Here is my VoiceThread video on Digital Inequality:
The problem of digital inequality is not really that new to me. I have been teaching computer classes for more than a decade, and during that time, I have known students who simply could not afford to buy a computer to use at home. The problem seems to be shifting now, to a point where students are more likely to have a "computer" at home, but more and more students are choosing to rely on smart phones instead of desktop or laptop computers, with the same result that they have to come to campus to do their work for classes that require the use of a computer.
Access to technology is not an overwhelming problem, though. A bigger problem in my classes is the fact that there is a wide disparity in previous experience using computers. I do have a few students every quarter who have not used computers very much in the past. In some cases, it may be because the student is from a third-world country, and they never had any opportunity to learn how to use them before coming to the United States to attend college. In other cases, it may be an older student who has simply never had a computer because they didn't need one. Yet another set of students are people who do not like computers, and who want to have as little to do with them as possible.
Alongside these students, often in the same classroom, I have students who can't remember a time when they didn't have a computer, and who are extremely comfortable learning new skills in the class.
This range of background knowledge causes many problems, and since I teach computer education classes geared toward non-computer majors, I see it in most of my classes. On top of that, we have to fit an entire semester into ten weeks' time, so it's not always possible to slow down and let everyone catch up.
In my computer applications classes, the disparity of experience is very obvious. The students who are less experienced with computers feel very stressed with each new assignment because of the amount of work required. For these students, the textbook assignments and projects can take an extraordinary amount of time to complete, because they often need to repeat steps or review the material to get the correct results. The more experienced students don't always need the same introduction to the material that the less experienced students need, and this leads to boredom on their part.
I have considered creating videos to replace the in-class presentations, but this would be an extreme time commitment on my part, and there is no evidence that the students would actually take advantage of them. We did actually use a textbook at one point that included online demonstration videos, but to the best of my knowledge, none of the students ever used them. Less experienced students would have the challenge of finding the videos to start with, and more experienced students wouldn't believe they had the time to view them.
The solution I am presenting here may be the best solution to the problem. The less experienced students would have more time to devote to learning the skills before using them in the textbook assignment, and the more experienced students would be able to skip over the introductory material and focus on learning the new skills. All students would still take the same exams on the material, to verify that they are in fact learning the same skills.
Kim Weiss
P.S. For the record, I am not really happy with the quality of the VoiceThread video. I am much more comfortable using PowerPoint to create narrated videos, but I understand that part of the goal of this class is to learn to use new technology. It would be very cool if Google would add a tool to Google docs that allows users to export a slideshow created in Google Docs directly to YouTube.
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Sunday, July 14, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
EDTECH Challenges
I believe that the biggest challenge for me right now is being in the center of the shift from lecture-based classroom models to an online, technology-based model.
For this assignment, I read the 2013 Higher Ed version of the NMC Horizon Report. I currently teach college classes, so I felt the content in that file was more relevant than the K-12 Report.
Two of the trends in that report stood out to me:
#5: The role of educators continues to change due to the vast resources that are accessible to students via the Internet.
#6: Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning, and collaborative models.
I think that these two trends move hand-in-hand: we can't have one without the other. The Internet resources that are available to students now are a form of online learning, and online learning cannot happen without these resources.
A few years ago, in an introduction that I have most students write during the first week of the quarter, one of my students said something to the effect that he did not understand what the point of school is, since everything anyone wants to know is readily available on the Internet. This statement had an effect on me because it represents the heart of how education is changing. Today's students don't need to learn facts--facts about anything they might be interested in are as close as the palm of their hand. Instead, today's students need to learn how those facts can be molded together to create new ideas--something that they won't be able to find using Google or Wikipedia.
In short, the process of education is going through an evolutionary change right now. This is not a deliberate change. No student or teacher (or even administrator) is pushing to make these changes happen. Instead, it seems to be an shift brought about by how the general populace is now exposed to a wider bank of information than they ever have been at any other point in history.
When I look at the students sitting in my classrooms today, I am truly puzzled about why many of them choose to come to class. They show no interest in participating in the activities I am leading them through, preferring instead to work more-or-less independently, and occasionally popping up their heads to make a quick comment or observation. Many of those students would be better off taking the online version of the class, so they could fit the class into their schedule, instead of trying to fit their schedule into my class. There are typically a few students who are genuinely interested in learning the material in each class, and those students do prove that the classroom environment is still a valid model for some students, but those students seem to be fewer from one quarter to the next.
About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to specialize more in developing online content that could be used in the classes we teach, so I started looking into what I could do to learn this skill. While I probably could have found online training materials to work through on my own, I also know myself well enough to know that unless there is a strong external motivation (like meeting someone else's deadlines), I would keep putting off learning the skills.
I already have one Master's degree (in French Linguistics), but I felt that a second Master's in Educational Technology would help both me and my students. It's only been a few weeks since I started this new journey, and I have already learned new skills that I can put to use immediately in my current classes. I am truly looking forward to the rest of what is to come.
Here is the video I created. I hope you enjoy it.
For this assignment, I read the 2013 Higher Ed version of the NMC Horizon Report. I currently teach college classes, so I felt the content in that file was more relevant than the K-12 Report.
Two of the trends in that report stood out to me:
#5: The role of educators continues to change due to the vast resources that are accessible to students via the Internet.
#6: Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning, and collaborative models.
I think that these two trends move hand-in-hand: we can't have one without the other. The Internet resources that are available to students now are a form of online learning, and online learning cannot happen without these resources.
A few years ago, in an introduction that I have most students write during the first week of the quarter, one of my students said something to the effect that he did not understand what the point of school is, since everything anyone wants to know is readily available on the Internet. This statement had an effect on me because it represents the heart of how education is changing. Today's students don't need to learn facts--facts about anything they might be interested in are as close as the palm of their hand. Instead, today's students need to learn how those facts can be molded together to create new ideas--something that they won't be able to find using Google or Wikipedia.
In short, the process of education is going through an evolutionary change right now. This is not a deliberate change. No student or teacher (or even administrator) is pushing to make these changes happen. Instead, it seems to be an shift brought about by how the general populace is now exposed to a wider bank of information than they ever have been at any other point in history.
When I look at the students sitting in my classrooms today, I am truly puzzled about why many of them choose to come to class. They show no interest in participating in the activities I am leading them through, preferring instead to work more-or-less independently, and occasionally popping up their heads to make a quick comment or observation. Many of those students would be better off taking the online version of the class, so they could fit the class into their schedule, instead of trying to fit their schedule into my class. There are typically a few students who are genuinely interested in learning the material in each class, and those students do prove that the classroom environment is still a valid model for some students, but those students seem to be fewer from one quarter to the next.
About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to specialize more in developing online content that could be used in the classes we teach, so I started looking into what I could do to learn this skill. While I probably could have found online training materials to work through on my own, I also know myself well enough to know that unless there is a strong external motivation (like meeting someone else's deadlines), I would keep putting off learning the skills.
I already have one Master's degree (in French Linguistics), but I felt that a second Master's in Educational Technology would help both me and my students. It's only been a few weeks since I started this new journey, and I have already learned new skills that I can put to use immediately in my current classes. I am truly looking forward to the rest of what is to come.
Here is the video I created. I hope you enjoy it.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
EDTECH Research
Technology in the Classroom
While the use of personal technology like smart phones, MP3 players, and tablets has led to an increased comfort level with technology in all parts of modern American society, the ubiquity of this technology also poses challenges. Today, it is not uncommon to see couples having dinner in a nice restaurant, but spending most of the time looking at their phone instead of talking to each other. Many shoppers wander up and down aisles talking to someone who isn’t actually present and discussing what would normally be considered private topics like the details of their most recent surgery or current gossip about friends. Some churches resort to blocking cell phone signals during the service to prevent pop songs and beeps from phones that have not been turned off. In the business world, employees will often interrupt a conversation with a customer to read a text message on their phone, and managers struggle trying to have a productive group meeting when most of the participants are reading Facebook updates on their tablets instead of paying attention to the discussion at hand.
This attitude that a user can use personal tech whenever they want to without regard for the situation or people around them extends into the educational environment as well. In a K-12 environment, many schools ban electronic devices completely, if not effectively. In a college environment, policies that forbid the use of personal technology (including phones, computers, tablets, and any other device that a student can bring with them to a classroom) are widespread, but rarely followed. It can be difficult for a professor who is trying to present information to a large group of students when it is obvious that most of the students are paying no attention at all to the lecture. Thirty years ago, it was not uncommon for students to sleep through lectures or to doodle instead of paying attention, but those activities rarely affected the students sitting near them. Today, though, if a student chooses to watch a YouTube video during class or play a Facebook game, other students behind and next to him may get engrossed in watching the activity as well. The leakage of music from the headphones of an MP3 player or the buzzing of a device notifying the user of an incoming message lead to further distractions for those students who really do want to pay attention and participate in the classroom discussion. Bugeja (2007) from my bibliography gives specific steps that some professors take to reduce access to technology during class, with the implication that this control has improved the students' ability to do well in the classes. However, I believe that for today's college students, a complete ban on personal tech in the classroom is impractical for most classes.
This problem has two potential solutions, but neither is exclusive of the other.
One solution: Embrace the use of personal technology in the classroom. Encourage students to use their device to record lectures or to share the material being discussed in class. Develop activities that require the use of technology during class time, like scavenger hunts, online discussion boards, etc.
Another solution: Have students understand the appropriate use of personal technology in various public places (stores, class, meetings, restaurants).
In my own classroom, I am likely to use both of these solutions. However, for the sake of creating an assignment for the class, I am opting to focus on the etiquette of personal technology. I believe it is useful for students (and the general populace) to know that there is a time and a place for everything, including the use of personal technology. While guidelines for using personal tech in public locations are changing with the technology itself, the overall concept of being aware of how personal tech affects how we interact with people around us and physically present is an important one. I believe that students should at least be aware of how their use of technology affects others in the classroom.
My assignment document is posted at WeissK_AnnotatedBib
While the use of personal technology like smart phones, MP3 players, and tablets has led to an increased comfort level with technology in all parts of modern American society, the ubiquity of this technology also poses challenges. Today, it is not uncommon to see couples having dinner in a nice restaurant, but spending most of the time looking at their phone instead of talking to each other. Many shoppers wander up and down aisles talking to someone who isn’t actually present and discussing what would normally be considered private topics like the details of their most recent surgery or current gossip about friends. Some churches resort to blocking cell phone signals during the service to prevent pop songs and beeps from phones that have not been turned off. In the business world, employees will often interrupt a conversation with a customer to read a text message on their phone, and managers struggle trying to have a productive group meeting when most of the participants are reading Facebook updates on their tablets instead of paying attention to the discussion at hand.
This attitude that a user can use personal tech whenever they want to without regard for the situation or people around them extends into the educational environment as well. In a K-12 environment, many schools ban electronic devices completely, if not effectively. In a college environment, policies that forbid the use of personal technology (including phones, computers, tablets, and any other device that a student can bring with them to a classroom) are widespread, but rarely followed. It can be difficult for a professor who is trying to present information to a large group of students when it is obvious that most of the students are paying no attention at all to the lecture. Thirty years ago, it was not uncommon for students to sleep through lectures or to doodle instead of paying attention, but those activities rarely affected the students sitting near them. Today, though, if a student chooses to watch a YouTube video during class or play a Facebook game, other students behind and next to him may get engrossed in watching the activity as well. The leakage of music from the headphones of an MP3 player or the buzzing of a device notifying the user of an incoming message lead to further distractions for those students who really do want to pay attention and participate in the classroom discussion. Bugeja (2007) from my bibliography gives specific steps that some professors take to reduce access to technology during class, with the implication that this control has improved the students' ability to do well in the classes. However, I believe that for today's college students, a complete ban on personal tech in the classroom is impractical for most classes.
This problem has two potential solutions, but neither is exclusive of the other.
One solution: Embrace the use of personal technology in the classroom. Encourage students to use their device to record lectures or to share the material being discussed in class. Develop activities that require the use of technology during class time, like scavenger hunts, online discussion boards, etc.
Another solution: Have students understand the appropriate use of personal technology in various public places (stores, class, meetings, restaurants).
In my own classroom, I am likely to use both of these solutions. However, for the sake of creating an assignment for the class, I am opting to focus on the etiquette of personal technology. I believe it is useful for students (and the general populace) to know that there is a time and a place for everything, including the use of personal technology. While guidelines for using personal tech in public locations are changing with the technology itself, the overall concept of being aware of how personal tech affects how we interact with people around us and physically present is an important one. I believe that students should at least be aware of how their use of technology affects others in the classroom.
My assignment document is posted at WeissK_AnnotatedBib
Friday, June 21, 2013
RSS in Education
Using RSS Feeds in Education
One of the classes that I regularly teach at my university is a freshman-level Computer Concepts class. This class poses several challenges for me:- The students have a wide range of knowledge about computers, from those who have problems understanding how to use a mouse to occasional students who have A+/Net+ certification and who have decided to take the class as an "easy" elective. This makes it difficult to find activities that can engage everyone in the class without leaving anyone behind.
- It is designed as a general education class, required by many different majors in the university, and as a result, many students are there simply because it is a required course, with no real interest in the topics we cover. It can be challenging to find activities that will engage everyone in the class.
- Our university has a focus on trying to improve the reading and writing skills of students, and this class lends itself to that kind of activity well. I typically ask students to write one short paper (1-2 pages) each week on a current topic of interest to them in the field of computers and technology, in addition to a variety of other activities.
This assignment in RSS feeds made me realize that RSS is still alive and well (despite my neglect ;-) ), and that it is relatively user-friendly as a Web plug-in.
I have a new quarter starting up this Monday, and I intend to use the assignment outlined in the attached video for those classes this quarter. I think that allowing students to choose articles that they find interesting personally will help accommodate the range of understanding and interests that are in the class, and using an RSS feed can help the students find articles they are interested in more quickly.
As a final note, my university does use APA as the standard format for research papers. Having students provide the reference with each of their papers will help prepare the students to use APA in other, more formal research papers.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Elements of Educational Technology
The article "The Meanings of Educational Technology" was interesting to read. I found that it described many things I had already understood about the use of technology in education.
The one thing that stood out to me the most is related to the fact that this article was written in 2004--almost a decade ago. It seems to me that the practice and use of technology in education should have evolved more in the last ten years, as more teachers and schools have adopted technology as learning tools rather than teaching tools.
Ten years ago, few students used cell phones, and tablets like the iPad did not exist. Google was primarily a search engine challenging Yahoo!, and social networking was mostly limited to listservs, RSS feeds and personal blogs. The interactivity of Web 2.0 technology was in its infancy, in the form of MySpace. The word "technology" typically referred only to personal computers and PDAs, and very few PDAs were Internet-enabled.
That said, despite the age of the document, its writers were very forward-thinking in that the concepts outlined in the document are still valid, even with today's wide array of software and hardware technology.
The one thing that stood out to me the most is related to the fact that this article was written in 2004--almost a decade ago. It seems to me that the practice and use of technology in education should have evolved more in the last ten years, as more teachers and schools have adopted technology as learning tools rather than teaching tools.
Ten years ago, few students used cell phones, and tablets like the iPad did not exist. Google was primarily a search engine challenging Yahoo!, and social networking was mostly limited to listservs, RSS feeds and personal blogs. The interactivity of Web 2.0 technology was in its infancy, in the form of MySpace. The word "technology" typically referred only to personal computers and PDAs, and very few PDAs were Internet-enabled.
That said, despite the age of the document, its writers were very forward-thinking in that the concepts outlined in the document are still valid, even with today's wide array of software and hardware technology.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Welcome!
Hello, everyone!
My name is Kim, and I live in Louisville, Kentucky.
I have been using computers since I was in my high school's Computer Science club in the 1970's--before personal computers existed. While I majored in French in college and in my first round of grad school, I turned to computers when I could not find a job teaching French. I now teach in the Computer Science department of a private university.
I taught French as a Distance Education course (by snail mail!) for several years while in grad school, and now I teach and design online courses in Computer Education courses--mostly Microsoft Office, but also database design and HTML. My department is in the process of putting several degree programs entirely online, so I am doing this degree to help with that. I am also very interested in learning new ways to incorporate technology into the concepts classes that I am responsible for.
My name is Kim, and I live in Louisville, Kentucky.
I have been using computers since I was in my high school's Computer Science club in the 1970's--before personal computers existed. While I majored in French in college and in my first round of grad school, I turned to computers when I could not find a job teaching French. I now teach in the Computer Science department of a private university.
I taught French as a Distance Education course (by snail mail!) for several years while in grad school, and now I teach and design online courses in Computer Education courses--mostly Microsoft Office, but also database design and HTML. My department is in the process of putting several degree programs entirely online, so I am doing this degree to help with that. I am also very interested in learning new ways to incorporate technology into the concepts classes that I am responsible for.
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