This document discusses the proliferation of white nationalist propaganda online and provides resources to help educators teach students how to critically evaluate online information and stand up to hate speech. It describes how white nationalists spread misinformation online to recruit young people and sow division. It provides three resources for educators - a toolkit from Western States Center on confronting white nationalism in schools, a guide called "Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers" that teaches skills for evaluating online claims, and a website called "Media Power Youth" that offers lessons on discriminating content and creating a positive digital footprint. The overall message is that educators must help students develop skills to critically analyze information online and counter white nationalist narratives, while still protecting free speech.

1. 8 Teaching for High Potential | May 2020
Standing Against the Online White
Nationalist Movement
T
he term ‘infollution’ (combination of information and
pollution), coined by Dr. Paek-Jae Cho in 2002, de-
scribes the loathsome consequences of the ever
expanding industrialization of our information tech-
nology systems. Our digital ecosystem is littered with spam,
misanthropic communities, and the digital divide—illuminating
the gap between the presence and absence of digital infor-
mation. Infollution results from people creating multiple name-
less internet identities, circulating erroneous information, and
glamorizing anti-social behaviors. Jessie Daniels, author of
The Algorithmic Rise of the ‘Alt-Right’, writes that white nation-
alists thrive in polluted digital ecosystems because it affords
them the space to mask the truth about the world around us
by spreading disinformation and falsehoods about racially and
ethnically different cultures. In these spaces, white national-
ists cleverly leverage the ‘many-to-many’ communication plat-
forms (e.g., social-media outlets, blogs, and Wikis), where like-
minded, non-experts publish and disseminate factless-based
opinions as truth.
An unfortunate byproduct of the internet has been the pro-
liferation of propaganda by white nationalist groups. Their aim,
of course, is to seed discontentment and sow divisiveness by
polluting our digital ecosystems with contaminated informa-
tion (Pandita, 2014). As educators and proponents of critical
consumption of information, we must re-double our efforts to
de-litter the information superhighway. At stake is the intellec-
tual and social well-being of our young people.
It is not necessary to dedicate space in this column to chron-
icle the evils of white nationalism as it is well documented in
other outlets. It is important, however, to detail age appropriate
educational resources that help teachers and students work to-
gether and stand against infollution. The phrase ‘stand against’
is important because it denotes an active, rather than zealous
response to a societal evil. Remember, we should never be-
come so fervent in our efforts to eradicate hate that we erode
our First Amendment right guaranteeing freedom of speech.
The tools below will help you to strike that important balance.
Western States Center: Confronting White Nationalism in
Schools—A Toolkit
www.westernstatescenter.org/schools
The Wester States Center’s mission, located in Portland, Or-
egon, is to “connect and build the power of community orga-
nizations; to challenge and transform individuals, organizations
and systems to achieve racial, gender, and economic justice.”
The free toolkit, geared to middle and high school students,
provides best practice suggestions for building community
among a student body, and offers scenarios that teachers
can use with students where they practice standing up to hate
speech. This resource is a good first step for teachers looking
for help in countering white nationalists’ school-based orga-
nization efforts. Students who become connected with online
hate groups often do so because they feel isolated and are
looking for a place of belonging. Creating a school safety-
net where all students feel connected to a caring community
reduces the likelihood of a student becoming isolated and re-
cruited by hate groups.
Web Literacy For Student Fact-Checkers…And Other
People Who Care About Facts
https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com
This online book by Mike Caulfield is one of the most ap-
proachable resources on the internet for young people that fo-
cuses on the skills necessary to sift through the digital ecosys-
tem’s infollution. Billed as an instructional manual for reading on
the modern internet, it details how students can easily use date
filters to seek the truth about viral content, quickly determine the
reputation of a scientific journal, and purposefully avoid confir-
mation bias in search terms. The guide relies on four internet ba-
sics that everyone should implement: (1) checking for previous
work—i.e., fact checking, (2) going upstream to the source—
i.e., finding original source information, (3) reading laterally—i.e.,
what are others saying about the information, (4) circling back—
i.e., knowing what to do when you are in an internet dead-end or
rabbit hole. While the book does not focus on strategies about
standing against white nationalism, the skills taught in this book
are practical and contemporary.
Media Power Youth
https://mediapoweryouth.org
Standing against white nationalism requires teachers and
students to have honest conversations about the content por-
trayed in media. The Media Power Youth website offers re-
sources that teach students how to discriminately surf their
media-rich digital ecosystems and to create a positive digital
footprint. According to Daniels (2018), the latest incarnation of
white nationalists combines modern day search engine opti-
mization algorithms with age-old coded language to produce
fake news aimed at confusing youth about cultural minori-
ties. The curriculum contains 30 modules designed for middle
school-aged students that covers Appropriate Media Use,
Bullying and Violence, Children’s Sexual Health, Media in the
21st Century Classroom, Nutrition, and Substance Abuse.
the DIGITAL ecosystem
Kevin D. Besnoy, University of Alabama
kdbesnoy@bamaed.ua.edu | Twitter: @UoAGifted
Digital Ecosystem Blog: gifteddigitalecosystem.blogspot.com
continued on page 17

2. May 2020 | Teaching for High Potential 17www.nagc.org
Editor’s Note: This article references the 2010
NAGC Gifted Programming Standards. Since
acceptance and publication, a new updated
and revised version of these standards was
released. Visit nagc.org for more information.
References
Callahan, C. M. (2016). Developing a plan for
evaluating services provided to gifted stu-
dents. In R. D. Eckert & J. H. Robins
(Eds.), Designing services and programs for
high-ability learners: A guidebook for gifted
education (pp. 225-238). Corwin.
Cao, T. H., Jung, J. Y., & Lee, J. (2017). As-
sessment in Gifted Education: A Review of
theLiteratureFrom2005to2016.Journalof
Advanced Academics, 28(3), 163-203.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1932202X
17714572
Robinson, A., Cotabish, A., Wood, B. K., &
O’Tuel, F. S. (2014). The effects of a state
wide evaluation initiative in gifted educa-
tion on practitioner knowledge, concerns,
and program documentation. Journal
of Advanced Academics, 25(4), 349-383.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X1454
9356
VanTassel-Baska, J. (2006). A content
analysis of evaluation findings across
20 gifted programs: A call for enhanced
gifted program development. Gifted
Child Quarterly, 50(3), 199-215. https://doi.
org/10.1177/001698620605000302
Resources for Local Gifted Education
Program Coordinators
Books
Callahan, C., & Reis, S. (Eds.) (2015.) Pro
gram evaluation in gifted education. Corwin.
Eckert, R.D., & Robins J.H. (Eds.) (2016). De
signing services and programs for high-
ability learners: A guidebook for gifted
education. Corwin.
Johnson, S. K. (Ed.) (2012). NAGC Pre-
K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Program-
ming Standards: A guide to planning and
implementing high-quality services. Pru-
frock Press.
Weblinks
Annotated Code of Maryland (COMAR)
13A.04.07
www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/
Documents/Gifted-Talented/COMAR_
13A0407_GT_Education.pdf
Maryland’s Criteria for Excellence: Gifted and
Talented Program Guidelines
www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/
Documents/Gifted-Talented/CriteriaExcel
lenceGTProgramExcellenceGuidelines.pdf
Maryland EGATE Application
www.marylandpublicschools.org/programs/
Documents/Gifted-Talented/2018EGATE
Application.docx
NAGC Administrator Toolkit
www.nagc.org/resources-publications/re
sources-administrators/administrator-toolbox
NAGC Master Checklist of Gifted Program
Elements for Self-Assessment
www.nagc.org/sites/default/files/adminis
trators/GT%20Program%20Master%20
Checklist.pdf
National Association for Gifted Children,
(2010). Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming
Standards: A blueprint for quality gifted edu-
cation programs
www.nagc.org/resources-publications/re
sources/national-standards-gifted-and-tal
ented-education/pre-k-grade-12
digital ecosystem
continued from page 8
taking the lead
continued from page 9
We live in an age where people can express their unfiltered
thoughts and then broadcast them to a large audience. When
used to express positive messages and ideas that promote
peace among the global citizenry, the internet can be a con-
structive change agent. However, when used to spread ha-
tred and create distrust, the internet contaminates our delicate
digital ecosystem. The internet should always remain a place
where people can freely express their ideas, even hateful ones.
It’s not our responsibility to censure the ideas promoted by
white nationalists; rather, we must develop the digital savvi-
ness to stand against them. THP
References
Cho, Paek J. (2002). “’Infollution’ and the Quality of Life”. Speech
delivered at the 14th biennial conference of International Telecom-
munications Society (ITS). Retreived, February 1, 2020 from http://
stanford.edu/~ncho/Infollution_manuscript_PJCho_2002.pdf.
Daniels, J. (2018). The algorithmic rise of the alt right. Contexts, 17(1),
60-65. DOI 10.1177/1536504218766547.
Pandita, R. (2014). Information pollution, a mounting threat: Internet a
major causality. Journal of Information Science Theory and Prac
tice, 2(4), 49-60.
rereading these entries. These planners became a place where
I had notes about my teaching and I could pull from it a pattern
of what worked and what types of lessons were successful.
The ability to be reflective allows teachers to enhance their
craft. By reflecting on our practices, we can better deter-
mine our effectiveness. This process of thinking about think-
ing, metacognition, allows teachers to slow down. Research
shows that taking time to be reflective improves job perfor-
mance in the long run. Research supports that taking time out
for reflection could leave us better off! THP
Resources
Di Stefano, G. (2014). Learning by thinking: How reflection improves
performance. hbswk.hbs.edu/item/learning-by-thinking-how-re
flection-improves-performance
Neumeister K. S. & Burney, V. H. (2019). Gifted program evaluation:
A handbook for administrators and coordinators (2nd ed.). Prufrock
Press
Milton, J. (2005). Microevaluation of teaching and learning in courses.
RMIT University