So, I'm becoming increasingly convinced that our Digital Nation hasn't yet defined its own boundaries.
For class this week, we watched an episode of the PBS program Frontline called "Digital Nation" that explored the benefits and drawbacks of our ever-connected culture.
The episode included educators, sociologists and business leaders who celebrated cell phones, the Internet and other technologies for bringing the world closer together; and it featured researchers who see technology as tearing us all apart.
What I got most out of it is that we really don't have a clue yet what long-term consequences these developments will have on our world.
Sure, it's easy to see the immediate impacts -- students are multi-tasking more and reading less. But to even venture a guess as to any long-term psychological or societal impacts strikes me as completely premature. Today's technology natives may lose all communication skills and devolve back to the stone age. Or multi-tasking might unlock brain capacities beyond what we've ever imagined. But we won't know either way for many years to come.
Of course then, it'll probably be too late to save us.
p.s. The other tidbit I garnered from this video is how frightening virtual reality can be.
In the end, I don't believe that texting, or the Internet will be the death of our society. But I do believe that the real damage could come through the melding of the real and virtual worlds. I fear that the more people defer to a virtual world, the more they could potentially lose touch with their own.
This point was drilled home for me in the video when they spoke about the video gaming centers set up by the U.S. Army. According to the producers, the Army has closed a number of recruiting centers around Philadelphia in favor of "Army Experience Centers," in which kids 13 and older are invited to come to play video games.
Army officials interviewed for the show say the centers are never going to replicate "the real thing." And yet the video also explores how the military is replacing real fighter planes with unmanned drones operated by "pilots" from thousands of miles away.
My fear is that, due to the distance, operating an unmanned drone stands to become a little more than a virtual experience, which leads me to ask, are these video games little more than training for these kids? It's a frightening concept.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Students, please set your phones to LOUD
High School must be a different beast these days.
Not only do teachers need to deal with students and all their backtalk, but they have to deal with their phones, as well.
Calling, texting, surfing -- phones have integrated themselves in every part of our lives, including school. And teachers and administrators across the country are having to re-write their rulebooks to accommodate them.
Some schools allow them between periods, others ban them outright. But in England, among other places, I'm sure, some academics are looking to welcome them into the learning process.
In the Winter 2009 issue of "The Futurist," the regular journal of the World Future Society, Rick Docksai reports on a British study that lauds the benefits of cell phones in the classroom.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Nottingham, tracked 331 teenage students across five schools that incorporated cell phones into their classrooms. Among other tasks, the students used the phones to record lessons, access websites, create movies and set homework reminders, according to the article. They used the phones to transport homework back and forth, and to time activities, as well.
Teachers and students throughout the article celebrate the use of phones as another way for students to reach their students. "We hope that, in the future, mobile phone use will be as natural as using any other technology in school," Elizabeth Hartnell- Young, co-author of the study, says in the piece. But I'm not sold yet on the idea of bringing cell phones into the classroom (Docksai, 2009).
Certainly, they could aid the education process, as can many other tools. And maybe in the years to come there will be a place for them. But, for the moment at least ,the opportunity for phones to distract students seems too great.
Phones are more than a means of communications now, for teenagers especially. Teenagers use them as toys to play with friends, chatting casually and sharing jokes, gossip and information.
I believe strongly there will be a time when our use of cell phones, as a society, off and they will be used more for basic communication than entertainment. But until that happens, I'm afraid they're simply a distraction and should be keep out of the classroom as much as possible.
Docksai, R. (2009). Teens and cell phones. The Futurist, 43, 10-11. Retrieved April 24 2011, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1606130781&SrchMode=1&sid=8&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1303684450&clientId=49311/.
Not only do teachers need to deal with students and all their backtalk, but they have to deal with their phones, as well.
Calling, texting, surfing -- phones have integrated themselves in every part of our lives, including school. And teachers and administrators across the country are having to re-write their rulebooks to accommodate them.
Some schools allow them between periods, others ban them outright. But in England, among other places, I'm sure, some academics are looking to welcome them into the learning process.
In the Winter 2009 issue of "The Futurist," the regular journal of the World Future Society, Rick Docksai reports on a British study that lauds the benefits of cell phones in the classroom.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Nottingham, tracked 331 teenage students across five schools that incorporated cell phones into their classrooms. Among other tasks, the students used the phones to record lessons, access websites, create movies and set homework reminders, according to the article. They used the phones to transport homework back and forth, and to time activities, as well.
Teachers and students throughout the article celebrate the use of phones as another way for students to reach their students. "We hope that, in the future, mobile phone use will be as natural as using any other technology in school," Elizabeth Hartnell- Young, co-author of the study, says in the piece. But I'm not sold yet on the idea of bringing cell phones into the classroom (Docksai, 2009).
Certainly, they could aid the education process, as can many other tools. And maybe in the years to come there will be a place for them. But, for the moment at least ,the opportunity for phones to distract students seems too great.
Phones are more than a means of communications now, for teenagers especially. Teenagers use them as toys to play with friends, chatting casually and sharing jokes, gossip and information.
I believe strongly there will be a time when our use of cell phones, as a society, off and they will be used more for basic communication than entertainment. But until that happens, I'm afraid they're simply a distraction and should be keep out of the classroom as much as possible.
Docksai, R. (2009). Teens and cell phones. The Futurist, 43, 10-11. Retrieved April 24 2011, from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1606130781&SrchMode=1&sid=8&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1303684450&clientId=49311/.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Surviving in the digital world
"All teachers must provide equal access to the digital world to all learners."
It's hard to know exactly what to make of a credo like that. It certainly doesn't mean teachers must provide the materials to access the digital world -- I'm pretty sure any public school teacher would have a good laugh at that thought these days.
Instead, I think it is referring to providing the confidence and competence to access the digital world. Not every student will have a computer available at home or in school, but every student will certainly need to know how to use computers, and other technologies -- in school, in the workplace and everywhere between. So it's the job of the teacher to make sure all students not only know how to access and operate new technologies, but why that knowledge is necessary to survive in the digital world.
It's hard to know exactly what to make of a credo like that. It certainly doesn't mean teachers must provide the materials to access the digital world -- I'm pretty sure any public school teacher would have a good laugh at that thought these days.
Instead, I think it is referring to providing the confidence and competence to access the digital world. Not every student will have a computer available at home or in school, but every student will certainly need to know how to use computers, and other technologies -- in school, in the workplace and everywhere between. So it's the job of the teacher to make sure all students not only know how to access and operate new technologies, but why that knowledge is necessary to survive in the digital world.
The Internet: bully or tutor?
Cyber-bullying, sexting, Internet stalking. There is so much talk these days about all the threats technology, and specifically the Internet, poses to children. But we rarely hear a word about the benefits.
The Internet has opened up a whole new world of communicating and learning for children, including younger students.
Kelly Hines, a fourth-grade teacher in Washington, North Carolina addresses this in her presentation, "Little Kids, Big Opportunities" for the 2009 K12Online conference.
Rather than focusing on the privacy threats that Facebook and MySpace pose, Ms. Hines focuses her presentation on sites like wallwisher.com, wordle.com and edmodo.com that allow students to expand on in-class lessons with interactive and multi-media programming.
Edmodo.com, a social networking site, allows teachers to communicate with students, posting notes, polls and assignments. And Wallwisher, which allows students to post notes about books they read or videos they watch, encourages students not just to think about the stories themselves, but the sequencing of events and their own reactions.
"We were able to generate some very rich and powerful discussions over why they chose to sort the different sticky notes the way they did," Hines said of the site.
These websites, among hundreds of others available across the Internet, help even young students learn in different ways. And beyond academics, they teach the children to navigate the Internet, which will only become more relevant to their lives as they grow.
The Internet certainly can be a threatening place, especially for children. But it's a world that, if they learn to use it properly, can expand their learning dramatically -- as Hines shows throughout her presentation.
Kids are going to use it either way. So it's better they learn to use it now, safely and productively.
The Internet has opened up a whole new world of communicating and learning for children, including younger students.
Kelly Hines, a fourth-grade teacher in Washington, North Carolina addresses this in her presentation, "Little Kids, Big Opportunities" for the 2009 K12Online conference.
Rather than focusing on the privacy threats that Facebook and MySpace pose, Ms. Hines focuses her presentation on sites like wallwisher.com, wordle.com and edmodo.com that allow students to expand on in-class lessons with interactive and multi-media programming.
Edmodo.com, a social networking site, allows teachers to communicate with students, posting notes, polls and assignments. And Wallwisher, which allows students to post notes about books they read or videos they watch, encourages students not just to think about the stories themselves, but the sequencing of events and their own reactions.
"We were able to generate some very rich and powerful discussions over why they chose to sort the different sticky notes the way they did," Hines said of the site.
These websites, among hundreds of others available across the Internet, help even young students learn in different ways. And beyond academics, they teach the children to navigate the Internet, which will only become more relevant to their lives as they grow.
The Internet certainly can be a threatening place, especially for children. But it's a world that, if they learn to use it properly, can expand their learning dramatically -- as Hines shows throughout her presentation.
Kids are going to use it either way. So it's better they learn to use it now, safely and productively.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cell phone withdrawal
I left my cell phone at home a few weeks back. I couldn’t make or take calls. I couldn’t text. I couldn’t check my e-mail. But the most disturbing part of it – I couldn’t entertain myself.
Honestly. I was like a frantic puppy that had his favorite chew toy taken away.
I was driving for an hour or so, and I couldn’t sit still. I talked to myself. I scanned anxiously through radio stations, and when I found a song or program I liked, I changed it again, just so I had something to do with my hands.
Sad, right?
I was never going to be that guy. For years, I refused to get a smart phone. I was very happy with my geriatric flip model, and when I finally gave in, I was sure I wouldn’t use it more than a few times a day.
Whoops.
Within a week after I got my new phone, I became addicted. Now, I can’t put it down, and when I do, I feel completely lost.
Sure, it’s about the contact – it’s great to keep in touch with old friends and family. But I’m afraid for me it’s become even more about keeping busy. With texting, emails and the Internet all just a few keys away, there’s no excuse to be disconnected – from work, friends or the world.
Maybe I’ll have to forget my phone at home more often.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Technology in the classroom: Keep up or get out of the way
It almost amuses me that the debate over technology in school is a debate at all.
I understand that, with regard to change, schools move slow -- iceberg slow. But to ignore that the world is changing, and students along with it, is like denying the passage of time.
The way students communicate and learn is changing drastically. MP3 players, tablets and personal communications devices, among others, are replacing telephones, televisions and even video games after school hours, and they each have their own language. So, teachers and administrators had best become fluent or they risk losing they will discover a new language barrier.
This means incorporating these new technologies into the classroom, where they can benefit the teachers as well as the students. Many of these devices offer a broad range of audio and video capabilities that can expand the way teachers teach and students learn.
Teachers can assign a video lesson that students can watch any time on their cell phone, iPod or iPad, and students can respond, recording their own podcast.
Or teachers can continue to assign traditional textbook readings, in hopes that students still know how to read textbooks.
I understand that, with regard to change, schools move slow -- iceberg slow. But to ignore that the world is changing, and students along with it, is like denying the passage of time.
The way students communicate and learn is changing drastically. MP3 players, tablets and personal communications devices, among others, are replacing telephones, televisions and even video games after school hours, and they each have their own language. So, teachers and administrators had best become fluent or they risk losing they will discover a new language barrier.
This means incorporating these new technologies into the classroom, where they can benefit the teachers as well as the students. Many of these devices offer a broad range of audio and video capabilities that can expand the way teachers teach and students learn.
Teachers can assign a video lesson that students can watch any time on their cell phone, iPod or iPad, and students can respond, recording their own podcast.
Or teachers can continue to assign traditional textbook readings, in hopes that students still know how to read textbooks.
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