Digital Consumers
In a recent article on Ars Technia (The “Google generation” not so hot at Googling, after all), Nate Anderson reviewed a study by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee that examined the internet researching habits of the “Google Generation”–those born after 1993 that have no memory of life prior to the World Wide Web. (The full report is available as a PDF file and is well worth reading.) One of Anderson’s statements struck an immediate chord with me:
“Knowing how to use Facebook doesn’t make one an Internet search god, and the report concludes that a literature review shows no movement (either good or bad) in young people’s information skills over the last several decades”
It was somewhat gratifying to see empirical evidence of a trend that I have observed anecdotally for quite some time. We tend to assume that, because post-secondary students typically have laptops, WiFi enabled cell phones, and other digital tools that they are expert technology users. I would agree that most of the “Googlers” are highly facile with the tools and processes that they use, but I would also assert that these tools may be limited in scope and are not necessarily the tools that will bring academic success. Students are quite adept at using social networking tools such as FaceBook and MySpace and with shopping sites, but many do not know the basics of productivity applications such as PowerPoint, Word, or image editing tools. Many do not know how to install software or add a printer. Wikipedia is often the first and only source of information for a research topic. And, for as much time as they spend Googling, many do not know how to form cogent search queries.
We tend to call students of this generation “digital natives.” I would assert that they may be more properly called “digital consumers.” And, we tend to blame them for their lack of skills when, in reality, we–their teachers–are the culprits.
One of the roles that educators at all levels need to embrace is that of a guide to the appropriate uses of technology for learning. Social networking tools such as blogs and wikis have tremendous potential for engaging students in the learning process if they are applied thoughtfully and evaluated rigorously. We should be teaching and reinforcing good research skills every day in every classroom, including instruction on how to compose search queries and where to look for reliable sources. (Check this web site from CollegeDegree.com for 25 sites for reliable, researched facts.) We should be working digital content creation–digital photography, digital video, podcasts, etc.–into our lessons on a regular basis. And we should be good models to our students, using technology in our own teaching and learning processes.
The Dark Side of Technology
My favorite teaching assignment is a class titled “Teaching with Technology.” In this class, we examine not only how to teach with technology but also why to teach with it. We look at ubiquitous computing environments (“one to one programs”) as well as a variety of other models for the effective use of technology to increase student engagement and performance. We have some very thoughtful discussions on whether or not an over-reliance on technology is appropriate. Can too much technology be a bad thing?
According to a recent editorial from the Washington Post–A School That’s Too High on Gizmos–the answer may be yes. Patrick Walsh, reviewing the situation at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA, found that the school’s propensity to buy every latest tech toy and to force the teachers to use them is reducing moral among staff and even causing students to wonder whether or not technology is a useful tool. School administrators seem to thrive on headlines made by the acquisition of the latest and greatest technology, and that “technolust” appears to be driving educational decisions usually left up to classroom teachers.
Clearly, this situation has been brought about by a deep misunderstanding on the part of the school administration about what constitutes good teaching. Gadgets do not produce good teaching. In fact, they may have just the opposite effect if they are not employed properly. Providing tools that teachers need–and ask for–is critical to the success of any school. Case in point–The Denali Borough School District, headquartered in Healy, AK, has a very successful one to one laptop program. There are several factors that are critical to its success. They began by moving to a standards-based assessment system that essentially provided every student with an individualized academic program. They brought teachers in on the decision making process and provided (and continue to provide, in the fifth year of the one to one program) a half day of professional development per week during the academic year. They provide tech support that is oriented toward the needs of educators and not the needs of an IT department. And, they know when to ask their students to close their laptops.
The folks at T. C. Williams seem to have it backwards. They buy the technology and then try to figure out how to use it. Successful programs–and there are many–decide how technology can help them teach and then find ways to acquire it. There’s a huge difference between those two approaches.
Why Do American Kids Hate Books?
A recent ComputerWorld article by Mike Elgan–Will Cell Phones Save Books?–provides some thought-provoking ideas about the general decline of reading in the United States. Elgan quotes a recent article from the New Yorker magazine:
Americans are losing not just the will to read but even the ability. According to the Department of Education, between 1992 and 2003 the average adult’s skill in reading prose slipped one point on a 500-point scale, and the proportion who were proficient — capable of such tasks as “comparing viewpoints in two editorials” — declined from 15% to 13.
Why is this? An article referenced by Elgan–Is A New Dark Age At Hand?–suggests that the process began long before the Internet and the World Wide Web conditioned us to brief explanations, sound bites and video clips. Radio and television began the process; politicians and marketeers exacerbated it, and the Web has made it even easier to avoid the need to read to get information.
So, is the lack of interest in reading a result of technology? If that were the case, you’d expect that the more technology a society has available to it, the less interest there would be in reading. Most countries are experiencing the same decline in reading as the United States, except for one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world–Japan. But why?
It turns out that cell phone novels are very popular in Japan. Cell phone novels are composed on cell phones, downloaded to other cell phones, and read on cell phones. Everyone in Japan has a cell phone, so a potential good read is always with you. Who writes them? Everyone, apparently. The No. 5 best-selling print book in Japan last year, according to the Times, was written first on a cell phone by a girl during her senior year in high school. Mainstream publishers are courting cell phone authors due to the immense popularity of their works.
Elgan believes this is why reading remains a popular activity in Japan. It’s interactive. You’re not simply a consumer of mass media controlled by a few publishing houses trying to make as much money as they can. You can easily choose what you want to read and, more importantly, you can contribute your own work to the system. If you’re a good writer, you’ll probably find an audience. Additionally, you will understand the process of creating literature and what makes good and bad literature.
Switch back to the US for a minute. How do we teach children to love reading? Assign them all the same novel? Make them write a book report? Take a test on the contents?
Could we do it any worse?
Getting Your Message Out
Many universities use Elluminate Live! for distance classes. ELive is a fine tool lets users share application screens and whiteboards, participate in audio chat sessions, and move into breakout rooms for small group discussions. Sessions can be saved and viewed later. I use it in my own classes for many tasks.
But what if you don’t have access to ELive, or need to use only certain features? What if you don’t need synchronous communication with your audience?
There are some free alternatives to ELive that are worth your consideration.
Google Presently
The latest addition to Google Docs is Presently, a presentation program that resembles and works with PowerPoint. Existing PowerPoint presentations can be uploaded and viewed at any time, or the author (or designated collaborators) can take control of the presentation and walk viewers through it. There is a text chat window so that viewers can communicate with each other or with presenters but no audio chat feature. Uploaded PowerPoint presentations will not show any animation at all (bullet points, slide transitions, etc.) and action buttons will not work. While it sounds limited, when employed for simple instruction it can be a very useful tool. This presentation was uploaded from an existing PowerPoint presentation and shows the utility of having web access to an instructional document.
To use Presently, all you need is a Google account. If you have a GMail account, use Google Reader, or keep a Blogger bog, you already have one.
SketchCast
First there was podcasting. Then came vcasting and screencasting. As of a few weeks ago, we now have sketchcasting.
Imagine that you are a high school math teacher standing at a whiteboard walking your class through a geometric proof. You draw a few figures on the board, make a few comments as you go, and arrive at the final proof. That is the concept behind SketchCast. SketchCast gives you a whiteboard with different colored markers onto which you sketch your ideas while you (optionally) narrate your sketch. This process is recorded and produces a video that can be embedded into a web page or blog or can be saved online for viewing by anyone. It really helps to have a graphics tablet with a pen to make your sketch, but it will work with a mouse or trackpad. If your mousing skills aren’t great, you can enter text from the keyboard by selecting the text tool, but you only get one font in one size. You can’t paste images from another source–you’re limited to what you draw or type on the whiteboard.
Still, there are some instances when a SketchCast could come in very handy. Math comes to mind immediately–solving an equation, working through a proof, simplifying a fraction, etc. Many art activities are possible–cartooning, specific pencil or color techniques, for example. How about sounding out words using the audio feature?
WizIQ
WizIQ shares many features of Elluminate: two-way audio, text chat, shared whiteboard, and PowerPoint and PDF Document sharing capabilities. It’s designed as a way to deliver tutorial information either in real time or as a saved archive. Members (membership is free) can schedule real time sessions and invite participants, participate in others’ sessions, browse from a wide variety of saved sessions, and search for other members with similar interests. Real time sessions include audio, chat, and shared documents. Saved archives function much like PowerPoint presentations, including some animation and embedded sounds. Some PowerPoint features–action buttons, for example–do not work, but there are on-screen controls for stepping through the slides. Saved sessions may also be embedded into web pages or blogs. Like Presently, you can upload existing PowerPoint documents.
WizIQ makes sense as a way to deliver online tutorial content to an audience. It’s not better than Elluminate in this regard, but it’s free.
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What Can Kids Do?
This morning I was made aware of a very powerful web site called What Kids Can Do. WKCD’s purpose is to promote adolescents as valuable resources (rather than as problems) and to showcase the power of what young people can accomplish when given proper opportunity and support. The Feature Stories and Special Collections sections of WKCD contain wonderful case studies of young people in action reforming schools, creating new knowledge, and even learning how to subsist in rural Alaska.
It was the latter that provided my introduction to WKCD. A student of mine from Russian Mission, AK wrote a compelling blog post about how the school there handles the subsistence issue in rural Alaska. Many rural Alaskans depend on fishing, hunting, and gathering to provide food for the winter, and this sometimes conflicts with school schedules. (You know–the schedule that lets us out in the summer months to work on the farm…) Following the author’s suggestion to google “Russian Mission school subsistence” led me to WKCD and a wonderful article (“Outside Is Our School”) about Russian Mission’s school-based subsistence program. I won’t spoil the beauty of the words and images contained in the article, other than to tell you that I learned something very important today. You can too.
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Preparing Students for College?
This article from eSchool News–Report: Schools Aren’t Preparing Kids for College–is required reading. In it, eSchool News Assistant Editor Meris Stansbury reports on a panel discussion convened by the Alliance for Excellent Education that examined AEE’s brief on how US high schools do–or don’t–prepare students for success in college.
Some of the findings:
- Thirty-four percent of US high school students graduate ready for college;
- Eighteen percent of high school freshmen graduate in four years, go on to college, and earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree;
- One-third of those who make it to college must take remedial courses;
- Sixty-five percent of college professors do not believe that high school standards prepare students for college
The issue is not just one of preparing students for college. According to ACT’s Cyndie Schmeiser, “recent studies have shown that the skills needed to succeed in college are similar to the skills needed for good-paying jobs.”
Don’t finish reading this post. Go read the article, and download the AEE’s brief, “AEE’s Issue Brief: “High School Teaching for the Twenty-First Century: Preparing Students for College.”
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Teachers’ Domain: High Quality Video Content
As I mentioned in some of my earlier posts (see Free Online Videos and Free Online Videos, Part Two), research tells us that having “just-in-time” video resources available for students has a positive effect on achievement, time on task, and overall engagement. Commercial services such as United Streaming Media provide these media, but licenses can be expensive and are usually handled at a district level.
That’s why I am on a constant search for free, high quality video resources for teachers. One of the best such resources came to my attention recently. Teachers’ Domain offers an exceptional collection of very high quality Open Educational Resources video content across a variety of topics as well as excellent professional development opportunities in the form of online classes using resources from NOVA and other PBS programming.
The online content offered by Teachers’ Domain is compelling. You’ll find a variety of QuickTime movies, interactive Flash applications, images, PDF files, web links, and lesson plans categorized by topic and grade level. Most of these resources can be viewed online, which is good in itself, but an exciting feature is the ability to (legally!) download and even remix resources for your own purposes.
Social networking capabilities have not been overlooked. You can create online folders to store links to content that you will reuse at a later date, and you can create groups of other Teachers’ Domain users to share resources, lesson plans, and ideas.
Teachers’ Domain should be on every teacher’s favorites list.
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