education group that, uh, initially was really focused towards activists and, um, helping, uh, improve the OPSEC of, our operational security of activists we were working with. And then had a good arrangement with the public library to do regular trainings just for the public and found that was actually really what made our work able to accelerate more. We were doing it more regularly. We were kind of seeing more regular cases of regular concerns folks were having. And yeah, in that work, that group joined the Electronic Frontier Alliance right when it started in the year of the Elephant, which you mentioned in the intro is an information sharing grassroots network that the EFF maintains. And through that, we got a lot more promotion. We were able to meet a lot more of other groups and kind of like up our trainings and up our presence. And in doing that work and getting to know EFF more immediately, not just as like a fan from afar, actually meeting folks working here. Yeah, eventually a job opened up on the activism team that worked with the EFA. I joined that team in twenty twenty and I've been with EFF since. Michael: Well, that's great. Sounds like a great fit. Rory: Yeah, it was really. I wouldn't have left my grad studies for any other job. Right. Right. Michael: Yeah. And I mean, the education component is so important, right? Especially in, like we said, with this kind of technology that's ever-changing, ever-developing at a pace that's difficult for the professionals to keep up with, the people who are just trying to live their lives and have these necessary digital components, you know, really value that kind of education. to have someone who can translate what the cutting-edge advances actually mean for us trying to live our everyday lives. Rory: For sure. Definitely. Michael: Perfect. So towards that point, I understand that one of the projects that you're working on, or one of the topics that you're always interested in, is privacy concerns. So just tell us a little bit about some of your work and how it touches on concerns surrounding privacy. Rory: Definitely. And that definitely comes from that background of meeting with everyday folks and the concerns that they're having. Because as much as folks can kind of succumb to privacy nihilism, where they're like, the big companies have everything anyway, who cares what's, you know, but then, you know, you meet people who are actually being impacted by that surveillance, which, you know, anyone can be. when you're being surveilled, that information can always be used against you. But at different points, people encounter those kind of sharp points of, oh, this really abusive person in my life is manipulating my phone in ways I don't understand, or, you know, you know, simply like this information about me is online and I have no real way of controlling it. And even just having those creepy moments where you search for something online and then you get a bunch of advertisements on a bunch of different apps about that thing. You know, different degrees of things that kind of raise that concern. So I definitely see it as a really important thing about. Privacy is really essential for preserving individual autonomy in society, but also collective autonomy. I really think communities, you know, there's a lot of like treating people like islands and digital security, where if you just harden everything, if you install Linux and you only use Tor and all these like really difficult things, then you'll be this perfectly preserved egg. But at the end of the day, privacy is a team sport. You're only as private and secure as the folks in your community and you're working with. So I think, yeah, there's the individual trainings of like risk mitigation, making sure folks understand the technology they're using. There's encouraging folks to work together and form new norms in how they're working together. And then there's the big societal thing of it does require advocacy at the end of the day to kind of ensure that you know, your ring doorbell isn't just giving information to the police if you don't want it to. Michael: Right. Yeah, it's a couple of interesting and really important points that you make there. I like your phrase privacy nihilism. I think that that is a problem. A lot of people suffer, right? They sort of throw up their hands and they feel like it's a battle that's already been lost and maybe they don't see the significance of it. But but but it's an important point that you raise. Some people learn too late the significance of not having proper privacy protections. And then there is the knock on effect. Like you said, we are an interconnected web. And so our privacy decisions have an effect outside of our personal lives. Rory: Yeah, and for some folks, privacy, frankly, isn't as important because they're in a relatively safe position in society or a privileged position, and they can kind of just ignore it. But even for those folks, I'd really encourage thinking about the other people in your life. Not everyone is, you don't actually know to what extent folks have things that they need to preserve. So just out of compassion for other people, in your community and in your life, doing some kind of basic privacy work, I think, is really essential. Michael: Right. Yeah, absolutely. So you might be from a population that doesn't regularly face difficulty from the authorities, but that doesn't mean that other populations aren't facing that leverage. Rory: And then there's the not to be too doom and gloom. But, you know, you might be OK with the current powers that be. You might trust current tech executives and current leaders in government. But information lasts longer than that. There can be new powers that arise in your life that you don't trust as much, and that information doesn't expire, typically, and can still be used against you. Michael: Yeah, that's an incredibly important point, I think. So not only in terms of corporations, but also governments, right? You might be fine with your government having that information about you now, but regimes change. And do you want it to be the de facto position that whatever regime has power has access to this information about you and the population? Rory: Yeah. And frankly, we, that's, we saw a lot of that. I wasn't with the EFF at the time, but in twenty sixteen, there was a big growth support of EFF. And I experienced as a trainer, we went from kind of a fringe kind of nerdy meetup group too. We were doing multiple trainings a month because everyone was really freaked out by Trump winning the election and what that meant for their personal security and safety. So, you know, it's always around the corner, maybe not when you expect it. Michael: Context can change pretty quickly. Rory: For sure. Yeah. Michael: Perfect. Another topic that we mentioned last time when we were chatting was concerns around artificial intelligence, right? So it's the hot topic these days. And so obviously there are as much excitement as there is. There's also concerns that come with any new prevalent technology. And so with artificial intelligence, one of the initial concerns that have been raised by other content creators is intellectual property rights and how those are affected. Could you speak a little bit to that topic? Rory: Yeah, definitely. So I think like the really core concerns with artificial intelligence that I, as I think of it, one is the underlying data set, which I think is what this is getting at, where we want to make sure it is transparent and whenever possible consensual by the folks that are in that data set. There's some even privacy concerns that come out of that. If an AI is trained on personal information, let's say your personal emails or something, You know, there's the risk of it kind of regurgitating snippets of that personal information to someone else because it kind of forms this mosaic of the underlying data that it's trained on. So, you know, it also hallucinates. So there's a little bit of plausible deniability if it does do that. But, you know, it's that kind of thinking of like people want to have a say in whether or not they're in a data set. At the same time, kind of counter to that re-expression online includes being able to scrape information and remix it and put it together in a new way. So I think there's a lot of questionable copyright claims being thrown on as a way to combat the negative uses of AI. Not to say that those impacts aren't negative, but copyright likely isn't the best tool for it. And I think a really current example is with workers' rights, basically the fear that AI is going to train on a screenwriter's writing and then just write for the screenwriter, and the studio will just pocket all that money because ChatGBT wrote it instead of a writer. And I think that sort of concern is very present and something that really falls under labor. And I think you know, labor regulations around how AI is used is probably the most appropriate way to address it. Throwing copyright stuff onto it is a little more, it has a knock-on effect that would affect free expression, not from AI. Yeah, we're wary of those precedents. Michael: That's very interesting. I hadn't thought about that side of things. Obviously, I thought about, you know, our remix culture and the right to reuse things. But I hadn't thought about the viability of approaching AI or large language models and trying to sue them for copyright infringement or something like that. And the knock-on effect on what we might consider valid or accepted reuse and remixing. Rory: Yeah. And one of the main ones that is coming up is basically using personas as a new copyrighted class of things that you can't use someone's face in, you know, just CG or use AI to put it on an actor or something, and then not pay the actor for that, which again, I think is more of a labor concern that having that sort of wide reaching thing and an actor's contract that by the way, we can use your face forever, that kind of right to publicity. thing is concerning. But, you know, being able to use a public figure's face is essential for expression. If you want to do a satire of, say, the president or some other powerful person, being able to use their face in an animation is, you know, protected expression. So generally, copyright is not the right tool for addressing very legitimate labor concerns in a lot of cases. Michael: Right. That's very interesting. Um, and then another topic I'd like to touch on with you is I know, um, when you're, you're talking about your background and the way you come up, I know that education is a passion of yours. And so did you want to talk a little bit about open source education? Rory: Yeah. So this is something, um, while in my graduate studies, I've learned more about, um, I was always into open source as a concept, this kind of everyone collaborating on this transparent project together. Um, you know, again, doing little nerdy hosting servers and stuff as a teenager. But it wasn't until I was in grad school and learning more about kind of critical pedagogy. And I was part of a program that talked about specifically critical use of technology and pedagogy that I learned more about open education and open access, which I think has a lot of intuitive, especially on the open access side of, you know, publicly funded research, the fruits of that, the findings of that should be shared to the public and science is inherently collaborative. It doesn't really make sense to hide results from other scientists if you're working to the same end. And I think the same really holds to education as well. I don't think teachers are particularly protective of their lesson plans or use, they're not usually. And are often, you know, I experienced I would have had a much harder time teaching if I didn't have other instructors. just give me their lesson plans and say, here's everything I've done, you know, make it your own, and being able to pick and choose from different things I saw. So that collaborative process is already there. What things like open education does is let's it be posted online and be more open to not just rely on those kind of connections that people have to different instructors. And that has the same empowering effect that open access does when we talk about things on a global scale, where someone who doesn't have a friend that works at Columbia or something, you know, can still access these high quality materials based on current research. And then, you know, I mean, for the students, it's free textbooks and not making students pay hundreds of dollars for often kind of outdated textbooks. These are easy to keep current, are more peer-reviewed because it's more collaboratively written. It's just less known about. Generally, when instructors learn about it, they're very quick to adopt it in their own classrooms. Michael: Right. That's interesting. Yeah, I know that there's also a sort of push amongst educators or some pressure being put on colleagues to publish with journals that are open access rather than the ones that are behind paywalls. Rory: Definitely. Yeah. And there's a lot of. now publishers are kind of finding these sort of mitigations of like, it'll be open access after a few years or these sort of different halfway points because it is a popular idea and they have to kind of adapt to it. Yeah, unfortunately, one of the adaptations and there's a group called spark or scholarly publishing and academic resource coalition that actually recently has been writing about how publishers and adapting to the popularity of open access are going for more, you know, the articles are more readily available. However, they're on the lockdown platforms that actually surveil academics and kind of collect information about you know, who's reading what and who's being productive with what. So like, they recently released this interesting report on Elsevier and its data collection. So we're seeing publishers kind of meeting halfway with the open access movement with some more surveillance heavy offerings and offering more data surveillance work. Michael: And is that with a model to try to then monetize the data that they're collecting? Rory: That seems to be. Yeah. Michael: Subscriptions for the journal. Rory: Yeah. Michael: It's concerning. Rory: Right. And, you know, and it's part of the same, like, kind of fake open access alternatives and fake open education alternatives, where it's like you buy a subscription to a suite of things that gives you free access to these things, but you can't then take it and remix it and it's not free. You know, there's all these kind of, you know, embracing open access because it's popular, but in ways that still let them leverage control. Michael: Right. Well, that's interesting. And I'm sure it's going to be an area of growth. As you mentioned, more and more journals are going to try and find alternatives to revenue that they were getting through per journal charges or or subscriptions. Rory: Definitely. But I do see it as a mark of success for the open access movement that an open education movements that people are aware of it. They see it as really valuable when they have good research. They'll often advocate like, I'm only going to publish this if it is open access. And yeah, as more academics do that. Yeah, this information will become more readily available. And I think, again, that open education thing to highlight not only does it help universities in different parts of the world that might have fewer resources, it's also nice for people who aren't in university and are just trying to learn about things on their own. Having those educational materials can let people kind of build expertise and introduce themselves to an area on their own. Michael: Absolutely. Yeah. It fits much more nicely with the concept of these things being public institutions, right? Rory: Exactly. Yeah. Michael: Thank you so much for all that Roar. That was very informative. A lot of our listeners will be people who are about to enter the profession, digital professions in various capacities. Given your experience in the sort of wide net that the EFF casts and the experience that you have, is there any advice that you'd give to people who are about to enter the digital professional sphere? Rory: Yeah, I mean, I think already thinking about ethics going into these careers is essential. It's something that Yeah, a surprising number of folks don't teach or prioritize when going into it. And remember that you as a worker for these companies have a lot of say, that we've seen a lot of good pushback from developers when a company wants them to implement an unpopular or invasive feature. So thinking about, you know, is my work empowering users? Is it? Yeah. allowing for autonomy of the users, and kind of thinking about those questions at every step in the development process, not just at the very end when there's a PR push, and advocating for the changes in their own workplace. You know, of course, I'll have to say, going to EFF and keeping up to date on what are the current issues and our positions on things can be a helpful guide in that process. But also in your own community, I really encourage folks to, in a way of giving back, tech professionals really have a unique ability to go into, say, an activist space or just a community group that they're sympathetic towards and offering that expertise to regular people and hear how they're experiencing the tech what difficulties they're running into and taking that back in in your own work. You know, I think generally people are happy to complain about tech and the ways that it's annoying to them. And it's often usability. And I think usability and access is really important. But, you know, sometimes people will voice like this thing. Why can't I just do what I want to do? Why can't I read this book I bought in Germany? um, on my American Kindle, right. Um, and those frustrations, I think letting those lead their, uh, work, um, and yeah, speaking up in the workplace when it's not, um, doing right by their user. Michael: Right. That's, that's great advice. Yeah. I think sometimes people feel a bit lost, especially if they're part of a larger organization, but I think you're right. Those people who are there as sort of the grassroots or the fundamental level can have an impact. Rory: Definitely. Um, Yeah, and I definitely think that inside outside approach is really essential to moving the needle, advocating in the workplace and working with folks outside of the workplace to understand the needs and maybe even do some advocacy with EFF. Michael: Right. Well, that leads perfectly onto my next question. I was going to ask if you want to tell people where they can learn more about EFF or some of these projects and any other resources you'd like to promote. Rory: Definitely. So you can become a member of EFF at EFF.org slash donate. You can follow our writings at eff.org slash deep links. We have RSS and all that, if you'd like. And if you'd like to kind of get involved in a more hands-on way, I administer that Graphroot network I mentioned earlier, the EFA, eff.org slash EFA. And there you can learn a little bit more about organizing. We have a tool, a few toolkits to get you started. And you can reach out to us at organizing at EFF.org . Unfortunately, we are currently just in the US. So unfortunately, Canadian groups wouldn't be able to join the EFA. That said, always welcome to reach out to us. We're always excited to help people and guide them on their local advocacy work. And then if you ever find yourself in hot water, and maybe need some legal representation, you can always reach out to info at EFF.org . Our legal intake coordinator is really great. You'll get a quick response. Either EFF will take your case, or we make sure that you're referred to a volunteer attorney that will take it on our behalf. So yeah, so those are kind of the best ways to get connected. Yeah, and like I said, reach out to organizing at EFF.org . or Rory at EFF.org . If you have any questions or want to get involved with EFF, I'm happy to chat with people. Michael: Excellent. Thanks so much. And we'll put links to all of those things in our show notes. Great. I want to thank you, Roy, for coming out today. We covered a wide gamut of topics from privacy concerns to AI and IP to open source education. I really appreciate your valuable insights on this wide range of topics. So thanks so much for joining us today. Rory: Yeah. Thank you for having me and for raising these issues. < Previous Episode Next Episode >

ONLINE COACHING Online coaching sessions have the same objectives, techniques, and structure as in-person sessions with some contextual differences. The majority of material sharing and coach demonstrations will occur via screen sharing and some materials may need to be sent to clients in advance of the sessions. In order to ensure we are providing the best possible support for both our online and in-person clients, there are a few key points to keep in mind. Attention and Engagement We want to be as effective as possible during our coaching sessions and facilitating student engagement is an important component of our efficacity. Many of the students we see struggle with attention and this struggle can be compounded in the context of online sessions. We want to take all possible steps to reduce and mitigate attention issues resulting from coaching in an online environment. -become familiar with the session delivery software (zoom, etc), there are usually tutorials available online if needed -ensure parents can provide a distraction reduced space for the online session -have the student come prepared with any and all regular materials (writing/drawing supplies, frequently used manipulatives, Technical Issues We seldom have technology without technical issues. The best way to deal with technical issues is through anticipation and preparation. Here are some tips to help prepare for and address the most common technical issues -always do a dry run before the lesson if your are trying something new, whether this is a new website or a new type of document you want to screenshare -be the host of the meeting, there are some things you will want to do, like screen share, that you usually need to be the host of the meeting to accomplish -have a parent contact number handy, if the session is suddenly interrupted, this allows you to coordinate a solution with the clients -have alternate analog materials and activities at the ready in case of issues with digital materials BACK TO MANUAL CONTENTS