Cerulean's Soapbox

Deceiving Your Students

2009-05-26T17:53:00.004-04:00

I came across an article this afternoon about "ghost students" that I have found rather disturbing. A ghost student, for those of you who may be wondering, are instructors who pretend to be a student participating in an online course. The student does not exist, except in the instructor's imagination. Instructors who have tried this approach assert that this act of deception enables them to get to know their students better. They also claim that the insight they glean from being one of the students enables them to create a better and more successful learning experience for the student. But is the deception regardless of the possible benefits justified?

I've been thinking about the ghost student issue from both sides - as a student and as an instructor. As a student, it takes me some time to trust the instructor. This likely stems from my experience as an undergrad when the instructors did everything in their power to weed out those who couldn't hack it. Finding out that one of the students was actually the instructor would put the final nail in that coffin. It would be difficult for me to rebound at this point in my academic career and learn to trust my instructor again.

When I put on my instructor hat, I have problems with ghost students, as well. I want to get to know my students as myself, not by being someone I'm not. If the only way I can make connections with my students is by posing as a student, then I need to reflect upon my teaching practices to determine what I could improve or change. I'm also certain I would say something that would suggest I was somehow listening in on the students' conversations. From my own experience, this does not sit well with students. If they believe they are communicating in a private forum, they are very unhappy and often become paranoid when there is a leak.

If deception is the only way to foster a successful online learning experience, then maybe educators should be looking toward alternative forms of teaching and learning.

It's All About the Experience

2009-05-26T08:15:00.007-04:00

There's not much excitement in my life these days, so when the opportunity to do something "different" comes along, it's hard not to jump at the chance, regardless. Last night, we drove almost 20 miles along twisty roads in the rain to see the movie "Wendy and Lucy" in one of the smallest theaters in the world. The theater was nestled back off the side street in such a way that we drove past it a couple of times without even noticing it. Even though it was Memorial Day and Nashville was teeming with tourists when we arrived, the feel of the place changed a little after 5:00 p.m. when the town rolled up the streets for the day. It made me wonder what life was like for the residents.

The Lotus Petal Cinema is small - two people can barely fit into the space designated as a concession stand. After paying for tickets and assorted munchies (the theater offers an interesting snack selection; they will even put nacho cheese sauce on your popcorn!), we entered the viewing area of the theater. Thirty-five theater seats are nestled into a small room with blond paneling along the side walls. The area surrounding the screen is painted black. Typically, the ads designed to entertain and inform viewers prior to the start of the movie are annoying; the set at the Lotus Petal Cinema were actually fun to watch despite the typos. My favorite slide was the one immediately before the movie started. Four or five (?) Tibetan monks in winter clothing told the audience to "Enjoy the movie!" That was a first for me.

Even though the screen is small, it wasn't difficult to become completely immersed in the movie. We were skeptical at first, but we've watched movies in theaters with broken seats, a broken furnace in sub-zero weather (no heat in the "Big Chill"), and even had everything stop half way into the movie. To me, going to the movies is about the complete experience, not just the movie itself. That's why I'll go to a theater, especially a single-screen theater, to see a movie that's out on DVD.

The movie is based on the short story "Train Choir," which is included in Livability by Jon Raymond. It took me weeks to be able to check out a copy from the library, but it was well worth the wait. The concluding story in this collection is "Train Choir," and as soon as my eyes rested on the final word, I was determined to see the movie. This story is a quiet one with not a lot of action, but packed full of heartbreak, struggle, loss, and survival. Wendy (Michelle Williams), fresh from Indiana, is on her way to the fisheries of Alaska with her sidekick Lucy, a Golden Retriever type of dog. Because of car trouble in Oregon, these two find themselves on a downward path with no relief in sight. Wendy is arrested for "forgetting" to pay for a few cans of dog food, Lucy is taken by the local pound and placed in a foster home, Wendy's car is beyond repair, and money is dwindling fast.

Thanks to the small gestures of a security guard at neighborhood Walgreens, Wendy is able to locate Lucy. After seeing Lucy in her new home, Wendy realizes that Lucy is in a better place: she has nice owners, a large fenced-in backyard, and stable home life - things Wendy can't provide at this point in time. Wendy knows she can't go back to Indiana (a phone call to her sister clearly illustrates that) and without a car and very little money, completing the trip to the fisheries is going to be a challenge. That said, Wendy does the only thing she can do; she leaves Lucy, jumps on a train, and makes her way toward Alaska.

Michelle Williams performance as Wendy is powerful and painful. The viewer feels her profound sadness as each part of her plan falls apart. Williams portrays a character that is vulnerable and needs protection, but at the same time displays a strength that conveys the idea that she is tough enough to take care of herself, no matter what obstacles are thrown her way. In the end, Wendy loses it all yet still finds the courage to move forward.

Memorial Day Distractions

2009-05-24T12:59:00.005-04:00

After being a dissertation data coding monkey for a few weeks, I thought it was time to take a break. (Translation: I'm in a holding pattern right now. The next set of data to analyze won't be collected until June 3, and everything is set for the proposal defense. So, the only thing to do is wait.) I'm not very good at relaxing, though, which means I want to go somewhere - anywhere but here. Because traveling isn't in the cards for this weekend, I did the next best thing: I read Jean Thompson's Do Not Deny Me (forthcoming). While I've been intrigued by Thompson's work before, particularly given that she lives in my old stomping grounds - Urbana, IL - this book of 12 stories was my introduction to her work. And I devoured everyone of them like a decadent box of fine chocolates.

The stories are centered around everyday life - relationships, financial problems, work-related issues, and even the dreaded midlife crisis. While this may not sound like page-turning events on the surface, Thompson's writing draws her reader in deeper and deeper with each word, with each sentence. I could clearly visualize Professor Penrose walking through the halls of a college campus building (I imagined the English Building at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Agent Roorda talking about his parents' house in Paris (IL), Mrs. Crabtree from Olney (also IL) trying to save her American dream during an economic downturn, and Claudine threatening to take her husband, Hurley, to the "demented ward" at the VA Hospital in Danville. While the stories for the most part are not directly connected, the quotidian trials the characters struggle with weave a common thread throughout the book.

The book concludes with an update on Lynn, "a model of a modern Michigan matron," who decides her husband's affairs with young grad students are unacceptable. Even though Lynn's "Untold Story" does not spin a fairy tale of the good life, it does leave the reader feeling that Lynn is going to make it after all (cue the "Mary Tyler Moore" show theme song, "Love is All Around"). This is not to say that Thompson is trying to put a sugar coating over these stories. She is not. While not overtly disturbing, the lives and actions of these characters continue to haunt the reader long after the last page is turned. However, the message that seems to be seeping through the gauze of Lynn's untold story is that despite the rough patches, these characters will not be denied a bit of happiness along the way.

Personal Explorations Fueled by Coffee

2009-05-10T11:40:00.008-04:00

One of the first things I came across this morning as I was waiting for the caffeine to kick in was the following:

"Two things are necessary for me to be able to write: music and coffee." - Aleksandar Hemon, WSJ, 4/8/09.

This quote really struck me, because last night I was listing to Janice Ian, who was a student of the Rev. Gary Davis. Before performing, Janice revealed a bit of her story. She would go into NYC on the weekends to hang out in Greenwich Village with other poets and musicians. It was there that Janice met Rev. Davis and his wife. While Rev. Davis told Janice her hands were too small for his style of guitar playing, his wife became Janice's advocate. Without Rev. Davis and his wife, Janice's life journey would have been completely different.

After Janice's performance (she was playing backup for Marie Knight - what a voice!), I began exploring her song "At Seventeen." Here are the first few lines from the song:

I learned the truth at seventeen,
That love was meant for beauty queens.
In high school, girls with clear-skin smiles,
Who married young and then retired.

This was my high school experience to the letter. In a YouTube clip, Janice describes her battle with curly, dark hair in a world of females with long, straight, blonde hair. At this point in my curly, dark haired life, I've given up the battle - I no longer dream of being a blonde; instead, I want to dye my hair red, attention-grabbing red that cascades down my back in swirls and curls.

While Janice and I shared some common characteristics, I have yet to experience similar career influences. While my main writing focus tends to center around the world of academia, I find myself more deeply moved by poetry, prose, and art. The music and the stories of individuals like Janice Ian inspire me to hone my craft and look at my body of work through different lens.

The other day I stumbled upon an article about an exhibit at the Krannert Art Museum that illustrates ways to share research with others in a creative and unique way. And unlike traditional research distribution methods (i.e., peer reviewed journals, book chapters, etc.), it is likely that a larger body of people will experience these findings. The exhibit is titled, "Grand Text Auto," which, put simply, converts blog posts into performance art. More about this exhibit is available here. Electronic literature and gaming - how cool is that!

Another exhibit worth checking out, one which combines electronic text and art, was created by the French conceptual artist/provocateur Sophie Calle. The title of the piece, "Take Care of Yourself," which reflects the last line of an email message Calle received from a boyfriend who dumped her. In response to this rejection, Calle asks 100 women to read this rejection letter and respond to the last line. What started out as therapy became a very unique look at technology, communication, and interpretation. The exhibit has a limited showing. So if you're in the vicinity of the Paul Cooper Gallery in the next 27 days, this is work worth checking out.

John Seeley Brown at IU

2009-04-02T14:45:00.011-04:00

A sunny spring day welcomed John Seely Brown to the Indiana University campus. According to weather.com, storms were on their way, but the gray skies stayed away. While TB and I didn't have to navigate wet conditions to get to the talk, I'm not sure it was worth the two hours I set aside for it.

First, the room may have been ideal for a luncheon, but it was not adequate for a talk with a large attendance. After a number of people congregated along the fringes of the room, someone got the bright idea to bring in extra chairs. This still did not accommodate everyone. Fortunately, TB got a chair, but I had to stand for most of the talk.

John Seely Brown may be considered an educational "rock star," but he isn't a very inspirational speaker. He spent most of the time talking to the group of males sitting in chairs near the podium. (The women in the group obviously were not worthy enough of his words of wisdom.) There were also times when he was hard to hear, turned away from the group, gave rambling responses to questions, and mumbled unintelligible comments. One of Brown's main points was that educators should move away from the "sage on the stage" approach to teaching. Ironically, however, Brown lectured to the group for more than an hour. Stated another way, he was the "sage on the stage" he was arguing against.

In general, Brown's talk was tired and seemed somewhat out-of-date. Most of his talking points were presented in the article "Minds on Fire" he co-wrote in early 2008 with Richard Adler. If you have the opportunity to attend a presentation given by Brown, it might be time better spent to simply read the Minds article. Another "old" idea was the concept of play and fun in learning. Brown presented play (or as he calls it, homo ludens) as if it was new and revolutionary. He has obviously missed the wealth of information that is presented in much of the literature.

Other ideas mentioned in Brown's presentation:

It's not a digital gap but a participation gap. (Hmmm...wonder what the individuals without computer and internet access would say about this? But, when you think about it, you can't participate if you don't have access. Referring to the digital gap by another name doesn't make it magically go away.)
Play as an epiphany - Free your mind and the learning will come.
Tinkering is the key to mastering a world in flux. (Much of the literature on women and computers suggest that males are typically tinkerers and females are not. If tinkering is the key, and females don't tinker, is the assumption that they won't master this world in flux? That's not a very optimistic statement. Shouldn't we be working toward learning environments that are friendly to all students, not just those who are male?)
Pushing toward the acquisition of 21st century learning skills is wrong. Instead, according to Brown, educators should be working toward creating a 21st century disposition in our students. What is a 21st century disposition, you might ask? Brown defines it as just being open to the idea of learning from others.

Many individuals in the audience appeared to be wowed by Brown's presentation. Maybe I've read too much at this point in my doctoral career, but none of the concepts Brown mentioned seemed new or particularly revolutionary to me. Guess I'm not cut out to be a groupie, at least not for this rock star.

Girl Gamers, Not Stewardesses

2009-03-29T15:46:00.006-04:00

Leave it to the serendipity of the web to point me in the direction of this article on gender and video games. I was reviewing the blog posts thousands of individuals (1,980 individuals, to be exact) contributed on Ada Lovelace Day (March 24), when I came across a reference to "Crossing the (Gender) Divide." Who would have thought that Delta Sky, the magazine you find in the seat pocket of Delta Air Lines flights, would have an article on gender and video games? Here's an excerpt from that piece:

Many of today's video games are shedding their decidedly male "skins" and reaching out to female players with both avatars and themes designed specifically for "girl gamers." And that's just the beginning. Avid gamers of the "gentler persuasion" are heading back to the classroom to earn advanced degrees in computer programming so they can create the games they, and others like them, have dreamed about playing.

The end of the piece includes a "Chick Click" site, which includes links to "chick-friendly" video game-related sites. One of those links leads to a hard-core girl gamer site - Frag Dolls. Learn more about these tech-savvy females here.

New Educational Video Players

2009-03-28T22:42:00.004-04:00

Hulu and YouTube have tossed their hats into the educational video ring. Hulu's contribution is Academic Earth, a site where visitors can access "thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars." Not to be left behind, YouTube introduces YouTube EDU, which offers "videos and channels from our college and university partners." Who are the college and university partners? A list is available here.

What does this mean for sites, like TeacherTube? Can all three survive in these tough economic times? What features and characteristics will distinguish one from the other? These are just a few of the questions that come to mind, and I'm sure others will surface over time.

What's in a name?

2009-03-28T15:22:00.004-04:00

Women librarians have made great strides in recent years. According to Deyrup (2004), more than 50% of library leaders (top administrators; library directors) are women. This is significant in that in 1991, women made up 80% of the library workforce, yet 80% of the library administrators were men (Kauffman, 1993). Moreover, there are scholars (e.g., Zemon & Bahr, 2005) who claim that there are cases where the salaries of female directors exceeds that of the male directors. So, the issues surrounding the "disadvantaged majority" (i.e., women librarians) is over, right? Not so fast. While scholars such as Cassell and Weibel (2007) suggest that there are bigger issues today, there remains the image problem that has been plaguing libraries since the 1940s (O'Brien, 1983).

The image problem has recently reared its ugly head at Rutgers University. At that institution, the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies is trying to remove the term "library" from its name. Some graduates, like Mary Chilton, a professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College (CUNY), are not happy about this move and state that they will not support it. In fact, Chilton claims the following:

It sounds as if the Dean really wants to say that librarians are female and poor and mostly wedded to a diminishing public sector, and SCILS wants private money and therefore has to appeal to private money biases, or to academic administrators who share these biases, all the while reaping the headcount of the MLIS students.

Chilton continues to suggest that should the name change be approved, she would like a "divorce" from her program. It appears that the presence of a female majority continues to taint the term "library." Maybe all women librarians who graduated from programs that remove "library" from its name should take similar action. Just a thought.

Despite the advances women have made in libraries, we cannot allow them to lull us into a false sense of security and mask the gender-related problems that still exist.

Cindy Sherman: Photos & Film

2009-03-26T15:22:00.005-04:00

I first learned about Cindy Sherman a few years ago when I took a feminist methodologies course. We were using her work to learn how to analyze our data (i.e., photos) using a photovoice approach. (For more information on photovoice, this site has information about the creators of this method - Caroline C. Wang and Mary Ann Burris.)

Until the end of December 2008, a collection of Sherman's latest photos were exhibited at Metro Pictures in New York. While I was not able to view the collection in person, the kind people at New York Art Tours made it possible for me to vicariously experience the photos. The video tour for Sherman's work is available here.

Tomorrow (Friday, March 27), the new documentary, Guest of Cindy Sherman, will open in New York and in selected cities (read: The Film Center, Santa Fe). Co-directed by ex-boyfriend Paul H-O, this film has generated quite a bit of controversy. In fact, Sherman has spoken out against the documentary and does not want to be associated with it. For those who do not live in a community that will show Guest or who are looking for an alternative view of Sherman and her work, Culture Monster recommends the 2005 short, Cindy: The Doll is Mine - directed by Bertrand Bonello and starring Asia Argento. You can watch this film in its entirety here. Time to break out the popcorn!

Curriculum Changes in the UK

2009-03-26T13:25:00.005-04:00

According to The Guardian, there will be more emphasis in the UK primary curriculum on emerging technology such as Twitter and blogging and less on the Victorians and WWII. This proposed curriculum is designed to give teachers more flexibility in what they teach, while ensuring that students are well-versed in the latest digital spaces. English, mathematics, communication, health & well-being, and science & technology, as well as art & design are the six core areas outlined in the proposal. While it appears that educators in the UK have jumped on the latest technological bandwagon, there are signs that the government didn't want to completely scrap traditional education. Although, an emphasis on books and the concept of reading for pleasure is downplayed in favor of online resources.

A statement made near the end of this article struck me. Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, stated, "Children need to be enthused by learning, so they want to learn and gain the skills which will enable them to learn in later life." At present, I'm reading Dee Garrison's Apostles of Culture: The Public Librarian and American Society, 1876-1920 for my project on women's roles in libraries. The third chapter in this book discusses early library leaders and educational reform during the mid-to-late 1800s. On p. 52, Garrison highlights the influence Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi had on American pedagogy during this time period, and states, "With Pestalozzi, learning came to mean not the gathering of facts alone, but the enjoyment of those facts to solve practical problems." While another influential educator during this time period, Johann Friedrich Herbart, concentrated on ethical instruction, he emphasized the importance of learner interest, as well. Even though Pestalozzi and Herbart were calling for educational reform more than 100 years ago, their message mirrors those being touted by today's educational technology advocates - individuals like Mary Bousted.

SL and Other Virtual Learning Options

2009-03-25T09:16:00.005-04:00

An article came out Monday (3/23) on virtual training and options beyond Second Life (SL). One of the first things the author, Jon Wilcox, mentions is that SL is not the virtual world darling it used to be. Wilcox is not the first to suggest that SL has entered a "gloom stage" (see Greenberg, 2008), but he doesn't dwell on this apparent turn of events. Nor does Wilcox imply that this signals a decreased interest in virtual learning. On the contrary. He instead turns to examine virtual worlds that are being investigated such as OLIVE, IBM's INNOV8 v.2, and TruSim. Mary Matthews, the strategy and business development director at TruSim outlines several requirements for successful virtual worlds. She argues that one of the most important features can also be the most difficult to determine - the right level of fidelity. Stated another way, not every training or learning task may require a highly detailed representation or a depiction of realistic characters.

While the current economic downturn may make some institutions more cautious in their experimentations with virtual worlds, this is not the case for everyone. Wilcox mentions, for example, that 50% of classes on one subject at a Boston university are using virtual worlds. Unfortunately, the name of the institution and the specific subject are not provided. On the surface, this sounds impressive, but it may not be. The subject could one in which two classes are offered; this would mean only one class was using virtual worlds. Also, why wasn't the name of the institution given? Does this Boston university even exist, or was this example used because it gives the illusion that virtual educational initiatives are alive and well in the physical world?

I do believe that virtual worlds have the potential to improve distance education and training. But because institutions are looking for ways to cut their budgets, they are likely to be more cautious in their adoption of emerging technologies. Many educators have been consuming new technologies like a child eating cotton candy at the county fair. After awhile, though, the excessive amounts of unnutritious fluff don't taste so good. At present, it appears that some virtual worlds may not be quite as appealing as they once were. Thus, it is necessary to examine these digital spaces more critically than has been done in the past and determine whether more nutritious options are available.

Video Games and Pauline Kael

2009-03-25T00:12:00.001-04:00

Earlier I was pondering the idea of borrowing from the art world to better understand virtual worlds. At Pop Matters, L. B. Jeffreys questions whether video games need a critic like the late Pauline Kael. Kael was a film critic and regular contributor to The New Yorker. In her work, Kael was against any particular set of rules or guidelines for art or criticism. Instead, her belief was that the only requirement was to astonish the viewer/reader. As Jeffreys points out, though, the problem with video game criticism today is that it doesn't serve to generate any enthusiasm or appreciation for the games. Are we being too academic in our interpretation of video games (and virtual worlds)? Should we be following Kael's lead and attempt to undo the intellectual approach of analysis?

Gender & Language Quote

2009-03-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

What a fitting quote to send me off to teach my gender and computing class!

"It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs." - Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd

Art Inspired Research

2009-03-24T12:22:00.006-04:00

Over Spring Break, I was fortunate enough to visit two art galleries - Krannert Art Museum and the Indiana University Art Museum. The focus at Krannert was on two exhibits: Polaroids and Portraits: A Photographic Legacy of Andy Warhol and Audubon at Illinois: Selections from the University Library's Birds of America. Warhol's work has interested me for years, and his use of Polaroids was an attempt to democratize the concept of photography. It was also a way for him to create a visual diary of everyday life, which is very much like blogging, twittering, Facebooking, etc.

In contrast, the Birds of America plates, which were life-sized (the bound volumes of the plates are commonly referred to as the double elephant folio), had a more surreal feel to them. The colors in Audubon's work are so muted, yet there are plates such as the Roseate Spoonbill, 1836, where the colors are so striking. Prior to this particular viewing, I attended an entertaining and informative talk at the Lilly Library about Audubon. The event was by invitation only, and I (and the person who invited me) agreed to attend without knowing what to expect. Surprising to everyone in attendance, Christoph Irmscher was the guest speaker. Even if birds are not your thing, I highly recommend attending any talk given by Irmscher - a truly inspiring speaker.

These events merely whetted my appetite for art, so I went in search of another exhibit. I didn't have to go far - one was right in my own backyard. Because the weather has been more temperate, I've unearthed my camera from its hibernation spot and started taking photos again. As luck would have it, one of the current exhibits at the IU Art Museum highlights the minimalist photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto, who is influenced by the concept of 'Ma'. His images of movie theaters has stuck with me even several days later. Perhaps it's because at least two of the theaters included in the exhibit reminded me of the interior of the Art Theater in downtown Champaign, which is slated to close in December 2009. If the community cannot rally around this single screen theater enough to keep it open, someone should at the very least photograph the interior of this wonderful space. Maybe Sugimoto should add it to his collection?

Prior to my art binge, I read an interesting article by Osberg and Biesta (2008) on the emergent curriculum. In this piece, the authors refer via Ulmer, to the German performance artist, Joseph Beuys (1921-1986). Osberg and Beista suggest that Beuys' presentations did not transmit meaning; instead they inspired the audience to generate their own meaning. In other words, the audience was charged with creating their own art from the materials given to them by Beuys. Thinking outside the realm of art, this description sounds very similar to the rhetoric that surrounds constructivist ideals. According to those who espouse a constructivist approach to education, students construct their own meaning; the instructors merely serve as facilitators or coaches.

I guess one question I have is this: Can viewing research involving virtual worlds through an art world lens can be enlightening? By expanding my reading scope and drawing for what appear to be unrelated disciplines, I'm trying to shake things up a bit and alter my perspective. A misguided adventure? We shall see.

Isn't It Ironic

2009-03-23T18:26:00.002-04:00

The latest issue of EDUCAUSE Review hit my in-box today, and this issue addresses the issue of learning spaces. Joan Lippincott wrote a piece that caught my eye, and it explores the involvement of faculty (and students) in the design process of technology areas. Rather than simply remodeling an existing structure or building an eye-catching new facility, Lippincott suggests that the ultimate goal should be to create a technology-rich design that will enable faculty to easily incorporate technology into their curriculum, as well as support them and their students in these endeavors.

Lippincott begins her discussion with a brief description of new computer labs and information commons, just to name a few. Interestingly, the University of Virginia just announced that they plan to begin a three-year plan that will eliminate the the computer labs on their campus. Instead of planning for new tech facilities for students, faculty, and staff, U. of Virginia states that most students come to campus equipped with their own computers. Thus, while their computer labs are heavily used, administrators argue that these facilities are not essential in tough economic times.

Going back to Lippincott's article for a moment: she points to a 2008 CDW Government report that claims that when it comes to selecting a college, students say that technology ranks high on their list of important features to consider. Self-report data is often suspect, but if this finding is correct, then cuts to computer labs may lead to lower student enrollments in the future. I also found this report finding interesting in that other research, such as the ECAR studies (an EDUCAUSE research center), suggest that students - individuals who are typically prolific technology users in their personal lives - only want moderate technology in the classroom. Also, the face-to-face interactions with faculty are important to them. Moreover, students at the University of Colorado at Boulder were frequent laptop users in the classroom, but they stopped after their instructor pointed to the decline in grades for the web surfers in the group. While laptop bans are difficult to enforce, highlighting the impact they have on grades may motivate some students to stop surfing.

To add technology or not, that is the question. And, if technology is added, Lippincott's suggestion that planners should take into account the stakeholders' perspective is a valid one. Proper planning may take more time, but it may be more cost-effective in that it leads to the effective use of the new and remodeled tech spaces.

Monday Morning with Foucault

2009-03-23T10:25:00.007-04:00

It's amazing the thoughts that come pouring into the brain during an early a.m. run. Today is not a particularly lovely spring day - cloudy, around 50 degrees with gusty winds from the SE, and rain is on the way - but the run was one of the best I've had in recent weeks and left me feeling inspired. Must be the adrenalin high.

So, how does Foucault fit into this? Over the past few months, I've been preparing my dissertation prospectus, human subjects materials, and dissertation proposal. While the chair of my committee told me I didn't need to do any additional reading, I felt that my current perspective felt tired. Perhaps that was merely a reflection of the physical tiredness I've been feeling from training for a half-marathon, but I was in the market for inspiration.

Luckily, Dr. Elisabeth Davenport visited IU at the end of January during an unprecedented snowstorm. Following her discussion on dialogic methods in information science, I was able to talk to her about her interest in social media. In addition, she pointed me in the direction of some of her colleagues who are currently involved in social media research, including virtual worlds.

One scholar in particular who has caught my attention is Dr. Siân Bayne. In the several articles and book chapters I've read thus far, Bayne takes a more critical approach that most elearning scholars. Because reading much of the educational literature is like consuming an endless amount of cotton candy at the county fair, Bayne's references to philosophers such as Foucault and the points she makes about the limitations of digital spaces was like adding a serving of fruits and vegetables to an otherwise unhealthy diet.

Through Bayne's work, as well as a piece on virtual topographies by Mark Nunes, I stumbled upon Foucault's work on "other spaces." In that article, which originally served as the basis of a lecture presented in 1967, Foucault discusses utopias, or "unreal spaces," environments that have no place. In contrast, he presents the concept of heterotopias, which are based on real places, but at the same time are unreal, as well. In his discussion, Foucault outlines five principles of heterotopias: 1) all societies likely have a heterotopia; 2) existing heterotopias that whose function can by altered by a society; 3) the juxtaposition of heterotopias, some of which may be dissimilar, in the same space; 4) heterotopias linked to time (i.e., heterochronies) and breaks with traditional time; and 5) entrance into and exit out of the heterotopia.

As I was trying to wrap my head around these principles of heterotopias, the characteristics of Second Life (SL) came to mind. First, several scholars claim that today's students are a different type of learner - they want an educational experience that is unlike traditional teaching and learning interactions. Next, education is undergoing changes such as moving from a physical classroom to an online space. Third, in SL entities that individuals may not find located in the same part of town may be neighbors in this virtual world. For example, an island were educational activities occur may be located next to a risque nightclub. The fourth principle - time - also applies to the SL environment. In-world, following SL time (SLT) is the norm. Individuals unfamiliar with SL may not realize it at first, but SLT is simply Pacific Time. And finally, SL is free, which means that it is open to everyone. Yet, at the same time, the steep tech requirements exclude individuals who cannot afford high-end computers.

I'm still trying to determine how to incorporate the concept of heterotopias into my own work and how they related to SL. At present, it has served as rich food for thought.

Bits of Honey

2009-01-24T23:27:00.004-05:00

The trip to Colorado couldn't have been any smoother. Everything worked like a well-oiled machine, including the airlines. Surprisingly enough, the return flights were ahead of schedule. While I was away, several interesting tech stories hit the virtual presses.

The Printed Blog: Print is dead they say, long live print! More on this experiment can be found here.

The latest addition to the Twitter family - Bank of America.

A virtual college debate match - St. Johns versus the University of Vermont: February 4 at 8 p.m. ET in Second Life! Go here if you'd like to attend this event.

Interested in elearning? This site includes a bibliography of 2007-2008 articles, and some are available online.

Are young people as tech-savvy as they are portrayed in much of the literature? Some Australian scholars say "No." Go here and here for the details.

The 2009 Horizon Report claims that the latest hot technologies are mobile technology, cloud computing, "geo-everything," and the personal web. In the coming years, watch for semantic applications and smart objects. What about video games and virtual worlds? No info on video games, but virtual worlds are mentioned in the geo-everything and smart objects sections.

A new critical case study also came out this week on social networking sites and electronic surveillance.

Enabling video game players to create games as well as play them. A fad or a new game genre that's here to stay? http://tinyurl.com/cymvrr

No online learning option for individuals taking advantage of the GI Bill. http://tinyurl.com/dz9mce

The mobile computing trend is on the rise, but "the era of the desktop PC is quickly coming to an end." http://tinyurl.com/bb9ab4

It's not just for entertainment anymore! YouTube is now a reference search tool. http://tinyurl.com/8rtver

A few little nuggets from the publishing world: John McMurtrie - editor of the San Francisco Chronicle book reviews - has plans to save it from the "deteriorating" pub. world. http://tinyurl.com/8kzkt9...and "The days of a 'newsmagazine of record'...are long gone." http:// tinyurl.com/a37992

Bits of Honey

2009-01-19T18:05:00.003-05:00

Just returned from Chicago and head out to Colorado later in the week. While I've been jet setting, here's what's been happening in the world of elearning, the Web 2.0, and the publishing industry...just to name a few.

eBooks

“I’m convinced...that students will read more and they will learn more, by using this medium [e-textbks].”http://tinyurl.com/84y5xm
"So the eBook has landed. The printed book is not disappearing either..." http://tinyurl.com/88atvz
Narrative is currently the "first and only literary magazine on Amazon’s Kindle." http://narrativemagazine.com/node/7786

Education and eLearning

It's definitely not a good time to be a new college grad. http://tinyurl.com/894jfh
The $$ being spent on instruction is going down, yet the $$ being spend on admin and support is going up. http://tinyurl.com/8xqvqd
21st-century learning - "Every kid needs to be able to critically think and problem-solve." http://tinyurl.com/7tktsv
Rethinking higher ed: Kaplan U. - "learning online is a way to develop talent that could otherwise go to waste." http://tinyurl.com/8a7onx
Sesame Street helped transform TV into a learn. tool & now mobile technologies are showing "enormous potential." http://tinyurl.com/9k98dl
Florida Virtual School & U. of Central Florida have created the "first-of-its-kind training": virtual internships. http://tinyurl.com/846j4v

Serendipitously stumbled across two more new pieces on mobile learning....

Publishing, Reading, and Writing

John McMurtrie - editor of the San Francisco Chronicle book review section - has plans to save it from the "deteriorating" publishing world. http://tinyurl.com/8kzkt9
"The days of a 'newsmagazine of record'...are long gone." http://tinyurl.com/a37992
"The National Enquirer and Star could theoretically be out of business within weeks." http://tinyurl.com/a8nbmu
Reading on the Rise: 1st time in 25 yrs an "increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature.” http://tinyurl.com/9hyezd

Research & Academia

When you use your kids as your research subject, you get to sign your own informed consent forms. Hmm....http://tinyurl.com/6tz298
"The academic fast track has a bad rep...unrelenting wk hrs that allow little/no room for a satisfy. family life.” http://tinyurl.com/85jdgb ..
"Cellular telephones are perhaps the biggest threat to survey data that epidemiologists have confronted in years." http://tinyurl.com/8wsoko

Social Networking

New Pew Report: The media may focus on young people's use of social networking sites, but the heavy users are adults. http://tinyurl.com/763vaf
The latest on the Burger King-Facebook ad campaign: Facebook Blows A Whopper Of An Opportunity
"The URL and passcode [for a free Carl's Jr. burger promo] spread faster than a Paris Hilton homemade porno." http://tinyurl.com/8wt7tv
"Bullying among children...poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults." http://tinyurl.com/7hd3kc
"By becoming entangled in...more social networks online, people are building up their own piles of revealing data." http://tinyurl.com/8npflk

The Web 2.0

It's not just for entertainment anymore! YouTube is now a reference search tool. http://tinyurl.com/8rtver
YouTube's attempt at launching a "TV Website” for Wii & PS3 video game consoles. http://tinyurl.com/a9xbfr
For Yahoo, "buying Hulu would be a strategically relevant acquisition for the company." http://tinyurl.com/77b8fo
"As the 111th Congress kicks into gear, many of your elected leaders are starting their own YouTube channels." http://tinyurl.com/6semt5
TweetNews uses what’s most popular on Twitter as an index for determining the importance of news stories. http://tinyurl.com/92m6gh

Video Games and Virtual Worlds

View digital reproductions of some of the Prado's "best loved masterpieces" through Google Earth. http://tinyurl.com/8h4xcv
"The lines between the cell phone market’s 'mobile gaming' and true portable gaming are starting to blur." http://tinyurl.com/9wtzlr
“WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games & other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior” http://tinyurl.com/7834ku

Bits of Honey

2009-01-10T09:39:00.005-05:00

While the weather this week in the physical world made me want to hibernate, a counter feeling was felt in the online world. There was a blizzard of activity going on during the first full week of the new year. Here's what people were all atwitter about this week.

Gaming and Virtual Worlds

2008 education highlights from Second Life.
Microsoft's Kodu: "We want to give them total mastery of the domain and yet unlimited expressive power." http://tinyurl.com/72nm5l
"Electronic Gaming Monthly is going Web-only, and 30 of its staffers have been laid off." http://tinyurl.com/72hcdt
Arlington County's Second Life office has a vending machine that sells virtual Cheez-Its and digital Pop-Tarts. http://tinyurl.com/7fufol
"As Net-generation teachers reach out to gamers, classrooms across the country are becoming portals to elaborate virtual worlds." http://tinyurl.com/9c6cmj

Gender

"Barbie reps. a confident and independent woman with an amazing ability to have fun while remaining glamorous." http://tinyurl.com/9b2mpb
Women = ~ 1/2 of new physicians, but there is new concern about a "leaking pipeline." Will pt work/flextime help? http://tinyurl.com/856nsa

EdTech, Education, and Online Learning

Online student dropouts: "40% failed to seek any help or resources before abandoning their programs." http://tinyurl.com/axzput
“For the first time, [schools] are seeing students choose another college for its online program." http://tinyurl.com/76n9nc
Laptops in the law school classroom = "higher levels of student engagement and other positive outcomes." http://tinyurl.com/9ngfvz
iStanford: "College kids across the country will be demanding this." http://tinyurl.com/7jk3he
Coastline CC is creating "an entire classroom that can live on a mobile phone." http://tinyurl.com/axcg73
Online campuses-"They don't do a thorough market analysis...they just want to expand their enrollment/revenue." http://tinyurl.com/7vknzd
Early data suggest "a combination of peer instruction and professor-led discussion produces the best performance." http://tinyurl.com/7f7zyx

Journalism

Wired proposes 5 options to Google that might bailout newspaper. But should Google do anything? http://tinyurl.com/779bpl
Newspapers are dying. Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, wants to save them...he just doesn't want to buy them. The answer? http://tinyurl.com/7n7qf2

Predictions and Trends

EDUCAUSE's top 5 educational challenges for 2009.
"No one can guarantee that these [5] emerging technologies will become widely accepted but the trends are clear." http://tinyurl.com/7bsldw

Social Networking

"By becoming entangled in ever more social networks online, people are building up their own piles of revealing data." http://tinyurl.com/8npflk. A copy of the full report, written by Google researchers, is available here.
YAs may have time for Facebook but "35% of males & 42% of females reported lacking time to sit down & eat a meal." http://tinyurl.com/98ucsp
"Facebook announced that 150 million people across the globe are actively using Facebook—half of them every day." http://tinyurl.com/7zc5as
A negative review posted to a social networking site like Yelp could lead to a lawsuit. http://tinyurl.com/9vxvx9
SNS LiveJournal has laid off (no severance) 12 of its 28 US employees. So far, no layoffs at Facebook & MySpace. http://tinyurl.com/8927d9
Get to know your kids thru MySpace & Facebook, and learn about the risky behaviors they discuss. http://tinyurl.com/a2un2d. The full report is available in the January 2009 issue of The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. [NOTE: Check your local library for free online access.]
Celebrities who twitter "are being forced to pick a spot on the Gulbis-O’Neal scale of openness." http://tinyurl.com/9jrjx6

Technology

Google cut some of its famously free cafeterias & canceled a big company ski trip. Oh, and there were layoff too. http://tinyurl.com/9a2u4p
Due to the tough economic times, the One Laptop Per Child project is restructuring and cutting staff. http://tinyurl.com/8njz2a
The Pre - it's a "killer Palm product" not an iPhone killer. But will it get Palm back in the smart phone game? http://tinyurl.com/72nnst
Are desktop computers headed for the junkyard? Some analysts speculate that laptops are today's alpha computer. http://tinyurl.com/7pl9ms
Best Buy is now selling refurbished iPhones for $149 and $249 (deps. on memory). Original price $199 and $299. http://tinyurl.com/axwtfq
Hulu: "It was hazed as just another slick effort to upstage the fun, do-it-yourself YouTube" but not anymore. http://tinyurl.com/7u3r67
On Jan. 15, 2009, 15,000 Microsoft employees (~17% of its total work force) may be without a job. http://tinyurl.com/9wqq4v

Writing and Publishing

Of the 312 stories in the New Yorker from 2003-2008, 119 or 38.1% were penned by women--up from 37.4% last year. http://tinyurl.com/7ay8k2
Secondhand books - "Away with 'Best Novels of 2009', farewell to 'the new faces of the new year': http://tinyurl.com/8t5qsg
"There are only ten writers that you can be compared to in blurbs or publicity materials." http://tinyurl.com/6tkf37
Reflecting on fiction that appeared in the New Yorker in 2008: http://tinyurl.com/8s7kf2
"It is not just publishing’s flashy customs that are getting a tough look. Other sacred cows..are being examined." http://tinyurl.com/a8btbb
"It brings the literature...back into a form that the students of the 21st century will be able to find it.” http://tinyurl.com/7kg8l8
After 73 years, Librairie de France in NY's Rockefeller Center will close its doors in Sept. 2009. http://tinyurl.com/89mdm6

Bits of Honey

2009-01-03T10:25:00.006-05:00

This was another quiet week, but there appeared to be a flurry of activity around the start of the new year. Much of the discussion surrounded year-end summaries as well as predictions for 2009. Here are just a handful of topics that made it to the cyberwaves...

Education, Elearning & Virtual Worlds

"Schools do not teach the spark of creativity-[they] provide the tools for students to capitalize on that spark." http://tinyurl.com/7rvkl6
"Classrooms of the future will certainly include a virtual component." http://tinyurl.com/6t464v
Virtual world research pt. 1:" When a game comes to life, is life still a game?" http://tinyurl.com/9dosmw
Virtual world research pt. 2: "Virtual worlds are like the utopian communes and artistic movements of the 1960s." http://tinyurl.com/9agg85
The Metaverse Journal's virtual world top 10 predictions for 2009. http://tinyurl.com/95vz2v
Ten e-tools for learning we may hear more about in the coming year. http://tinyurl.com/9fum5f
These are a few of Jane Hart's favorite elearning things in 2008: http://c4lpt.co.uk/2008review.html
Cyber-bullying, campus gossip, hackers, and low-cost laptops made the 2008 eSchool News Top 10 list. http://tinyurl.com/73cvhq

STEM & Geeks

The readers have spoken. Wired's list of the top 10 sexist geeks of 2008. http://tinyurl.com/9gqt79
Wanted: Math and science teachers. The US is "facing a dearth of future homegrown scientists and engineers." http://tinyurl.com/7ce2aj

Technology - Computers, Companies & Products

On Jan. 15, 2009, 15,000 Microsoft employees (~17% of its total work force) may be without a job. http://tinyurl.com/9wqq4v
Cooliris.com - "It transforms the browser into a shiny, black 3-D wall and scroll bar." http://tinyurl.com/9wccwf
On tap for 2009: Nine hot IT skills for these cold economic times. http://tinyurl.com/a4pba4
The move to expand the language of the web beyond English - one that would include multiple languages. http://tinyurl.com/8mehy2

Writing & Publishing

The value of author websites: "An author is no longer a disembodied face on the back of a book jacket." http://tinyurl.com/9m38kz
Recent publishing troubles got ya down? Try self-publishing. Here's a list of 25 tips to get you started: http://tinyurl.com/4z3wu8

And finally, this article in Friday's Telegraph (Jan. 2) borders on the ridiculous. A new primary school in the UK dropped the term "school" from its name. Why? Administrators believe that this term has negative connotations and prefers that the new structure to be known as a "place of learning." No matter what administrators call it, the name isn't what is important; rather, the key to making a school a positive place for learning revolves around the pedagogies that take place there. If the same, tired approaches are used, then calling it a place of learning does not make the lecture more exciting or unique.

Video Games - Are They the Solution?

2009-01-02T13:45:00.007-05:00

In the current (January 1, 2009) issue of Scientific American, Larry Greenemeire ponders whether video games may be the solution to today's educational problems. According to Greenemeire, video games are popular with young people, and it is likely that the attraction to this form of entertainment will continue to grow. The author points to examples of successful educational game-like environments such as Chris Dede's River City project. Many educators, like Dede, contend that these multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) support critical thinking skills and foster interest in science and math. Further, technology proponents suggest that students have different learning styles, and this diversity is not always taken into account in the physical classroom setting. Thus, Greenemeire highlights the claims that MUVEs present students with multiple ways of learning. While educators do not believe that video games will replace traditional education, Greenemeire does conclude that "research into the effectiveness of video games as learning tools indicates that classrooms of the future will certainly include a virtual component." However, a common theme presented throughout the literature on video games, virtual worlds, and education is that more empirical research is needed. Currently, there are more questions than answers when it comes to determining the learning outcomes associated with virtual environments.

It is worth mentioning that the ideas presented by Greenemeire are based on work that appears in a special online collectio n of Science - one that focuses on education and technology. [NOTE: Science is one of those access via subscription only publications. Many libraries pay for an online subscription to this publication, and patrons can access the full-text articles for free.]

Bits of Honey

2008-12-29T12:35:00.003-05:00

The holidays...they've been oh so quiet...at least online. This means that the Web 2.0 and other assorted news items that have caught my attention are sparce. Here are a few that made the cut...

"Amazon.com Inc. called this holiday season its 'best ever'." http://tinyurl.com/89bwjh
"Buying books online 'was not morally dubious, but it is tragic'." http://tinyurl.com/76lm53
For her 50th b-day, Barbie's getting an "edgy makeover." Hope she doesn't say, "Math is hard." http://tinyurl.com/6vx26j
"The publishers say sales of e-books have tripled or quadrupled in the last year." http://tinyurl.com/9uz36u
Anne Mangen: "Reading on a screen generates a new form of mental orientation." http://tinyurl.com/9ejp9k
Is Twitter the Next Second Life? http://www.clickz.com/3632175
New 2008 social networking site stats - http://tinyurl.com/6o4q5a
Buzzwords of 2008 - "buzzwords were flying like shoes." http://tinyurl.com/7qtw2w

Bits of Honey

2008-12-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

As I was out for my jog this morning, I realized that I've been posting some really cool links to Twitter lately. While I can view just my Twitter posts, there isn't a search tool to locate them later. "Bits of Honey" will hopefully be a solution to that problem. This will be a weekly feature that outlines the links of the week - ones that might eventually develop into a full post at a later time. Without further ado, here are the links for December 14-20...

Henry Jenkins is leaving MIT for USC, and the future of the popular comparative-media-studies program is unclear. http://tinyurl.com/4ydrhy
"The majority of the 3D launches we've seen over the year are fun...even cool...but not incredibly life-changing." http://tinyurl.com/4uns28
"It's getting harder and harder to argue that the iPhone isn't a good gaming platform." http://tinyurl.com/6lo9jg
Going up - "During the 1st 6 months of 2008, nearly 1 out of every 6 adults lived in wireless-only households." http://tinyurl.com/6r9ldj
Integrators, net-newsers, and traditionalists. A Pew report on news consumption has the details. http://tinyurl.com/6y3yay
Deloitte study: "Watching television was the most preferred type of media for consumers as whole." h ttp://tinyurl.com/3v4c58
"Publish in Wikipedia or perish" http://www.nature.com/news/2008/081216/full/news.2008.1312.html
"zzz-mailing" - "Come tomorrow and sort this hell hole out. Dinner and drinks, 4.pm,. Bring wine and caviar only." http://tinyurl.com/6fbtjv
"The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world in 2020." http://tinyurl.com/5aq54t
"The Japanese publishing industry has embraced cell-phone books." http://tinyurl.com/5g3p3b
"Epic failures who crashed despite being billed as the 'next big thing'." http://tinyurl.com/5o89ju
Home: Sony's version of Second Life for users of PS3. http://tinyurl.com/66wa2n

More on the Digital Natives "Myth"

2008-12-15T14:50:00.005-05:00

According to the findings of a study conducted by UK researchers, Margaryan and Littlejohn (2008, December 11), digital natives may not be the tech-savvy multitaskers portrayed in the literature. These authors continue by suggesting that moves to integrate technology into the curriculum simply to satisfy this new group of students may be a mistake.

Margaryan and Littlejohn begin by presenting some of the claims made about today's students and their relationship with technology. In the academic literature, as well as the mass media, scholars argue that the adoption of emerging technologies (i.e., the Web 2.0) has created an ever-widening gap between young people and the educational institutions they attend. But as the authors of this report note, the claims have yet to progress beyond the rhetoric. In fact, very little is known about the reported transformations that supposedly occur in young people due to their exposure to and use of technology.

While empirical research on this topic has started to surface, the conclusions are far from clear - some of the findings support the Millennial claims, whereas others run counter to them. Following their review of the research, Margaryan and Littlejohn conclude that evidence to support the digital natives rhetoric is lacking. Thus, the goal of their research is to investigate the ways in which students and instructors use technology to support learning. Students (Year 3 individuals in Social Work and Engineering) completed surveys and a selected group (students and instructors) participated in semi-structured interviews.

First the survey results:

Overall, more males than females participated in the study (39F, 121M), which is not surprising given that there are more males in Engineering than females. What is perhaps more interesting is the upper level age range of the students: the maximum age of the Engineering students was 38; in contrast, the maximum age of the Social Work students was 50. Margaryan and Littlejohn note that most of the Engineering students were around 20 years of age; however, the fact that there was quite an age spread, especially with the Social Work students, suggests that these were not the typical undergrads (age 18-22). It is worth mentioning that the authors do acknowledge that they had both "digital natives" and "digital immigrants" in their study.

In terms of technology, one of the first findings is that the students have home internet access. In addition, the students make use of the internet in the library, labs, and cafes. The top technologies owned by the study participants include: mobile phones, computers (PCs and laptops), portable media players, and digital cameras. When broken down by age, the digital natives owned mobile phones, portable media players, laptops, and game consoles. The digital immigrants owned similar technologies, yet were more likely to own a PC than the digital immigrants. A higher percentage of the digital immigrants owned a digital camera in comparison to the digital natives. Google and websites were the top technologies the Engineering and Social Work students used in the classroom. Course sites and text messaging were near the top as well. A much higher percentage of Engineering students mentioned the use of Wikipedia when compared to the Social Work students - 84% and 47% respectively.

One point that surfaced during the course of the interviews is that the participants had difficulty distinguishing between formal and informal learning situations. When asked about informal learning technologies, once again websites and course websites ranked the highest in use. The use of mobile phones and Google/Google Scholar were also frequently noted. For this question, the Engineering students ranked Wikipedia as a technology they consult for their informal learning activities. When looking at informal learning technology through an age lens, the findings suggest that older students are more likely to use Google Scholar, text messaging, and mobile phones than the younger students.

This study also examined technologies used during personal time. The Engineering students used video sharing, blogging, Wikipedia, and YouTube more than the Social Work students. Recreational access of virtual worlds such as Second Life ranked the lowest among the students as a whole. When comparing the students by age, the main difference is in their use of photo sharing and file sharing sites. Digital natives use photo sharing more; digital immigrants use file sharing more. The least frequently used technologies by the digital natives include virtual worlds, chat rooms, and discussion groups; digital immigrants infrequently used virtual worlds, blogs, chat rooms, and internet gaming. Overall, the difference between the digital natives and the digital immigrants includes the use of virtual worlds and internet games. And, as the data suggest, a small percentage of students is accessing virtual worlds.

And now the interview data:

Almost all of the students owned a mobile phone. Desktop computers appear to be more popular than laptops. (Students mentioned adequate access to computers on campus.) When asked about portable computing devices such as a PDA, several students mentioned that they didn't know what that was. Very few of the students owned game consoles.

In terms of technologies used for learning, virtual learning environments (VLE) such as Blackboard ranked the highest. Many of the students indicated that they use these spaces as content repositories. Lecture slides, notes, and course readings are commonly uploaded to the VLE. While the VLE reports by students were positive, they were puzzled by the inconsistent use of these online repositories by instructors.

Moreoever, when asked about Google, Wikipedia, YouTube and other similar tools, some students were not familiar with them. In fact, some of the Engineering and Social Work students had never heard of Google Scholar or Wikipedia. The terms podcasting and blogging were unfamiliar to a few students as well. Interestingly, those who were familiar with Wikipedia, for example, use it in a passive rather than active manner. In other words, they consult it for information but do not contribute to its content. Further, there was no evidence that digital games were used for learning.

The students were also asked about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in a learning environment. One suggestion was that the students should be taught how to use a particular technology rather than being told to go out an use it for an assignment. Several did suggest that the use of technology to improve course communication would be a positive thing.

What were some of the barriers to the integration of technology into the courses? 1) Students' lack of technological skills; 2) instructors' lack of technological skills; and 3) instructors' lack of engagement in teaching.

In addition to the student responses, the instructors were given a chance to contribute to this study. An interesting finding came from the Engineering instructors who viewed the Web 2.0 as a fad and not worth investing the time and energy needed to integrate these tools into the curriculum. One Engineering instructor admitted that he experimented with technology in his classroom but reported that he received negative feedback from his students. Some of the instructors noted that the Web 2.0 technologies are for "soft" subject areas and for pre-college education. Other barriers included time, reluctance to change, and lack of student/instructor IT skills. Of this group of instructors, handheld devises, wireless networking, texting, and instant messaging were considered to have the most educational potential.

Overall, students are using the Web 2.0 in a very limited manner. In contrast to claims that suggest they are demanding technology in the classroom, these findings suggest that students are content with the more traditional pedagogies. Many students are looking to their instructors for guidance in their use of technology; however, the instructors report that these tools are merely fads or indicate that they are simply unaware of them. Thus, this study provides empirical evidence that not all digital native are demanding an educational revolution - one that involves the integration of technology into the curriculum. Was this group atypical or is the rhetoric wrong/skewed/biased/etc.? If the digital natives (individuals who may not be as tech-savvy as they are portrayed in the literature) are not driving the revolution, then who is?

The Future's Not Ours to See, Or Is It?

2008-12-15T14:23:00.003-05:00

The folks at the Pew Internet and American Life project, with help from Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University, have examined what the Internet might look like in the future. In this December 14, 2008 report, the authors outline the results from a survey of more than 1,000 Internet specialists, critics, and analysts. Based on the responses, the following picture of what the Internet might look like in 2020 emerged:

Mobile phones will be the way we connect to the Internet.
Social tolerance will not grow as a result of the Web 2.0; in fact, these technologies may expand hate, bigotry, and intolerance.
There will be advanced touch, talk, and typing options. A "thought-based" interface may be on the horizon too.
IP law and copyright issues will remain problematic.
There will be no distinction between personal and professional time.
It is unlikely that a "next-gen" Internet system will be developed.
Will more transparency make the world a better place? The results are mixed.
More than half of the respondents think that virtual worlds will impact a large number of individuals, which means that a little less than half disagree. However, the consensus among the respondents is that virtual and augmented reality user interfaces will have to become more intuitive for there to be wide-spread adoption of these technologies.

In addition to these nuggets, the report also includes a series of quotes from respondents such as Howard Rheingold, Steve Jones, and Victoria Nash.

The Value of E-learning

2008-12-12T19:55:00.006-05:00

Caroline Haythorthwaite, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, believes that higher education courses that take place in the physical classroom could learn a thing or two from the world of online learning (or e-learning). According to Haythorthwaite, higher education tends to rely on the lecture or "broadcast" model, whereas e-learning is a more shared and democratic activity. For example, she describes in this brief article the way in which e-learning can foster an immediate discussion between students and the instructor - the instructor posts an article from the news and the discussion begins immediately; in contrast, for students in the physical classroom option may have to wait several days to discuss an article sent out via email by the instructor.

But why can't the discussion begin immediately with the physical classroom students too? If you take a blended learning approach to teaching, a discussion thread could be added to a course management system (CMS) such as a Moodle or Oncourse - tools that are typically available to e-learning and physical classroom instructors in higher ed - and the physical classroom students could have a conversation about that piece prior to the class meeting. No access to a CMS? No problem. Just start a conversation through email or IM. Another point Haythorthwaite makes is that the role of the e-learning instructor changes; instead of a lecturer, the instructor is more of a facilitator.

While I think Haythornthwaite makes a valid point about physical classroom instructors adopting some e-learning strategies, I also think her experience with e-learning is somewhat different. The LEEP program that is mentioned in this article begins with a "boot camp" experience, which occurs in a face-to-face setting. Prior to the online component of the program, the students get to know one another and work together in a physical setting. Many online courses do not anchor the instruction in this manner. Thus, creating an environment where students and instructors feel comfortable adopting roles outside the norm may be more challenging, at least at first. Also, there is much institutional support for the LEEP program, which may not be available for many e-learning instructors, particularly those who hold adjunct or part-time positions.

While it's easy to say that higher ed should adopt e-learning strategies, I would argue that some instructors have already integrated some of those techniques into the curriculum. I would also contend that without support, it can be a struggle to experiment with alternative approaches to teaching and learning.

Gaming and Gender

2008-12-12T13:28:00.003-05:00

Williams, Consalvo, Caplan, and Yee have produced a piece (pre-pub version) that touches on the gaming and gender issue. As you may recall, Williams, Caplan, and Yee published in July 2008 an article that attempts to debunk the gamer gender stereotype. In other words, the image of a young boys playing video games alone in their parents' basement is no longer an accurate one. The latest article, which has been accepted to the Journal of Communication takes a more obvious gender approach due to its use of gender role theory as a lens with which to view the data. The data used in this analysis came from a large survey dataset and unobtrusive behavior data from one year of game play. The focus of this work was on the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) EverQuest 2 (EQ2), and the primary research question centered around the basic differences between male and female EQ2 players.

Starting with some of the demographics, 80% of the sample were male (N=2,006) and 20% were female (N=434). Williams et al. found that the females were older, less likely to be students, less likely to be employed, but played more hours than their male counterparts. Females played for social reasons, but the males played to beat the game. Also, the females typically played with a romantic partner, whereas the males played alone. In cases where the males and females played together, the males were often less happy than the females. Why? Maybe the males felt like their space was being invaded? Maybe they didn't like their female partners interacting with other male players? Maybe the females were as skilled (if not more so) than the males, and they didn't like being shown up by their partners? Questions, lot of questions.

There's more. Both genders underreport the amount of time they play video games. However, the female players underreported their gameplay activities at a substantially higher rate than the males. In terms of the players health, the males thought they were healthy and fit. Interestingly, even though the females played for longer periods of time, which means they were engaged in prolonged periods of sedentary activities, the females were actually healthier than the males. The health and fitness levels of the males were aligned with the assumptions but the female levels were not. Could this be the result of inaccurate self-reports by the females? The authors claim that more research is needed to further investigate this issue.

One demographic question the authors asked was related to sexual identification, which produced, according to Williams and his colleagues, unpredicted results. The analysis found that female players were more more likely to report being bisexual; in contrast, males were less likely to report being homosexual. These findings were surprising in that they did not match the general population estimates. Almost 4% of the males and approximately 7% of the females declined to respond to the question put forth by Williams et al., so the difference between the EQ2 players and the general population estimates could be even more pronounced.

Gender differences among individuals who venture into virtual worlds is a rather untapped area. Thus, research like the Williams et al. study is important to further our understanding of gameplay activity. This is a first step, and more research is definitely needed to investigate the plethora of questions that remain. Are EQ2 players unique or do they share characteristics with World of Warcraft (WoW) players or even Second Life (SL) residents? Longitudinal research is needed as well to determine whether these characteristics represent a snapshot in time or whether they persist over extended periods of gameplay in virtual environments that continue to evolve.

Hypertext - A Blast from the Past

2008-12-08T15:47:00.008-05:00

A professor in my department recommended an article to me by Dr. Andrew Dillon about hypertext. As you may guess by the topic, this is not a recent article; in fact, it was written in 1996. However, much of what Dillon talks about in this piece is very much aligned with the issues I've been wrestling with as I've been reading the virtual world literature, writing my qualifying exam paper, and beginning to outline a proposal for my dissertation research.

Dillon begins this piece by discussing the three sides of a triangle that scholars fall into when debating the integration of technology into the curriculum. First, according to Dillon, are the educationalists who prefer a technological approach to education and who advocate a virtual, networked, and non-linear learning environment. Next are those who hold a counter viewpoint and dismiss the educational potential of technology. And finally, there are those who view the technologies as a tool that can be a powerful learning aid when used correctly, and nothing more than plastic and electronic circuits when not. Dillon falls in the third category and wants to see evidence of the impact of technology on education.

Dillon highlights a definition of acceptable technology that was put forth by Shackel (1991). Based on Shackel's definition, a technology must satisfy specific criteria in terms of functionality, usability, and cost. Dillon also notes that the physical world can be an important shaper of theory. Further, he contends that just because a learning has replicated the instructor's representation of knowledge does not mean that a meaningful learning experience occurred. To me, this calls into question the value of Vygotsky's (1978) zone of proximal development in that just because a learner can accomplish tasks with assistance from a more knowledgeable individual (e.g., instructor, more experienced peer) - ones that the learner could not complete alone - does not mean that this individual actually had a meaningful learning experience.

One of the myths Dillon points out is that that paper, as opposed to hypertext, is constricting for the learning. While on this surface this notion appears to have nothing to do with virtual worlds, Dillon's follow-up statement does: that it's not the technology that frees us from the constrictions of the physical world, but rather the methods. (Sounds a bit like Clark's 1983 position on technology, doesn't it?) Dillon continues by suggesting that as the arguments for technology move from advocating that these environments are liberating for the typical learner to one that claims that they are good for beginning learners, which may not be the case.

Much of the literature "pretends" that technology will solve all our current educational problems. This, as Dillon rightly notes, is aligned with technological determinism. Dillon concludes that educators need to view learning at the task level. In other words, how do learners complete tasks in the physical world. By moving to the task level, educators can conceptualize the technology as a supplement, and not a replacement, to the learning process.

Socrates in the Boardroom

2008-12-08T15:04:00.003-05:00

Should the top university officials come from academia? In the past, these individuals were selected from among the pool of research faculty; however, many institutions are now drawing candidates with business experience instead of academic experience. They claim that leaders in the upper levels of university administration need a wide variety of skills to be effective in their positions.

However, based on Dr. Amanda Goodall's interviews with 26 university leaders, the response to the opening question is yes - top university officials should come from academia. She notes that top research institutions such as Standford and MIT would never consider hiring an outsider to fill a leadership position. In addition, she points to the fields of law and accounting, and argues that no one would consider fill a top job in a law firm with a non-lawyer; similarly, a top job at an accounting firm would not be filled by a journalist, for example. Nonetheless, institutions, like the University of Colorado and the University of Missouri have hired business executives to fill the job of university president.

More on this issue can be found in Dr. Goodall's forthcoming book published by Princeton University Press titled, Socrates in the Boardroom: Why Research Universities Should be Led by Top Scholars.

Adults, Video Games, and Contradictions

2008-12-08T11:46:00.006-05:00

Pew just released a new report that focuses on adults and their video game playing activities. The data were collected October - December 2007 as part of a gadget survey. Information on video games is very popular, and it is surprising that it took Pew almost a year to process these results. This is a rapidly changing area, so I wonder whether the figures present an accurate assessment of the current population?

Regardless, the findings do represent at the minimum a snapshot in time of video games and the adults who play them. Here are some of the numbers:

53% of adults (age 18+) play video games. In fact, the 18-29 age bracket includes the largest percentage of game players.
While the younger generations are more likely to play video games than older groups, the length of game play time increases with age.
A slightly higher percentage of males play video games than females, 55% to 50% respectively.
A higher percentage of students play game in comparison to non-students - 76% vs. 49%.
Younger people prefer to play video games on consoles, whereas older individuals prefer games on a computer.
Parents are more likely to play video games than non-parents.

Overall, the largest percentage of video game players are between the ages of 18-29, their estimated salary range is between $50,000 and $74,999, they have completed some college or are a college graduate, they are more likely to live in urban areas and be Internet users.

Questions: One question I have is related to the findings about virtual worlds. According to this Pew report, only 2% of gamers say they visit virtual worlds like Second Life (SL); 11% of teen game players responded that they have visited a virtual world. However, in an earlier Pew report on video games and teens, the percentage of teens visiting these worlds was 10%. A rounding error? The other numbers mentioned in the two reports match.

Next, Williams, Yee, and Caplan (2008) recently surveyed EverQuest (EQ) players. Their data from 7,000 participants suggests that the average of of game players is a little over 31 years of age. Stated another way, these researchers found that more players were over 30 than in their teens or in the college age range. So, are the game players younger or older? Like the current Pew study, however, Williams and his colleagues found that game play increases with age.

Another question deals with gender. The survey conducted by Williams et al. found that a large percentage of game players are male - 81% male in contrast to 19% female. The Pew findings were more balanced at 55% male and 50% female. Who's right? Or, is there a right answer? Is it possible to get an accurate assessment of video gamers given that it's difficult, if not impossible, to survey the entire population?

I Read the News Today...

2008-12-06T10:35:00.005-05:00

In the past week, there have been several articles in the mass media about Second Life. The interesting thing about the following pieces is that they take a more negative/cautious stance on this virtual world - the first two in particular.

Second Life's Second Wind: Has Second Life moved away from the hype and into a gloom stage?

Why is It Called Second Life When There's Nothing Alive There?: "Wandering around Second Life today is like visiting Blackpool in February; all sad empty shops, deserted car parks and the stench of loneliness..."

Is There a Second Life for Teaching?: Two sentences in this piece sum up part of my dilemma with educators appropriating technologies designed for non-educational purposes in hopes of making the learning process more palatable to students.

"Salmon believes that Second Life constitutes a good example of 'edutainment' - the idea that students are more likely to learn if they are first amused."

"A recent Jisc/Mori report indicated that Second Life remained the least popular technological pursuit among students. As many as 76% have never, or only rarely, stepped inside a virtual world, and some students polled thought that environments such as Second Life were 'sad'."

And finally...Studies in Second Life: "Duncan Innis stands in front of the class wearing a suit and a semi-up hairdo longer than the real professor’s real-life hair. It’s 11:35 a.m. and class is in session. Of all the students, Deerhunter immediately makes an impression. Maybe it was because he raised his hand before anyone else in class to discuss the media empire of Cosmopolitan."

The instructor stands in front of the class, and the students raise "their hands" to speak. How is this different from the physical classroom. This article concludes by noting that the educators interviewed for this piece recognize that SL will not replace the physical classroom. Nonetheless, they believe it (or another three-dimensional virtual world like it) will become a part of the educational curriculum, at least in Canada.

A Snapshot of SL Educators

2008-11-29T11:03:00.003-05:00

In May 2008, the New Media Consortium (NMC) asked individuals on the Second Life Educators (SLED) discussion list to complete a survey about their experiences in the virtual world Second Life (SL). In 2007, 207 educators completed the survey; in 2008, the number increased to 358 - 64% of these respondents are affiliated with the NMC. The highlights from the 2008 survey are as follows:

Educators are no longer merely exploring SL; instead, they are using this virtual world for teaching and learning purposes.
The contact lists of these educators is growing.
The 2008 respondents are more experienced in SL. Interestingly, a large proportion of the educators in SL are between the age of 36 and 55; few play console video games or engage in massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). These individuals are watching less television as well.
Educators want to learn how to create in SL - scripting, machinima, building things, etc.
The majority of educators do not create an avatar that resembles their physical self.
More than half of the respondents have more than one avatar.
Positive experiences reported by the educators included meeting people and interactions with others.
Griefers continue to be a problem in SL.
Top activities these educators reported doing in SL include random wandering, attending events, and meeting new people, just to name a few.

Additional details about the educational activities in SL can be found in the 2008, as well as the 2007 reports.

Adults - They Take Over Everything

2008-11-21T10:18:00.008-05:00

Last night as I was trying to shift gears a bit from yesterday's youth and media use report, I picked up the latest issue (at least the latest one I've received) of The New Yorker. A piece by Joan Acocella - a dance and book reviewer for the magazine - just happened to be on the topic of overparenting (also known as helicopter parenting, hothouse parenting, or when I was growing up, spoiling). While this is not intended to be a scholarly review of parenting today's young people, the content does tie into many of the scholarly works on youth and technology. One vignette in particular near the end of the article illustrates my nagging concern about the integration of technology in the classroom simply for the sake of appeasing the alleged demands of tech-savvy youth.

Acocella highlights Carl Honoré's experience with his seven-year-old son. In this example, the son's art teacher told Honoré that his son was a gifted artist. Because of this talent, Honoré suggested to his son that he enroll in after school art classes. His son responded in the following manner: “I don’t want to go to class and have a teacher tell me what to do—I just want to draw. . . . Why do grown-ups have to take over everything?” To the son, the notion of moving his self-directed interest in art into a more formal educational setting was horrifying to him.

It is this type of reaction that supports research findings that young people want moderate technology use in the classroom. Studies show that students want to have face-to-face interactions with their teachers and to gain expertise from them. Therefore, are young people viewing the appropriation of entertainment technologies by educators as grown-ups taking over everything? It's certainly something to consider. If this is the case, then is there a way to use technology to foster the educational process without it taking it over?

Failing through Teaching to the Test

2008-11-20T13:44:00.002-05:00

Harvard's Tony Wagner argues that teaching to the test is setting kids up to fail in the global marketplace. Based on his conversations with employers, they want to hire individuals who ask good questions and who can engage in a thoughtful conversation. (These comments are similar to those collected by Cassner-Lotto and Wright Benner, 2006.) Knowing how to use the latest gadget or technological device does not rank high on their list of employee traits. (There's always on-the-job training for that.). In Wagner's experience, teaching to the test may enable students to score high on exams, but not meet these basic employer demands. Further, according to Wagner, being tech-savvy is only going to take these young people so far in life. Therefore, he has come up with a list of seven skills students need, which include:

Problem-solving and critical thinking;
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence;
Agility and adaptability;
Initiative and entrepreneurship;
Effective written and oral communication;
Accessing and analyzing information; and
Curiosity and imagination.

Many educators and scholars are calling for change. Some reports point to the adoption of technology as the answer, whereas others, like Wagner, are looking past the technology to reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Technology may come and go, but a solid foundation based on reading, writing, and critical skills can last a lifetime.

"Geeking Out"

2008-11-20T11:44:00.012-05:00

What are kids doing online? Contrary to media reports of young people interacting with online predators, the findings presented by Ito et al. suggest otherwise. Mizuko Ito, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, and her colleagues found that today's youth are involved in activities that are similar to those their parents were engaged in when they were kids. Today's young people spend time online hanging out with their friends and socializing. Sound familiar? Much time and effort was invested in this research. In fact, this three-year study, led by Ito, involved hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of online observation. It is the most extensive U.S. study of youth media use.

Other than their children encountering predators online, what do parents worry about? Ito et al. suggest that there are concerns about social isolation. However, these researchers argue that most of the online activities that young people engage in are very social, even though the interactions are not with others who are co-present. Instead of worrying, Ito et al. contend that parents need to recognize what motivates their youngster and cultivate those interests.

Socializing is not the only reason young people use technology. According to this study, today's youth are using technology to extend existing friendships. Sites such as Facebook and MySpace (among others) allow them to remain in constant contact with friends. Also, they are spending time online to explore their interests in topics that often extend beyond their school work. Moreover, these youth are able to connect with others who share those interests, as well as distribute their work and receive recognition for it in a public forum. The feedback these youth receive in this arena is typically from their more experienced peers rather than from adults and teachers (think Vygotsky and Piaget). Through this form of self-directed learning, which provides the youth a sense of freedom and autonomy that is often not found in the physical classroom, they learn technology and media literacy skills. It is this diving into a topic or a talent in a very social manner - one where adults are not the experts - that the researchers refer to as "geeking out."

I would have to say that geeking out (and is not an activity exclusive to young people. In fact, I don't think it's a generational trait at all. I would suspect that research could be conducted on older individuals who use technology, and similar characteristics would be present. It is worthwhile to investigate what today's youth are actually doing when they go online. However, researchers should be careful not to frame their findings in ways that would suggest that these young people are a homogeneous group, or that they are unique in comparison to other age groups. (For research that counters the notion of a universal, tech-savvy youth, see Hargittai (2008) and Herring (2008).)

While I didn't count the number of males and females highlighted in the Ito et al. report, it felt somewhat male-centric. The females were noted in the section describing ways they selected their Facebook page designed based on the color of their bedrooms. In contrast, however, the examples of the males (and there were many) included a type of tinkering that involved taking apart an X-box and rebuilding it. Changing the background of a social networking site (SNS) is not comparable to rebuilding a computer. Thus, how does technology use by young people differ by gender? What do these differences mean when integrating technology into a classroom setting? Would it possibly be a bridge that connects young males to academia while alienating females who typically perform well in the physical classroom? That information is not outlined in this report.

(On p. 36, the researchers do mention that the "work indicates a predictable participation gap" and "girls tend to be stigmatized more if they identify with geeked out practices." If this is true, then why do recent Pew Internet & American Life reports, for example, indicate that girls are active technology users, including in the realm of gaming?)

Also, recent reports have suggested that while young people are avid technology users in their personal lives, they prefer moderate technology use in the classroom (e.g., 2008 ECAR study). If a teacher were to integrate a self-directed component using technology into the curriculum, would the students buy into it? Or, would the students simply treat it as another assignment they submit for a grade? In other words, would the students do what was required to get a grade and nothing more? Creating an online, self-directed, unguided learning process that occurs informally may be difficult to simulate in a "traditional" classroom environment. As Kirschner et al. (2006) argue, students, especially those unfamiliar with a particular topic, may need some guidance before exploring independently.

More on Virtual Learning

2008-11-19T17:39:00.002-05:00

The latest NSSE report not only discusses physical classroom student engagement issues, but it also includes a section about online learning. Based on this research, the outlook for online learning is a promising one. Questions were given to more than 22,000 students from 47 institutions. And the survey says:

At least 75% of their courses were delivered online for 1,128 (12%) first-year students and 1,637 (14%) seniors.
Both first-year and senior online learners reported more deep approaches to learning in their coursework.
Online courses seem to stimulate more intellectual challenge and educational gains.
In comparison to f2f classroom learners, both first-year and senior online learners reported more deep approaches to learning in their coursework - 58 % of first-year students who take most of their courses online reported using higher-order thinking in their coursework; only 55% of classroom-based learners reported in a similar fashion.
62% of first-year students who take most of their classes online reported using reflective learning in their coursework; 59% of classroom-based learners mentioned reflective learning.

Virtual Learning Reports

2008-11-19T14:54:00.007-05:00

There are a couple of new reports out on the topic of online learning in the K-12 arena. The first is titled, Learning Virtually: Expanding Opportunities. This is a report authored by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), a non-profit, educational association for state technology directors. A few interesting tidbits detailed in this report include:

Virtual learning is not a "silver bullet" or a "one-size-fits-all" solution.
Currently, 44 states have virtual learning programs. This includes Michigan and Florida.
57% of public secondary schools provided access to students for online learning.
19% of school districts paid for a computer for all students and another 10% of
districts provided a computer for some students.
The Virtual High School (VHS) Advanced Placement research shows that on
average students perform equally well or better in online learning.

The second report, Going Virtual! Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Teachers is the second phase of a three-part study series. A research team from Boise State University, led by Kerry Rice, with additional support from the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL), is behind this initiative. Here are a few of the research findings:

The overall workforce in online education consists of relatively experienced teachers. Fifty‐five percent of teachers have between six to fifteen years of total teaching experience, with 18% reporting 16 or more years of teaching experience.
72% have participated in ongoing training sessions in online teaching.
Professional development needs rated as very important (rating of 4 on scale of 1‐4) included use of communication technologies (74%), time management strategies (62%), risks of academic dishonesty to learners (60%), and student internet safety (60%).
Challenges expressed by participants included time management (n = 71), students taking responsibility for learning (n = 61), communication (n = 54), and their ability to learn and use technologies (n = 54).

In other virtual learning news this week, Inside Higher Ed is reporting that online courses are popular with students. However, administrators are finding that the more "traditional" models - ones sometimes used for correspondence courses completed by mail - are inadequate. For example, one instructor at the University of Iowa taught eight online courses and two face-to-face courses last year. His bonus for taking on this additional load was $120,000! This was on top of his salary. What are some alternative options? Wallace Loh, a provost at Iowa, mentions two: either support the faculty with pay/time/tech resources or create a centralized course creation department (in other words, become a course factory similar to the U. of Phoenix model).

Despite the financial rewards for teaching online courses at some institutions, there are administrators who find it difficult to recruit faculty to teach. Some faculty argue that teaching an online course takes more time and a different skill-set than preparing for one that takes place in the physical classroom. While these represent just a few of the challenges faced by administrators and faculty, in the end, both sides argue that they want faculty to be treated fairly.

Academic Entitlement (AE)

2008-11-14T17:34:00.005-05:00

The number of media reports about students feeling entitled to good grades with minimal effort has increased in the past decade. Self-esteem has also been on the rise in recent years. A new study by Greenberger and her colleagues (2008) investigates the prevalence of academic entitlement (AE) among undergraduates between the ages of 18-25. More specifically, these researchers examine the relationship between personality, parenting, and motivation. In their review of the literature, they note that different measures of entitlement have been used by researchers, yet they all agree that entitlement is a problematic trait. Greenberger et al. also ponder about the possible contributors to AE. These include personality variables, socialization practices with families, and copying strategies among students with declining grades.

This study was conducted in two parts. Study 1 included 466 ethnically diverse undergraduates, 364 females and 102 males. Males only scored slightly higher on the AE measurements than the females. The researchers also found that work ethic was negatively correlated to AE. Further, Greenberger et al. argue that AE is not just exaggerated self-esteem. This finding in particular is interesting given the top responses to their survey: "trying hard" should be considered when the instructor is grading; students who do most of the course readings should receive at least a "B"; and students who attend most of the class sessions should receive at least a "B." Guess you don't need a healthy self-esteem to think that you should be rewarded just for showing up.

Study 2 was similar in that the focus was on ethnically diverse undergrads. This time 244 females and 109 males participated. In this portion of the research, the authors were interested in the perception of parenting practices and the relationship of that variable to AE. The students reported that their parents were warm and accepting of their academic achievements. Based on the responses, however, the authors conclude that particular family dynamics such as emphasizing good grades over learning may contribute to higher levels of AE. Moreover, the research once again suggests that AE is not necessarily associated with self-esteem.

While there was no breakdown of the results by major, it would be interesting to determine whether there was a connection between high AE and the major. For example, schools of business are typically very competitive environments. In this context, are the levels of AE higher than for students who are majoring in less competitive environments such as English? Also, the findings showed no significant different between the male and female AE levels. Would this be the case for students in computer science and other male-centric disciplines? Because self-confidence, which was not measured by Greenberger and her colleagues, is often lower for females in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, it would be informative to further investigate AE for those students specifically. I suspect that the results may be quite different from a general examination of "traditional" undergrads.

Games, Other Media Forms, and Convergence

2008-11-14T15:36:00.004-05:00

Games and other forms of media are converging. Sara de Freitas and Mark Griffiths (2008) review the literature on this trend to examine the ways games are converging with other media. These authors divide their discussion into three sections:

Gaming and cinema;
Gaming and the Internet; and
Gaming and mobile devices.

The discussion begins with the convergence between games and films. Video sharing sites such as YouTube enable individuals to create the content. An emergent aspect of gaming, modding, Also, open-ended interactions are supported. While I question the interaction capabilities of YouTube and related sites (see Alex Juhasz's critique of YouTube for educational purposes here, here, and here for more information on this issue), de Freitas and her colleague contend that these two characteristics that are shared between games and the cinema are the links to educational uses of these resources. Machinima, which is becoming more widespread, is one example of the convergence between games and cinema. Gus Van Sant's movie, Elephant, is another in that he used a game-like filming of narrative to frame his story of the Columbine shooting.

Next, the authors note the convergence that's taking place between computer gaming and the Internet. This has trend has its roots in the early text-based worlds of MUDs and MOOs. In terms of educational possibilities associated with this movement, de Freitas and Griffiths claim that educational studies of digital games are in the nascent stages.

The final convergence category described by the authors is games and mobile devices, including mobile augmented reality (MAR). Mobile technologies are very popular, and some institutions are using mobile phones in particular to distribute course content. Further, work on technologies that will enable individuals to access virtual world such as Second Life via a mobile phone are underway. Based on this, it is likely that educators will soon be experimenting with the combination of course content delivery in SL via a mobile phone.

What do all three of these convergence trends have in common? According to de Freitas and her colleague, they place greater emphasis on the learner, provide more opportunities for horizontal learning (e.g., peer-to-peer learning per Wenger, 1998), and enable more social interaction among learners. This notion of learners as the producers of content (and not merely consumers) contradicts the thoughts of Jakob Nielsen (1993) who stated that users are not designers.

The study of games for educational purposes is relatively new. And, I would argue that even less work has been done to investigate the meaning of this convergence in terms of teaching and learning. This article by de Freitas and Griffiths provides a glimpse into this area of research that will hopefully expand rapidly, so educators will be able to take advantage of the possibilities associated with these blended virtual environments.

Serious Virtual Worlds

2008-11-11T13:45:00.010-05:00

I've read a lot of Sara de Freitas' work (e.g., here and here), and I enjoy reviewing the reports she produces. They are thorough, insightful, and I always find that I learn something. Her latest report, "Serious Virtual Worlds" is no exception. In fact, it's one of the better pieces I've read recently on the topic of educational uses for virtual worlds. If you don't have time to read through this 52 page report, make time to peruse the tables that are integrated throughout the text.

De Freitas begins by stating the obvious: virtual worlds are popular. However, many of the claims made about the popularity of these environments are found in blog postings and other informal, and unvalidated outlets. Thus, it is difficult for educators to know which ones to select and for which contexts. The purpose of this report is to help policy makers and educators better understand virtual worlds. In addition, de Freitas hopes to shed light on the role learners play in these worlds.

Not only does de Freitas provide a nice literature review on the current state of virtual worlds, but she also provides case studies on five virtual worlds: 1) Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEU), which was launched in 1997; 2) Project Wonderland, an open-source world; 3) Online Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVE), a world used for training by the U.S. military and medical schools; 4) Second Life SciLands; and 5) Croquet, a world that has been described as "Alice in Wonderland-type" (p. 21). One thing to look out for is a shift from the name virtual worlds to immersive worlds. De Freitas seems to use these terms interchangeably, and she may be previewing a change in the way we refer to these worlds. [NOTE: She also used the term "immersive" in her 2007 report on game-based learning.]

In the section on "Working Worlds," de Freitas outlines five different categories of virtual worlds. They include the following: 1) role play worlds; 2) social worlds; 3) working worlds; 4) training worlds; and 5) mirror worlds. She also provides examples of each type of world (e.g., World of Warcraft is listed as a role play world, whereas Second Life (SL) is categorized as a social world) and notes the value of these worlds for learning and education.

One section of this report that is of particular interest to me is de Freitas' discussion on the blending between massively multiplayer games (MMOGs) and SL. A convergence between the two, according to de Freitas, is "quite possible" (p. 12). In fact, she highlights the use of Project Darkstar as Project Wonderland's underlying technology as an example of the convergence between the two. While there are scholars who claim that open-ended virtual worlds such as SL are not games (e.g., Bartle, 2004; Kelton, 2007; Oishi, 2007; Steinkuehler, 2008), there is not 100% agreement on this point. Virtual worlds and MMOGs are becoming more alike, and as a result, the game vs. not a game "debate" may be wasted energy. Instead, the more interesting point to examine may be why open-ended virtual worlds are becoming more game-like. Or, alternatively, the focus may be on why MMOGs are becoming more open-ended virtual environments.

Overall, virtual worlds place greater emphasis on the learner. Further, there are signs that physical world and virtual world experiences are beginning to blend. In the end, though, de Freitas contends that virtual worlds will not replace face-to-face interactions. Instead, these virtual spaces will supplement traditional approaches.

Will the Real Gamers Please Stand Up

2008-11-10T14:07:00.006-05:00

When many people think about video gamers, the first image that comes to mind is the pasty teenage boy sitting in his parents' basement. But how accurate is that? Williams, Yee, and Caplan (2008) conducted a survey of 7,000 EverQuest 2 (EQ2) players. With the blessing of Sony Online Entertainment, the game operator, the authors were also able to collect in-game behavioral data. This is quite an accomplishment given that game operators are typically reluctant to provide gamer data to researchers. The goal was to combine the self-reports with the in-game data collected by the game operator to examine player motivation, as well as the mental and physical health of the players. Demographic data was collected via the survey instrument. The research approach taken by the group led by Williams differs from the common tactic. Typically, this type of research involves single-player computer lab sessions and self-report data.

Prior research suggests that there are physical and mental health risks associated with video game play. For example, a study by Anderson et al. released last week found a connection between aggressive physical behavior and video game playing among children. Williams and his colleagues wanted to determine the accuracy of some of the earlier findings about video game play and assess the characteristics of the players themselves.

For the most part, the Williams et al. findings contradict earlier research.

Play time: ~26 hours/week (among all players)
Average age: 31 years old [older players played more than younger; there were more older players in general]
Gender: 81% male; 19% female [however, adult females logged in more hours]
Race: Whites and Native Americans played more video games
Income and education: Players were wealthier and more educated
Religion: Players were less likely to be religious
Media Use: Players spend less time watching television and reading newspapers
Physical health: EQ2 players were slightly overweight but less so than the national average
Mental health: Higher levels of depression, especially among the female players; higher levels of substance abuse; lower levels of anxiety
Role playing: A fringe activity

Because many of the findings put forth by Williams and his colleagues do not match the rhetoric found in the literature, they conclude with a list of questions (i.e., areas for future research):

Why are there inaccurate stereotypes?
Why are older females playing at higher rates than younger males?
Why are EQ2 players healthier than the general population?
Why do minorities play video games at lower rates than other groups?
Why are players less religious than non-players?
Why are mental health problems more prevalent in players than in non-players.

The introductory paragraphs indicate that in-game behavioral data were collected by the authors. Based on this article, it isn't clear what information was collected and how it supported or refuted the survey findings. In the "Sampling and Procedure" section, Williams et al. note that there was a link between the survey participants and the in-game data. However, it appears that the main measure collected in-game was playing time. While this could be used to support the self-reports associated with playing time, it doesn't do much to inform the other variables. One point the authors emphasize is that much of the past research is not generalizable because it is difficult to get access to the players. These authors were able to get access to the players, but the findings still appeared to rely heavily on the self-reports of players, which can be inaccurate.

Violence and Video Games

2008-11-03T10:37:00.005-05:00

A new study posted today to Pediatrics examines the longitudinal effects of violent video games on the physical aggression levels of young players. The players under investigation were based in the U.S. and in Japan. In both locations, playing video games is a popular activity among young people (e.g., here and here). Anderson and his colleagues wanted to assess the impact exposure to violent video game had in high- (U.S.) and low- (Japan) violence cultures. Two samples included Japanese teens ages 12-18; the third sample included U.S. young people ages 9-12.

The findings suggest that habitual exposure to violent video games early in the school year predicted later physical aggression in the study participants. This was true for the U.S. (an individualistic culture and the two Japanese (a more collective culture) groups, but less so (but still significant) for the older teens. This contradicts an alternative hypothesis that only aggressive children are affected by repeat exposure to violent video games.

While extreme violence was rare among the participants of this study, the findings of the Anderson et al. study are important because, as these authors note, youth violence accounts for many deaths. As a Surgeon General's report on youth violence states, homicide is the leading cause of death for Blacks between the ages of 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for young Hispanics.

What does this mean for researchers who are using controversial games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for educational purposes? Much of this research is conducted with disadvantaged youth whose lives are filled with poverty, drug use, and violence. By adding a violent video game to the mix, are we as educators placing these young people in even more danger? While these games are appealing to students and may foster the acquisition of certain skills (literacy, technological, decision-making, etc.), are the potential risks worth it? As Anderson et al. contend, more research is needed. However, their findings thus far are enough to make educators approach the integration of violent video games into the curriculum with caution.

Student Plagiarism

2008-11-03T07:49:00.005-05:00

Almost half of the students surveyed at the University of Cambridge plagiarize. The study, conducted by the student newspaper Varsity, found that 49% of the participants admitted to acts that are defined by the university as plagiarism. The acts range from turning in someone else's work without acknowledgement to purchasing a term paper. Interestingly, law students admitted to plagiarism more than other disciplines at 62%. Overall, however, only 5% of the survey participants have ever been caught. Perhaps more troubling is that many students interviewed by the paper staff did NOT consider their acts plagiarism.

So, is the rising number of plagiarists a training issue? If we teach students what constitutes plagiarism, will the numbers go down? If the competitive pressure of certain disciplines such as law were eliminated, would the need to plagiarize also disappear? Or, has plagiarism simply become an acceptable practice in our culture?

On a related note, Drexel University's The Smart Set has an interesting piece written by Nick Mamatas - an author who wrote papers for a term paper mill on the side. Highlights from the article include:

Term paper work is easy, once you get the hang of it.
Getting the hang of it is tricky.
The secret to writing term papers for one of these outlets is to have fun.
Many students have never read a term paper. The author compares this to asking a student to write a novel without reading one first.
The students are not only cheating themselves; they are also cheated by their institutions that give them nothing in return.

A Web 2.0 Campaign

2008-11-03T07:21:00.003-05:00

We've been talking about video sharing sites in class for a few weeks, and an article in today's New York Times discusses the ways in which sites like YouTube (and other Web 2.0 technologies) have changed the campaign. David Carr and Brian Stelter kick off the conversation by noting that the clip from “Meet the Press” of Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama appeared on MSNBC.com hours before individuals on the West Coast could watch the interview in its entirety on television. What's also interesting is that many of the Web 2.0 technologies that have been heavily utilized in the 2008 campaign (e.g., YouTube, Facebook) were not yet available in 2004.

Obama and McCain both used Web 2.0 technologies to further their campaigns, but they did so in different ways. Last week alone, the Obama campaign uploaded 70 new videos. Many of the videos, including ones on BarackObama.com were not television ads; rather Obama's new-media director stated that many of the videos were more biographical in nature. In contrast, McCain produced videos that revitalized older news stories such as those about Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

While one could speculate that the heavy use of the Internet in the current campaign could mean the end of the more traditional media outlets, this does not appear to be the case. As the Colin Powell example illustrates, networks like NBC are taking advantage of their web outlets to preview their television content. Katie Couric and other reporters have their own YouTube channel. In other words, it's not an either-or decision.

Further, one medium isn't dominating. On election night, for instance, it is expected that individuals will be watching the election results on television as well as accessing news and information from online sources. The best of both worlds.

Students and Their Social Networking Habits

2008-10-30T07:14:00.002-04:00

In just one year, Inside Higher Ed reports that the questions educators are asking about social networking sites (SNSs) have changed. Instead of wondering what to do about their students' technology habits, today, educators are pondering whether to adopt students' existing technology habits. Researchers from Arizona State University conducted a study to address this issue, and presented their findings at this year's EDUCAUSE Conference.

The study, led by Dr. Laura Brewer, involved an online survey of 3,000 first-year students living on campus (21% response rate). The questions were designed to assess how the respondents used Facebook to create their identities (academic and social). In addition, the researchers wanted to assess how this form of identity creation might affect student retention rates.

Some research has shown that web-based tools can improve retention; however, according to Brewer, it is unclear how students' technology habits relate to the teaching and learning process. Nonetheless, SNSs were popular with the respondents - a little more than 93% use Facebook and almost 89% are active users. In terms of academic-related use, slightly more than 68% joined Facebook for their dorm; only 37.4% said that Facebook enriches their academic life, which means that approximately 70% said it did not. Very few of the students are using Facebook to connect to the faculty. Instead, they are using this SNS to stay connected to classmates or work in groups. On a more negative note, some respondents stated that Facebook could be a distraction and encourage cheating.

The findings of this report appear to be aligned with the latest ECAR study on undergrads and technology in that SNS are popular among young people for personal use. However, these same individuals may not want to incorporate SNS into their academic lives.

Blackboard's Foray into OSS

2008-10-28T06:55:00.004-04:00

The for-profit, course management system (CMS), Blackboard, is trying to attract the attention of institutions that prefer an open source approach. They're doing so by creating plug-ins (some of which are referred to as "Building Blocks") for systems such as Sakai. Similar connectors are in the works for Moodle as well.

While Blackboard is the top dog among CMSs in higher education, there is a growing number of individuals and developers moving toward the open source approach. Blackboard obviously recognizes this and wants to make sure they are in on the action. But will this mean the end of open source CMSs? Or, alternatively, will a for-profit become more open?

More on these Blackboard partnerships can be found here.

The Future of Higher Education

2008-10-27T17:25:00.005-04:00

Hot off the presses! NMC, along with The Economist and Apple Computer, Inc. just released a white paper on the ways in which technology is shaping the future of higher education. The paper reports on the findings of a survey of almost 300 executives - CIOs and tech leaders both inside and outside education. Twelve interviews were conducted with individuals from this group as well. The results suggest that technology will profoundly change higher education over the next five years. Here are some specifics from the survey data:

60% of all respondents expect that professors will teach in more than one medium by 2013
60% say that online learning will be a fundamental component of the education experience
64% of respondents expect that universities will frequently partner with corporations and other third parties to create new areas of study over the next five years

As was the case with the students who participated in the 2008 ECAR study, the respondents of the NMC survey reported that social networking sites (SNSs) were popular tools among those in campus administration. Career services and alumni groups are examples of units that favor the use of SNSs.

Also becoming more popular in higher education throughout the world is online learning. Many of the institutions are making connections with other countries through the formation of foreign location sites. Overall, many of the higher education respondents said that technology has positively impacted their institutions.

While this NMC report is suggesting that we will see more technology in our classrooms over the next five years, the ECAR students stated that they wanted only moderate amounts of technology. In fact, they claimed that face-to-face interactions with their instructors was very important to them. So, who is driving this push toward more technology? Because this report was produced, at least in part, by those with corporate interests (The Economists, Apple Computer, and tech leaders inside/outside academia), one could posit that they have a vested interest in promoting the use of technology and encouraging more partnerships corporations and higher education institutions.

If we as educators blindly accept technology without assessing the actual learning benefits associated with the technology, are we really serving our "tech-savvy" customers? Based on the ECAR study, these customers may say "no." It appears that today's students make a clear distinction between use of technology for personal and academic reasons. While they are enthusiastic technology users in their personal life, they are less enthusiastic about these tools for learning purposes. Perhaps the tech leaders are viewing higher education their their own adult, corporate lens rather than really finding out what the users want.

ECAR Study on Undergrads and Technology Use

2008-10-25T10:24:00.007-04:00

A new ECAR study, with a focus on social networking sites (SNSs), was released earlier this week. For those new to the ECAR study on undergraduates, this work began in 2004 and the reports are produced on a yearly basis. More than 27,000 student participated in the 2008 study, and a majority of those were "traditional" students (i.e., individuals under the age of 25, attending 4-year institutions full time).

The findings: Slightly more than 80% of the students had laptop computers, and the majority of those were new devices. More than 65% of the respondents owned an internet-capable cell phone; however, they don't access the internet in this manner because of cost, difficulty of use, and slow response times. On average, these students spend more than 19 hours/week online for work, school, or recreation. But, 69% spend less than 20 hours/week online. This varies by major: engineering majors spend more time online; education and life/biological sciences majors less. Almost all of the students have high-speed internet. Less than 2% still used a dial-up connection.

For these students, technnology is about communication. Social networking sites (especially Facebook) and text messaging are popular with over 80% of ECAR respondents communicating in this fashion. While many students are involved in creating audio and video materials, as well as engaging in gaming activities, the males do so more than the females. There are also gender differences when examining early adopters: almost 53% of the males considered themselves early adopters; in contrast, only 25% of female students responded in a similar fashion. When looking at Second Life specifically, only 8.8% (or only 1 student out of 11) are involved in this world.

Many students consider themselves tech-savvy; however, many educators are beginning to question these students' abilities. While the students are enthusiastic about technology, they report that they only want moderate amounts of technology in their courses. This is consistent with the 2007 ECAR findings. According to the authors of the 2008 report, this is consistent with the findings over the past 5 years. Males prefer slightly more technology in courses than females, yet both value face-to-face time with instructors. When asked what specific technologies students liked to learn through, more than 50% said they preferred video games and simulations. Only running internet searches ranked higher.

Almost 12% said they were taking an online course(s) during the time of this study. Most of the comments about online courses were negative: 1) lack of face-to-face interaction; 2) online courses facilitate cheating; 3) technical problems; and 4) online courses are more demanding because students have to "teach themselves." Less than 25% of ECAR respondents believe that institutions should require them to take an online course. Most have used a CMS.

Overall, less than 50% said that IT improves their learning or improves their engagement. Convenience is listed as the top benefit of IT in courses. This report includes a section that focuses on SNSs. One issue that is also examined is related to privacy and security. As Genevieve Bell suggested in yesterday's talk, students aren't really concerned about this. The authors of the ECAR report speculate that the lack of concern may be due to a lack of knowledge about the risks associated with SNSs. Further, they point to the ability to place restrictions on the type of information SNS participants can make public. While the ECAR students are enthusiastic about technology for personal use but are less enthusiastic about it for educational purposes.

An aside: According to this report, 1.5% of students do not own a computer. Who are these people? It would be very interesting to do a more in-depth study of these individuals to find out why they don't own a computer. Do they access the internet in other ways?

The Sacrifices IT Women Make

2008-10-25T09:28:00.006-04:00

I'm in the process of revising my gender and computerization syllabus for the spring and came across this report. The study, conducted by the Anita Borg Institute and the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University, examined IT women at the mid-level of their careers. What the researchers found was that women in these positions were making personal sacrifices such as delaying marriage and motherhood to promote their careers. In other words, these women felt that they had to make a choice between career and family to be successful in the male-dominated world of IT. Unfortunately, these sacrifices did not led to great rewards. Gender stereotypes (women aren't as technical as men) are still prevalent, which result in women being passed over for promotions. Instead women are placed in low-level positions that have minimal visibility. While some women interviewed for this study claimed that promotions in their early careers were based on merit, they found that gender became an obstacle at the middle management levels. Thus, it is not surprising that 56% of mid-career IT women choose to leave their organizations and pursue other opportunities. One thing both the men and women interviewed for this study noted is that women have to be assertive in order to survive in IT.

The gender bias and stereotypes in IT fields is not new. Women (and their male colleagues) have been aware of this situation for quite some time now. Yet year after year, reports like this one surface. The problem is that these studies report similar results. The IT industry claims that it needs more workers and would like to recruit more women. However, the IT workplace of today continues to be a good ol' boys club. Because of the current financial situation, the number of IT jobs filled by people in places like India are no longer as cost efficient as they once were. Therefore, they are looking to fill those positions with people in the U.S. But, the number of students enrolled in computer science has been on the decline since the mid-1990s. This is true for men and women. So, who is going to fill these positions? If middle management continues to foster a climate that promotes gender bias, it won't be women who will be there to save them. It's time for a change.

Andrew Keen and the Web 2.0

2008-10-25T09:21:00.004-04:00

Wonder how the latest financial crisis will impact the future of the internet? While Genevieve Bell didn't address that issue in her discussion of the future of the Internet, Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur recently did pontificate on the topic. In this piece, Keen paints a dire picture for Web 2.0 and the participatory age. As Keen remarks, "'Free' doesn’t fill anyone’s belly; it doesn’t warm anyone up."

My thoughts: I think Keen oversimplifies the behavior of those who participate in the Web 2.0 economy. While financial reasons may drive some people, I posit that it is more complicated than that. Keen fails to factor in the need for attention and the way that impact people's willingness to freely contribute to Wikipedia, for example. Also neglected by Keen are the following: the belief in the community; the expectation of future reciprocity from the community; the creation (and maintenance) of reputation; and a sense of efficacy (e.g., Bryant et al., 2005; Donath, 1999; Kollock, 1999) . The current economic crisis may indeed impact the Web 2.0, as Keen suggests, but I would argue that financial reasons are only one part of the equation.

Update: According to a recent Time magazine article, the traffic on one Web 2.0 site has increased during this economic downturn. LinkedIn, a site that allows visitors to post resumes and contact information, is finding that its use by job seekers and recruiters is one of its main revenue sources. For example, from August to September 2008, the number of job searches in LinkedIn rose 19%. Using the Web 2.0 to connect employers and employees may be one use Keen neglected to consider.

Genevieve Bell

2008-10-24T19:43:00.008-04:00

Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist at Intel, spoke on campus this afternoon. While I was initially reluctant to brave the elements, I am so glad I decided to attend. Bell's talk was one of the best I've heard since I arrived more than 3 years ago. While not the speech Bell gave today, this clip does give you an idea of what her presentations are like.

In her talk - "The next internet revolution is already happening!" - Bell used an ethnographic lens to examine what the Internet might look like in 10-20 years from now. She began by noting that the internet is not just about technology: it a social product; it is ideas; it is a set of forces. In other words, the internet comes with cultural baggage wrapped around it. And now, the internet, according to Bell, is fragmenting into a series of technologies.

Bell outlined six different signs that the next internet revolution is currently underway. First, the internet is not just in laptops and desktop computers. Its is "feral" and on the move. It is in mobile devices such as cell phones. It is also in televisions, game consoles, etc. Bell argues that this move to a feral internet changes people's behavior. For example, people don't surf on an iPhone; instead they locate very targeted information. Further, Bell pointed out that not all individuals use the internet in real time. They may drive 150k to access it at McDonald's. They may tell a relative what to say in a message, and the relative goes to an internet cafe to compose and send the message. This relative then prints any received messages to read to the relative the next a.m.

Second on Bell's list is the end of the "anglosphere"; there are more languages appearing on the internet, and Bell contends that this trend will increase. Also, Bell suggests that a lot of information is hidden in plain sight. It is no longer about what is being said that's important; rather what is not said. Thus, Bell argues that language on the web is not just a translation problem.

Next on the list is infrastructure and the range of upload and download speeds. This will look different in different cultures. Bell believes that internet behavior and the way people participate online will change depending on these speeds. Moreover, the costs associated with participation is likely to increase not decrease, and in Bell's mind, the concept of a free and open internet is unrealistic.

Fourth is regulation of the internet. Many countries are connecting good citizenship with technology use. Korea's U-Society is one example. Bell says that this is a new frontier for government activity and agendas; each one is different from the other.

Number five on Bell's list was related to porn, trolls, and social regulations. According to Bell, everyone lies on the internet, and she points to the Cornell study on online data as one piece of evidence to support this claim. She continues by noting that crafting ourselves online is an art.

And finally, the sixth item are socio-technical concerns. Bell refers to the internet as a form of aggressive self-presentation. We worry about what other people think about us, which impacts what we post online. Also, Bell notes that what we worry about has moved away from discussions about privacy, trust, and security. "Creepy" as in your Mom is in the house with you all the time creepy is the latest term used rather than privacy violations. Today, we worry about authenticity, ownership of information, digital literacy (e.g., Is the internet making us stupid? Is the internet destroying our language? Is the internet making us homogeneous?), and the identity of "Big Brother."

So, what does Bell foresee in the future? She believes that there will not be a single web - there will be no single use and no single trajectory. Bell mentioned that a really interesting group of people to study are the non-internet users and ex-internet users. Why do they choose not to have the internet? Another area for future examination are the ways in which people are beginning to resist technology. Some of Bell's interviewees remarked that they intentionally book vacations to areas where they cannot get a signal to connect to the internet. Maybe that's why I like being out on the XC - no internet, no phones, no computers, just me and Mother Nature.

Wikitruth

2008-10-24T07:30:00.004-04:00

For individuals who are familiar with the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, much of this article by Simson L. Garfinkel (not Simon Garfunkel), a professor of computer science at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, will not be new.

What is interesting about the discussion put forth by Garfinkel is the distinction between truth and verifiability. According to the author, the Wikipedia model supports verifiability through policies that encourage the use of third-party sources rather than self-published original research. Editing your own entry is another act discourgaged in the Wikipedia structure. One example given by Garfinkel is about Jaron Lanier, whose Wikipedia entry stated that he was a film director (he claims he is not). Every time he deleted that statement, it returned. (NOTE: On October 24, 2008, the Wikipedia entry on Lanier did not list him as a film director.) Lanier also was criticized for his self-editing practice, which some consider a "wikisin." One would assume that Lanier would be an "expert" about himself, moreso than others.

While many consider Wikipedia a useful tool, especially when gathering preliminary information about the topic, and is considered a model of the wisdom of crowds concept, the question remains: What is truth? In Wikipedia, according to Garfinkel, truth is "the consensus view of a subject." Given the approach used for more mainstream publications where only a few individuals are involved, the Wikipedia method potentially allows for more input on what counts as complete and accurate information. But do more eyes taint the information or improve it? Who counts as an expert when it comes to a particular topic? What is the difference between expertise and self-promotion/self-marketing? Can information seekers ever expect to find the truth, or is verifiability good enough?

Games for Education and Social Change

2008-10-23T07:18:00.004-04:00

Mary Flanagan, a professor of film and media studies at Dartmouth College, believes that video games can be used in the classroom. At present, Flanagan is involved with the Games for Learning Institute to examine ways to effectively use video games to teach math and science to middle school children. If that isn't enough, she is also the director and founder of a research group at Dartmouth that designs social activist games - Tiltfactor.

While there are substantial barriers to the adoption of games for educational purposes - the steep learning curve being a big one - Flanagan contends that there are benefits to the students. She notes that games enable players to make decisions, engage in exploration activities, and experiment with novel approaches to problem-solving in a "safe" environment. The work Flanagan does is also attempting to capitalize on what young people do when using technology - searching and socializing. Overall, Flanagan and the Games for Learning Institute hope to better understand what makes video games engaging and what aspects of them players like.

Female Online Students

2008-10-22T13:04:00.005-04:00

According to a summary of a report presented in The Chronicle of Higher Education, female students rate conformity as one of their key motivators. However, what conformity means is unclear in the CHE piece, and a link to the full report was not provided. So, what was discussed in this piece?

Here's what we know: Brett Jorge Millan, interim director for distance education at South Texas College, collected data from 157 online students and 486 face-to-face students at that institution. He used the Schwartz Value Scale to measure 10 motivational types (self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence, and universalism). And, in addition to the conformity finding, Millan's data suggest two things: 1) the values of online students and those in face-to-face courses tend to be similar; and 2) online students are typically older than their f2f counterparts.

While these results are potentially worthwhile, there are a number of missing pieces. Hopefully, the report will be made available in the near future.

Update: Schwartz defines conformity in the following manner: “Conformity values restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms” (Schwartz & Boehnke, 2004, p. 235). It also values politeness, obedience, and subordination to parents, teachers, bosses, etc.

Sounds like very female-like behavioral characteristics - ones that are not uncommon in online spaces.

Volunteer Teachers

2008-10-21T07:21:00.005-04:00

A new university is scheduled to begin offering courses in February. While an announcement of this type may not seem terribly newsworthy on the surface, one thing sets this university apart from many others: the faculty members will be volunteers. Founders of P2P (peer-to-peer) University, including Joel Thierstein (executive director of Connexions at Rice University), believe that the time is right for the initiative, and point to current successful models such as Wikipedia and the MIT OpenCourseWare project. Working professionals and retirees are the target market for the P2P University courses. These individuals will not received credit for the courses they take through this institution; rather the hope is that credit will be obtain via other institutions such as Western Governors University.

The big question is: Who are these volunteers who will teach the courses? At present, the founders have 10 professors who are prominent in their respective fields (no names are being released yet). Those at P2P hope to continue along this trajectory and attract more celebrity professors to the program. Even with star profs participating in this "design research experiment," a major concern is student retention.

The Networked Family

2008-10-20T09:31:00.004-04:00

Is technology bringing families closer together? Tracy Kennedy and her colleagues say "Yes." According to research conducted by Kennedy et al. (2008, October 19) for the Pew Internet and American Life project, today's family households have multiple technologies, and use these devices to stay in touch. This includes what Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project, calls "love taps." However, this form of connectedness does not always translate into face-to-face time. For example, the findings of this study suggest that busy, tech families are less likely to eat meals together and are not as likely to report satisfaction with their leisure time when compared to their less tech-connected counterparts.

Late Bloomers

2008-10-19T18:26:00.004-04:00

What do the painter Paul Cézanne and the writer (and former lawyer) Ben Fountain have in common? They were both late bloomers. They did not "discover" their artistic and creative talents until later in life. In the "Annals of Culture" section of The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the concept of creative genius, and argues that it is not a characteristic that is unique to the young. This is not to say that there aren't prodigies; there are. In fact, Gladwell uses Pablo Picasso and Jonathan Safran Foer as examples of individuals who discovered their talents early in their careers. Success comes easily for these prodigies. For the late bloomers, however, their success greatly depends on the other people - a spouse, a patron, a friend - someone who believes in the late bloomer's art. As Gladwell concludes, the story of the late bloomer is really just a love story.

Texting and David Crystal

2008-10-18T20:33:00.003-04:00

The October 20, 2008 issue of The New Yorker includes a review of David Crystal's new book, Txtng: The Gr8 Db8. Responses to Louis Menand's review can be found here, here, and here.

Opening Up Education

2008-10-18T09:09:00.003-04:00

MIT's M. S. Vijay Kumar, the editor of Opening Up Education: The Collective Advancement of Education through Open Technology, Open Content, and Open Knowledge, was yesterday's guest on EDUCAUSE Live! For those like me who were not able to connect to this free talk, the event was archived. Multimedia, HTML (session details and the book), and PowerPoint slides from the session are available.

Free Courses at Yale

2008-10-18T07:33:00.003-04:00

Yale just announced that the institution is adding eight new, free courses to its roster. The courses are available here, and they cover topics such as game theory, biomedical engineering, financial markets, and Greek history, just to name a few. The only licensing restrictions on these courses is that they are not to be used for commercial purposes. This means that instructors can download, redistribute, and remix the content. Yale hopes to add more courses in the future.

Video Game Myths

2008-10-18T07:13:00.004-04:00

Many scholars are excited about the potential of video games to promote learning, but Fran Blumberg, a professor of education at Fordham University, takes a more reserved position. In fact, she is skeptical about the educational benefits associated with video games. While she admits that individuals acquire certain skills when they play these games, she questions the impact this will have in school. Further, Blumberg doubts that the skills acquired in these virtual environments will transfer elsewhere. Part of her reservations regarding games stems from the fact that the individual is the one in control when playing video games. However, when these same games are appropriated for school settings, the teacher then becomes the one in control. In other words, video games + school/class = not fun.

Blumberg recently presented these findings at a conference, and despite the enthusiasm for video games, the audience members were not surprised by her conclusions. While Blumberg is less enthusiastic about the teaching and learning potential of video games than her peers, she has not totally discounted them. She simply believes that educators need to better understand them before declaring them the savior of education.

Babies and Science

2008-10-17T10:28:00.004-04:00

Are babies to blame for the lack of women in the sciences? Or are the low numbers due to a lack of interest in science on the part of women? Mary Ann Mason explores the issue of women in the sciences. She claims that despite the fact that laws such as Title IX have been in place since the 1970s, it is only recently that people have discovered that the sciences may still be a problem for women. While evidence of gender discrimination in this field is not difficult to find, some claim that the quality of this evidence is questionable. The evidence also puts forth a conflicting picture. For example, the book, The Sexual Paradox, suggests that women simply aren't in the sciences because they lost interest in the field. In contrast, Mothers on the Fast Track claims that women are discriminated against. To support this claim, the individuals the authors interviewed were candid about the messages they received from their advisers and departments when it came to babies. Babies are verboten.

Even though female scientists are discouraged from having families, their male counterparts receive a different message. For males, getting married and having kids is the key to academic success; for women, this same formula often equals the end of their academic science career. Mason argues that solid policies related to family leave, childcare, etc. are needed to help women combat this discrimination. While policies are a positive first step, they are meaningless if the unwritten rule in the department is that they are not meant for anyone to use.

Chat and Critical Thinking

2008-10-17T07:20:00.003-04:00

Much of the literature illustrates ways chat can be used to support learning; however, very few of these pieces discuss ways chat can foster critical thinking skills. Ruth Reynard attempts to address this gap in her two-part series, "Using Chat to Move the Thinking Process Forward."

Reynard begins by noting that while chat can become fully engaged in class discussions conducted synchronously via chat, this medium can also be problematic. Also, it is not uncommon for teachers to use the chat sessions in a lecture-like manner. For teachers attempting to create a more student-centered learning environment through chat, the chat lecture approach - one that enables students to passively read/listen to the conversation - is not effective.

In the final sections of the article, Reynard outlines five basic elements of a working chat session: presentation, interaction, reinforcement, capture, and application. She continues by contending that instructors who control the inputs and interactions will continue along a linear path. According to Reynard, it is this linear flow that enables students to passively "participate" in the learning process rather than actively interacting and building knowledge.

The concepts presented in this part of the article series are not new and have been stated repeatedly in the literature. Thus far, the development of critical thinking skills has not be addressed. Perhaps that will appear in the next installment of the series.

Stay tuned.

Darwin in SL

2008-10-17T07:08:00.001-04:00

A group from the University of Cincinnati has developed a SL recreation of Darwin's research. This project is one part of the university's 2009 Darwin Sesquicentenial Celebration, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of Darwin's The Origin of the Species. Starting in January 2009, visitors to the SL Galapagos Islands will be able to retrace Darwin's steps and examine his research in a virtual venue.

Gender Gap in College

2008-10-13T11:50:00.005-04:00

In a new book by Linda J. Sax, a professor of education at UCLA, she examines the differences between the male and female college experience. Sax stresses that even though the majority of college students are female (more than 60% female at many institutions), the numbers don't tell the whole story and hide some key concerns.

For this study, Sax collected data from 17,000 male and female students from 200 institutions. One difference her analysis revealed was that females enter college with a lack of confidence. In contrast, their male counterparts have much more confidence at this stage. In other words, even if the females are doing better academically than the males, they do not believe they are doing so. Perhaps even more troubling is that the confidence levels of female college students decline during the college years. However, female students who have positive interactions with the faculty gain self-confidence over time.

Another interesting finding is related to the gender makeup of the students and the faculty as well as the peer groups for students. Students (males and females) do better academically at institutions with a high proportion of female students and faculty. Further, males perform better academically at institutions that have peer support groups that support "traditional gender roles."

There are many other findings outlined in Sax's book. In fact, she found 584 “college effects” that differ between male and female students. While the number of females may equal or exceed the number of males on college campuses around the nation, their experiences may be quite different.

Only the "Best" Scientific Work

2008-10-11T07:24:00.002-04:00

This article, which highlights the work of Dr. Ioannidis (an epidemiologist at Ioannina School of Medicine, Greece) and his colleagues, suggests that research published in the top journals may be wrong. After reviewing 49 articles that had been cited by more than 1,000 other scientists, Dr. Ioannidis discovered that the findings of almost one-third had been refuted. Further, he notes that there is a bias toward positive rather than negative findings. One example can be seen with recent research on antidepressants - studies that showed positive results from these drugs were published, whereas those that showed negative results were not.

RIP Web 2.0

2008-10-10T23:05:00.002-04:00

Michael Arrington claims that the latest economic downturn signals the end of the Web 2.0.

Larry Summers was Wrong!

2008-10-10T15:17:00.004-04:00

Yet another study arguing that girls are good at math but are rarely identified. Not only that, but girls who may have a talent in math are not encouraged and supported in beneficial ways. And to think, people like Larry Summers thought the reason why there weren't more women in mathematics was because they lacked aptitude. Recent research is proving what a lot of girls and women knew all along -that the lack of females in mathematics and related fields has NOTHING to do with ability.

Women and Online Degree Programs

2008-10-10T11:36:00.004-04:00

Several studies have examined retention rates of online programs but few delve into why students complete their studies or abandon the program. This is especially true when it comes to investigating the differences between the retention rates of male and female online students. Terry Müller (2008) attempts to close this gap by investigating women in online undergraduate and graduate programs at a college in the northeast. These programs are designed for individuals working in public schools in the U.S. Like other online programs (e.g., LEEP), the programs Müller concentrated on begins with a summer residency component. Out of the 308 students in these programs, Müller randomly selected 20 for a more in-depth analysis.

In analyzing the reports of these 20 women, Müller found that the top barriers for women participating in and completing online programs are multiple responsibilities, disappointment in faculty, and face-to-face preference. The factors the author found that provided support to these women include engagement in learning community, schedule convenience, personal growth, and peer support.

Following a series of recommendations that follow the barriers and supports these women face in their online learning experience, Müller concludes that gender roles should be considered when designing online course programs.

The Tipping Point?

2008-10-09T08:05:00.004-04:00

According to a report by The American Council on Education, the U.S. may have reached the "tipping point" in terms of educational advancement of young people. For the first time, this generation is not better educated than the previous one. They speculate that this may be due to differences in educational attainment among different racial and ethnic groups. One group of note are Hispanic youth who appear to have acquired less education than their parents and grandparents, for example. These findings are concerning given that a two-year degree is a requirement for many jobs.

Not only is there no increase in general, but some fields have seen a decline. One example is computer science. The number of both Whites and minority groups has dropped in this field. Engineering, especially at the doctoral levels, has also seen fewer students gracing their programs. Other portions of the report examine college persistence (declined slightly), degrees conferred (minority women outpaced minority men at all degree levels), and employment in higher education (minorities have made gains but are still trailing Whites).

In addition to the ACE website, The Chronicle of Higher Education has a brief summary of this report.

One question: What happened to our tech-savvy students are are learning anytime, anywhere 24/7/365?

Video Games and Math

2008-10-08T07:17:00.007-04:00

The New York Times must have a video game theme this week. First, there was the article suggesting that video games were the new reading (or could lead to harder types of activities such as reading). The latest piece in this "series" profiles a video game to designed to promote the learning of algebra. Dimension M, which is touted as a "modern twist on the game show 'Jeopardy'," is a three-dimensional game where pre-algebra and algebra students complete missions within the virtual world setting. According to the Dimension M website, "Students become so captivated in solving problems that they forget they're learning but they don't forget what they've learned."

Using video games and virtual worlds to teach math is nothing new. Elliott and his colleagues (2002) created a game called AquaMOOSE. Like Dimension M, the purpose of AquaMOOSE was to "facilitate new kinds of math learning" (Eliiott et al., 2002). In the end, however, there were no statistically significant differences between the control group (traditional curriculum) and the experimental group (students who were able to use AquaMOOSE during classroom lab sessions). Moreover, some students in the experimental group claimed that the game confused them even more than the text-based lessons. Wonder if the outcome for Dimension M will be different?

As the most recent NYT article notes, the key question is whether video games can effectively teach math and other topics. Research initiatives at the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI), which is based at New York University, will concentrate on the use of games to teach math and science in middle school classrooms. Like the other programs, the goal of the G4LI games is to determine what is fun for children and tie that to what they are learning. Making learning fun is something that scholars such as Barab and his colleagues having been working on for several years with the Quest Atlantis project.

While the cost of Dimension M between $10 and $20 per child range , so far, the reports from schools using the game are positive. Principals are claiming that students are playing the games at home and after school. They also note that the game has reduced math phobia. And finally, the students contend they are studying more, because they want to play the game.

One thing the article doesn't discuss is how much of this enthusiasm toward the game is the result of a novelty effect. This isn't surprising because even results presented in peer-reviewed journals don't. I'm sure the G4LI group will be researching the reactions to the game over time, as well as the resulting student learning outcomes. It will be interesting to see whether the results of this project differ from ones such as AquaMOOSE.

A Gateway Drug for Literacy?

2008-10-06T06:56:00.003-04:00

Do video games lead children to reading? An article in The New York Times suggests that some librarians, educators, publishers, etc. believe they do.

I agree that video games may foster certain types of learning and may help children acquire digital literacy skills; however, I'm skeptical that having a video game tournament at the library or bookstore will result in long lines of gamers at the check-out line.

Locomotor Play

2008-10-05T16:04:00.011-04:00

I'm reading a fascinating book by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson on animal behavior and autism. In the section on animals and play, the authors examine locomotor play, which includes running, leaping, and chasing. They mention goats as an animal that performs this type of action frequently. Part of the discussion involves children and video games (see p. 120). Many individuals and scholars think video games are bad for children. Eugene Provenzo, an education professor at the University of Miami, is an example of one of the more outspoken critics about the use of video games by children. He strongly believes that educators need to exercise great caution when incorporating games into the curriculum (e.g., Provenzo, 1991, 1992). Grandin is of the same mindset but for a different reason. She suggests that locomotor play is an important part of brain development. She points to the work of Piaget who also emphasized the importance of movement to learning.

Researchers know that locomotor play is important for the development of coordination skills. But what about it's impact on learning? If children are substituting video games for locomotor play, are they sacrificing learning as well as coordination?

The Bermuda Triangle?

2008-10-05T10:50:00.004-04:00

A commentary in the October 17, 2008 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education by John Seely Brown explores the formation of an educational triangle based on three components: technology, passion, and learning. Similar thoughts are addressed (and fleshed out in greater detail) in Brown's article that he co-authored with Richard Adler, "Minds on Fire," as well as the forward to the recently released Opening Up Education. Because there isn't anything new in the CHE commentary, I initially did a quick skim of it and put it aside. However, it continues to pop up wherever I turn, so I thought I should spend a bit more time with it.

After introducing the notion that the Web 2.0 blurs the lines between producers and consumers, Brown discusses the difference between "learning about" and "learning to be." Stated another way, Brown contends that how we learn is more important that what we learn. He goes on to suggest that an important, and often overlooked, part of learning to be involves immersion. Initially, Brown claims that immersion occurs through interactions with others. We develop new ideas, we discuss them with others, questions arise, points are challenged, ideas are reconstructed, etc. He then moves on to suggest that simulations are the way to create an immersive situation. What happened to interacting with others? Wouldn't it be possible to have the type of immersion Brown begins with simply by interacting with colleagues around a water cooler or during a lunch break? Immersion could be created via different ways; simulations are merely one way to use technology to construct these interactions.

Another point, one which is also mentioned in the "Minds on Fire" article, is related to developing a Learning 2.0 mindset. Brown refers to a statement made by John King at the University of Michigan. King states that each year, 40,000 students are enrolled on his campus. But, because these enrolled students bring with them their social networks through Facebook, MySpace, IM, etc., the figure is actually around 250,000. Seriously? Do administrators really think that students are talking about academics with their social network? It's possible, but highly unlikely.

Before dipping into the passion of learning, Brown returns to learning about something versus learning to be a practitioner. While I like to learn by doing, I also appreciate having some background knowledge - a base or a foundation to build upon. Launching into the practitioner side of learning before learning about also brings to mind arguments made by Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) who claim that students who engage in unguided learning may lack the proper schema needed to investigate new information. More about this piece by Kirschner and his colleagues can be found here.

And finally, Brown argues that the Web enables people to identify their passion(s) and join niche communities, which facilitates learning. I agree that feeling passionate about a topic does make the learning process easier. However, I don't think this is new to the Web. Individuals have been passionate about learning topics of interest and finding individuals who share that interest prior to the Web. While the Web makes it easier and may bring together geographically disperse individuals, passion is not a new concept.

Just to recap...the thoughts presented by Brown in this commentary are not new - they are recycled from an article and a book forward - and concepts that being passionate about a topic and becoming immersed in it through interactions with others is not a novel notion either. Many individuals, and scholars too, get caught up in the "sexiness" of technology, where the focus is on racing to adopt the latest gadget rather than critically evaluating its potential and effectiveness. As a result, the primary goal of promoting and improving learning gets lost in the mix.

Crowdsourcing on YouTube

2008-10-04T12:52:00.008-04:00

Huberman, Romero, and Wu (2008) posit that there is a relationship between productivity and attention. They test their hypothesis by examining more than nine million videos on YouTube. Before describing their research, however, the authors briefly define the terms crowdsourcing and tragedy of the commons. First, crowdsourcing is a term used to describe the ability of individuals to produce and distribute content - videos, photos, writings - without centralized oversight. In other words, the consumers are the producers (sounds like sections straight out of Tapscott & William's book Wikipedia). MIT professor, Eric von Hippel refers to this as "user-centered innovation." "Wisdom of crowds" is the term James Surowiecki uses to describe this concept in his aptly titled book The Wisdom of Crowds. Next, according to Huberman and his colleagues, the tragedy of commons the dilemma that occurs when individuals do not share their original content with others because of the free riders who fail to reciprocate the gesture.

After outlining several statistical analyzes used to determine the connection (or lack thereof) between productivity on YouTube and attention, the authors conclude that crowdsourcing depends on attention. Individuals who receive attention continue to post videos; individuals who do not receive this positive attention discontinue their posting behavior.

The authors make a passing reference to academics and the way in which they publish and present to gain attention. While not mentioning cyberspace celebrities or the celebrity instructor, specifically, this concept is what comes to mind when reading this section. However, work published and presented by the majority of academics is read and cited by very few individuals. Yet, academics continue to publish even without gaining attention. Does the prospect/pressure of achieving tenure outweigh the lack of attention? Is attention from the public merely one factor that plays a role in this equation? While these questions are not addressed by the authors, they could be areas for future research.

On a related note: Jeff Howe, a writer for the magazine Wired, has a new book out titled, Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business. While the target market appears to be business executives, the book might be worth at least a skim through.

Born Digital

2008-10-02T11:35:00.007-04:00

Everywhere I turn these days, I find references to a new book titled, Born Digital. At first I dismissed it as yet another book touting the notion that today's young people are tech-savvy multitaskers - individuals who are completely different from older generations. Recent reviews and interviews with the authors, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, have given me reason to reconsider my decision to ignore this book.

In an interview that appeared in Inside Higher Ed, for example, Palfrey notes that he and Gasser are fans of technology, but also assert that technology is "not a panacea." The technology alone will not change the learning outcomes or the educational experience of students. This statement echos the sentiments of Sir John Daniel, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, who stated in a debate with Dr. Robert Kozma, "there is no magic medium and never will be."

Some of professors are banning technologies such as laptops in the classroom, but Palfrey and Gasser argue that an outright ban may not result in better student learning. They do note that there is a time and a place for technology, and some "laptops down" moments may be appropriate. One key advantage the Born Digital authors highlight is that technology in the classroom will help students acquire the digital media learning skills they need. However, as Palfrey and Gasser suggest, an over-reliance on technology at the expense of other methods will not lead to positive outcomes.

One interview response that caught my attention was the idea that the internet does not alter learning. Palfrey and Gasser state that they did not find any evidence of this when conducting the research for their book. I recently read Wolf's Proust and the Squid, which traces the history of reading and the transformations that occurred in the brain. Wolf, a cognitive neurologist, claims that humans were not meant to read, and argues that over the years, the brain has rearranged itself to accommodate this activity. I'm not a neuroscientist, but based on Wolf's work, it seem possible that the brain could rearrange itself once again to accommodate the different ways of reading online information resources.

Another interesting point Palfrey and Gasser mention is related to the critical thinking and digital literacy skills of the digital natives they talked to. Many of these young people had no idea that anyone could edit Wikipedia. They assumed that the content of this reference resource was credible. However, there was evidence that the digital natives were becoming more skeptical online information consumers; they checked more than one resource to verify the information.

When asked about libraries, the response by Palfrey and Gasser was weak and a bit out-of-touch with what is occurring in libraries today. They mention that libraries are good with organizing book content and making it accessible to students and faculty but are not able to effectively handle e-resources. More and more, I think that the problem is not with the way libraries promote or organize their e-resources but rather more of an issue with the way online database vendors design their products. There has yet to be a vendor that has produce a good one-stop shopping type of database. So, when you are scanning the information horizon to see what's available on a particular topic, Google is the more attractive, and less limiting option.

In the interview, Palfrey and Gasser also mention the need to teach digital literacy skills but ignore the role of the library in this process. Librarians work with information tools and resources on a daily basis and are the obvious group to turn to when developing initiatives to close this gap in student learning. To exclude these experts from the conversation is a mistake.

Now I'm curious enough about the book that I'm going to check it out. I want to see if the "hype" matches the message put forth by Palfrey and Gasser.

Lucy Suchman and Participatory Design

2008-10-01T11:58:00.007-04:00

I attended an "early" talk this morning by Lucy Suchman - a professor in the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University. Her talk titled, Practice-based Design: Some Syntheses, was scheduled in a 30 minute time slot, followed by an "unconference style" discussion.

Suchman began by mentioning that she was ambivalent about the act of naming because things do not have fixed boundaries but are fluid. She noted that in research and development venues, labels are an important part of the process. It wasn't clear (at least to me it wasn't - maybe not enough caffeine this a.m.), however, how naming was connected to the remaining portion of this brief talk.

She presented a quote from Donna Haraway that resonated with me. "The only way to find a larger vision is to be somewhere in particular" (Haraway, 1991, p. 196).

Following that quote, Suchman launched into a discussion about her research with Xerox Park in the 1990s. The first project involved air ground control employees and their workspace. The other examined a law firm that was divided into two groups: 1) corporate law, and 2) litigation. Starting with the corporate law side, one lawyer became a librarian of sorts because he maintained a file cabinet of templates. The Xerox group copied and scanned these boilerplates to create an electronic version of the file cabinet.

With regard to the litigation side, Suchman suggested that this work was trickier. These lawyers were in the process of creating a database, and there was an initiative to outsource this work, because it was not "knowledge work." Some employees countered these efforts and "won." In the past, it was commonly accepted that the rote activities would be automated, which would free up the knowledge work for humans to complete. Today, however, Suchman reminded us that all work is knowledge work; thus, the goal is to embed and delegate part of the work to technology. Stated another way, technology is an enhancement.

Near the end of her talk, Suchman outlined two shifts in practice-based design. Instead of designing from nowhere, the move by designers is to understand their own position and stay connected and accountable to what they are designing. The other shift is from heroic designers and objects to artful integration or crafting together practices and technology where not one specific technology will be flashy or innovative.

Suchman concluded by noting that changing design practices is not a matter of retraining, but rather a matter of social change.

Some attendees may have found Suchman's examples dated (the work was done in the mid-1990s). But because Suchman selected these specific studies to share with the group, I felt that there must have been a compelling reason for her to do so. Given that she had only 30 minutes to share her thoughts and ideas, which was unfortunate, the result was a cursory overview that felt incomplete. I'm certain, given more time, she would have been able to flesh out some of the concepts that were merely touched upon (e.g., the naming portion of the talk). While I like the idea of experimenting with conference and presentation sessions/styles, doing so with a known speaker such as Lucy Suchman was unfortunate.

Stallman and Cloud Computing

2008-09-30T22:28:00.005-04:00

I set aside some time today to prepare for a class on the free and open source software (FOSS) movement. As luck would have it, the first email message I opened included a quote from Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the GNU Project.

The quote was taken from an article in the September 29, 2008 issue of The Guardian. In that piece, Stallman stated that cloud computing (one definition is that your “stuff” is out there on the Internet rather than being on your computer or an office server – Gmail is one example) is a trap. He continued by arguing, “It’s stupidity. It’s worse than stupidity. It’s a marking hype campaign.” According to The Guardian he is not alone in these thoughts – Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, expressed a similar sentiment a week prior to Stallman's comments. Stallman continues his argument against cloud computing by stating that “you should not use Web applications to do your computing is that you lose control. It's just as bad as using a proprietary program.”

Texting

2008-09-29T12:53:00.003-04:00

There is a brief article in the Sunday New York Times (9/28/08) on the increase in text messaging and the decrease in cell phone usage. In fact, more people are texting than phoning (Nielsen Mobile). The increase is being attributed to the QWERTY-style keypads available on many cell phones. Not surprising, teens (ages 13-17) are the biggest fans of texting - Nielsen Mobile claims they send or receive 1,742 messages a month. In another study on teen cell phone, Harris Interactive found that 42% of teens claim that they can text while blindfolded.

Ebooks

2008-09-29T12:26:00.007-04:00

Springer (yes, the STM book/journal publisher) has just released the findings of a new study on ebooks. The white paper, which is a follow up to the Springer 2007 survey on ebook adoption rates and benefits, outlines the end-user perspective on ebooks (e.g., how familiar they are with ebooks, as well as the frequency with which they access these resources). While the 2007 survey included six institutions, only five institutions participated in the 2008 round. It appears that the University of Florida and Victoria University (Australia) were involved in 2007 but not 2008. A new addition in 2008 was JRD Tata Memorial Library Bangalore, India.

The results from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) were highlighted by the authors. At this institution, research and study were the top reasons students use ebooks. Leisure was trailing behind 68 percentage points. Reference works were also mentioned by respondents at the other institutions. Conference proceedings and textbooks received high marks as well.

While the respondents were familiar and used ebooks, they also pointed out advantages and disadvantages with these types of resources. The primary advantage of ebooks was full text searching. Convenience and easy assess were two others. However, reading from a screen prevented some from not using ebooks more frequently. Users are comfortable with print books and have a long history with that format. In the future, the respondents believe that they will access ebooks for certain types of reading such as looking up research/references materials but will continue to prefer print books for other types of reading.

In the end, the authors of this white paper conclude that "While eBooks will not replace print books in the near future, users are rapidly adopting them as complementary to print books" (p. 8).