iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hypothetically, what if you had a new book coming out in Nov. & hadn’t really announced it yet, but B&N launched a *25% off* pre-order sale today and tomorrow? Maybe you’d provide this link & ask everyone to act surprised down the line? 😅 Fair, right? www.barnesandnoble.com/w/team-up-wi...

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I made a resource for this! Hope it helps! stevechiger.com/wp-content/u...

An image of the poetry resource I created.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

There is no better feeling for an author than seeing their book in a school. Standing offer to do a FREE Q&A with any school that does a PLC or book study with either! (One is on 5-12 English pedagogy, the other is a kid-facing chapter book with solve-it-yourself media-lit mysteries.)

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

All day—Last chance to grab a FREE kindle copy of Gram and Gran Save the Summer: acclaimed solve-it-yourself media literacy mysteries for ages 7-12. Leaving an honest rating or review helps us out! a.co/d/h8F492Q #EduSky #TLSky

A meme about the dearth of media literacy skills.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Get ready for much more stuff like this. An (interesting!) article about a photograph leading with…an AI generated image. We need to help students be ready to navigate this world, and fast.

An article about a photograph that leads with an AI-generated version of it.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

SUPER proud of my partner Charell Star for publishing her memoir today! It’s one thing to write about what you know, but it’s another to write about what you’ve experienced. Powerful, moving, and full of lessons in joy & resilience to live by. a.co/d/dZT8OLf

Charell Star holding her new memoir: Trash Bag Tales & Other Stories of an Accidentally Happy Life.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

If you’re a US follower and this has made you curious, consider coming to the NYC conference next month! bit.ly/rEDNYC

researchED NYC flier — get tix at bit.ly/rEDNYC

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Had a blast talking to folks at @researchedbrum.bsky.social about student discourse (and how it’s not the same as conversation). A great, engaged group who make me so proud to play a tiny part in their success story! #rEDBRUM

A core idea from the book Love & Literacy — discourse is talk that changes what and how we think.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

A new report finds 40% of kids under 2 have their own tablet. By 8, about 1 in 4 have a smartphone. This is why media literacy education isn’t a triviality that can wait until HS. www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/defaul...

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

It was fun to be quoted in this article on how my community is thinking about kids and technology! Being thoughtful about media literacy and kids' developmental needs is a conversation worth having, wherever you live. mattersmagazineissues.com/Winter2025/?...

The portion of the article where I'm quoted.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Hey, @hibitus-habitus.bsky.social— a children’s librarian compared Gram and Gran Save the Summer to The Mysterious Benedict Society. I just read it — it’s great…an honor to be compared to a book like that!

The Mysterious Benedict Society book cover.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Hope you’ll join us! Looks like a lot of cool sessions at this one!

A session promotion for my researchED talk on reading comprehension in secondary grades.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Get your tickets now for ResearchED NYC! The speaker list is a who’s who of ppl I admire! Should be terrific! www.eventbrite.com/o/researched... #researchED

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Just was reading about the “trust flip” in images (we used to instinctively rely on video and photos, but those days are gone), and here’s what NYT interrupts with. As an immersive dystopian art project, I have no notes.

An update from the NYT saying Meta will stop fact checking and now rely on FB and Insta users.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Happy Belated Public Domain Day! Here’s what’s now available, along with a fav cartoon of mine from a few years ago (credit Lukey McGarry). Go forth and create! #edusky www.npr.org/2024/12/26/n...

Cartoon from a few years ago by Lukey McGarry.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

(2/2) digital literacy. My gut is that we should start younger there. But I have a bias! I’m a former HS journalism teacher who felt that AND I wrote a book for this age group in response (also for my son). I tried to back up my opinion w/action, but surely that biases me! ☺️

The front and back cover of Gram & Gran Save the Summer, a book for gr 3-6 that teaches media literacy through narrative puzzles.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Oh, yes. You guys rock! Canada is further along than we are in the states. I am thinking of #middlegrades in the library sense, so instructional grades 3-6. Here in the US, states are starting to pass laws requiring K-12 instruction, but there is a resource gap, esp. as best I can tell with (1/2)

A screenshot of NAMLE’s state of media literacy education, 2024 report, recommending that we strengthen pre-K6 media literacy education.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Bonus post: apologies for very briefly describing some complex ideas. Happy to hear I’m misreading Andrew’s book. Go buy yourself a copy for a detailed, practical discussion—it’s great!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Instead of teaching “one simple trick” like counting fingers, we need to shape students’ schema and habits of mind: Do I have the full context for this image? Do I know who made it? Are other, reputable sources sharing it? Visual tricks aren’t new—but AI commodified them. 6/7

A still from the famous (infamous?) Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film from 1967.

An AI-generated copy of the Patterson-Gimlin film stil... replacing Bigfoot with Cookie Monster.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

You may have seen this joke online. It plays off the idea that visual literacy is a question of orienting yourself to the right things. It’s the “just look at the fingers” approach to AI. Y’all, that’s not going to work for the long term—it barely does now. It's not an "orienting" question. 4/7

A meme about AI. The image is captioned with an expert circling small tells that it's AI generated, missing that the woman in the photo has feet where her hands should be.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Andrew discusses Posner’s theory of attention. Quick version: alertness, orienting, & executive attention all comprise what we think of as “attention.” EG., you aren’t alert, it won’t matter whether you're oriented to a class explanation. You'll miss it. So how does this link to AI? Here’s how: 3/7

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I’m inspired a bit by @andrewwatsonttb.bsky.social’s writing on attention in Learning Begins. To wit, we might tell a student to “pay attention” w/o really understanding the sub-processes that involves. (Stay with me — I will make the connection. 😅) 2/7

The cover of Andrew Watson's book Learning Begins.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Can confirm that seeing one’s book in a library catalogue is a dream. I can’t check with school libraries, but that’s where I think a middle grade mystery-fantasy that teaches #medialiteracy finds its best readers. Still trying to find a way to reach out to more! #tlsky #skybrarian

A picture of Gram and Gram Save the Summer in a library catalog.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Humanities dead? Nah. Humanities changing? Happening, and has been happening, all around us. Smart questions — the right ones, I think. (To be clear, I’m still very much pro-books in English class.)

The old Maxwell ad—featuring a man in a chair being blown away by the power of a speaker.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Step 1) Get your free ebook and see the text even Google AI can’t help but love! 2) Leave an honest rating or review for us! (Not required, just appreciated) 3) Consider it for all the wonderful kids in your life!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Let’s do a holiday GIVEAWAY! On Monday, my publisher @teachergoals.bsky.social will offer Gram and Gran e-books for free! It teaches #medialiteracy to grade 3-7 readers using stories and puzzles. And it’s super silly! See teachergoals.com/winterbreak/ #tlsky #edusky

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Say it ain’t so, Australia! 👇🏼Especially not when your own rockstar @loueee.bsky.social has illustrated a wonderful kids’ book about it. Check out gramandgran.com if you’re interested — @hibitus-habitus.bsky.social and I have tested these jokes in multiple hemispheres and can confirm you’ll chuckle!

One of Louis Decrevel’s amazing images for the book Gram and Gran Save the Summer.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Kudos to @mrzachg.bsky.social on his new book! I started to flip through a few pages this morning and wound up engrossed. (Good news for learning, less good news for my still unfolded laundry.) This book is *stuffed* with research and its practical implications for instruction. Wow!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Genuine, not-spicy question. I’m thinking with some folks about disciplinary literacy. Heard some great research at #ncte on this and curious for more. Anyone have go-to articles/research they can recommend—including the most straightforward definition you’ve read? #edusky

The ILA’s comment on disciplinary literacy in its Adolescent Readers statement.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Had so much fun presenting a small bit of the #NCTE assessment committee’s session today. Take that, imposter syndrome!

A picture of the NCTE assessment committee

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Here’s Tim Shanahan on why he is against three-cueing AND laws against it. Let’s make Bluesky a place for nuanced takes. (OK, this one does get a tiny bit spicy at the very end.) 🍎 www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/three-c...

A person with a book for a head. I’ve seen this image credited to Edward Gorey.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 04/10/2024

📚📚📚Teacher friends! In honor of our being featured in @medialiteracyed’s resource share, Gram & Gran is *free* this weekend on Kindle! Please check it out and share this post if you’re up for supporting perhaps the only chapter book that also teaches media literacy!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 18/09/2024

English teachers: Are you assigning fewer books? As a curriculum director, I ❤️ the attention on pressures I know are real for many English teachers. But as a former journo, I have to ask: how many? The article doesn’t say, making it hard to assess. www.usnews.com/news/us/arti...

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

Very much enjoyed How Do We Learn? Probably now in my top five books on research and pedagogy — a must read. H/T @douglemov.bsky.social for recommending it!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 11/09/2024

It makes me so happy to see Love & Literacy (on secondary English pedagogy) in a school’s CPD library! If your team ever reads it, I’ll come do a Zoom Q&A! Free! Let’s talk shop! 🤓

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 08/09/2024

So jealous of all of you who got to learn at #rED24 yesterday. If any of you will be in the Northeast US this fall, we can catch up there! (I’ll talk on reading comprehension.) Meanwhile, I’ll keep being inspired from afar. What a fantastic movement. Hoping it catches on here, too! #rEDDE

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 25/08/2024

Yes! Try Gram and Gran Save the Summer! (gramandgran.com). It uses fiction to teach media literacy to ES/MS kids. We’re endorsed by experts and whimsical in the way The Phantom Tollbooth is. Hope folks take a look! As best we know, there’s nothing out there quite like it.

Cover of Gram and Gran Save the Summer, a whimsical chapter book that teaches media literacy to ES/MS students.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 23/08/2024

These meta-analysis findings ($) are both obvious and bear consideration: people don’t necessarily love thinking hard. For educators, it emphasizes the need for structure, community building, and empathy. We — rightly, lovingly — ask a lot of our kids. #edusky psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 22/08/2024

Full disclosure: I’m hoping that checking out this text helps you fall in love with it, b/c I think it deserves a place in your library or even larger curriculum, esp if you teach late primary or early secondary. But you be the judge!

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 20/08/2024

And the last two. We make better choices in our classroom when we understand the "why" behind the "what."

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 20/08/2024

Some answers, with citations. (Sorry they are less fun without the animations.) There is nuance in a few of these, which I tried to address with the group. :)

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 20/08/2024

Hi, #EduSky. Here's a fun game I played with teachers this past week: which of the following edu-statements are true, kinda-true, or debunked? It was a great way to open up a conversation on what research can tell us and why it undergirds our work.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 17/08/2024

So many great books that folx have already named here. So, I’ll add so additional titles: Jonathan Kozol’s reporting and Make It Stick.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 15/08/2024

Have had a lot of fun visiting schools to talk about the power of discourse (and practical strategies for making it happen). It's not just feel good stuff. Here's a study suggesting that even classes that get kids to *think* a ton are outpaced by those who accompany that thinking with talk.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 11/08/2024

If you’re interested, here’s a link to more about the text, for late ES/early MS in the US or KS2-3 for those of you on #UKEd. I’ll do a free Zoom Q&A with any class who reads it. There’s a free teacher guide linked, too. www.gram-and-gran.com

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 07/08/2024

Oooh! Will need to check this out. If you’re looking for a resource for late primary/early secondary, have you seen gramandgran.com? To the best of my knowledge, it’s the only book for this age using fiction and curiosity to teach media and #newsliteracy. Hope you’ll check it out!

Cover of Gram and Gran Save the Summer, an innovative text that teaches media literacy using whimsical stories and playful puzzles.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 07/08/2024

I tried to fit that in my post and ran out of words. But it’s totes in my bio. Want to get this right.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 07/08/2024

Let me know if you read! I’m currently reading James and really enjoying it.

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 07/10/2023

Family visits mean museum trips. And I can’t help thinking about how the things we see connect to the work we do designing English curriculum. #EduSky stevechiger.com/four-things-...

An example of Dutch Still Life painting. Heda’s “Still Life With a Gilt Cup.”

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Steve Chiger @stevechiger.bsky.social · 28/09/2023

For those of us who spend hours reading and analyzing student work, the ability to translate handwriting is HUGE. If #ai could only do this and nothing else, that’d be life-changing enough. 🤗 H/T @ethan_mollick (on other platforms) #EduSky

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