etc@bmc
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Second Life for Virtual Team Building
I'm excited to see someone trying out second life for a classroom activity. For those of you who don't know, Second Life is a virtual world where you build an avatar and are able to wander around and interact with other people and objects.
The results of the classroom activity were mixed. It took a lot of time to prepare. Second Life takes some time to learn. Some of the students didn't like the experience - it was too much work! But the experience was a good lesson in team-building. They could discuss what went well and what didn't. So despite many of the problems, they felt like it raised a lot of important issues about identity, team-building, and technology.
The description of the session is here. More information may be available at a later date.
The results of the classroom activity were mixed. It took a lot of time to prepare. Second Life takes some time to learn. Some of the students didn't like the experience - it was too much work! But the experience was a good lesson in team-building. They could discuss what went well and what didn't. So despite many of the problems, they felt like it raised a lot of important issues about identity, team-building, and technology.
The description of the session is here. More information may be available at a later date.
Labels: marc2007, second life
Podcasting and iTunes U
Yesterday, I saw a presentation by Brian Gall and Russ Pritchard about their implementation of iTunes U at Philadelphia University. The most interesting thing about the presentation was the way they thought about how its implementation might contribute to sound pedagogical practices. They're really working with faculty to encourage them to not just throw their lectures up, but to have students create content as well. We saw examples of this in both audio and video content. Although there were some bumps in the road along the way during the initial implementation, for the most part, the application has been easy to use.
The powerpoint for their presentation is here. They hope to have a podcast up soon.
The powerpoint for their presentation is here. They hope to have a podcast up soon.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Mid-Atlantic Educause: A President's Perspective
This is the opening general session. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is speaking about Institutional issues in IT from the perspective of a college president. The framework for his talk is both Brian Hawkins' talk at the national conference and the book The Whole Mind (?), by Daniel Pink. The three key words are Access, Accountability and Assessment.
Access is more than getting into college. It's also acquiring the skills needed to be successful. The Economy is driven by the knowledge of our citizens. We are competing globally. How to we prepare our own students to do well? 30% of UMBC's graduates are in IT. America is not necessarily the model that other countries are using to develop higher ed industry. Only 18% of every elementary school class will get a B.A. in 6 years. There is increasingly a lack of emphasis on education. It's about giving students the opportunity to get good jobs. The vast majority of Americans do not have a college degree. In the 1950s, jobs did not require a college degree. People could make a good living without a degree. Not so any more.
Graduation rates are lower among people of color. Only about half of the students who enter college will graduate. How do we compare? We are 2nd to last in graduation rates. Only Mexico is below us. Connect what we do to connect what we do in college to what we do in K-12. The enrollment in IT fields has declined by 40% while jobs in those fields are increasing. Shortages in IT may be similar to shortages in nursing and teaching.
Women and people of color are severely underrepresented in these fields. Notes that the room contains about 35% women, but very few people of color. We don't think about what might be but what we're accustomed to. If we don't see women in these fields, for example, then we assume that that's just the way it is. Two programs at UMBC--model scholars which helps people of color obtain Ph.D.s and the Center for Women in Technology focused on attracting women to these fields while working with middle school children. Showing a video of CWIT--some cool robotic stuff there.
Schools stopped spending money on the issue of attracting women into these fields.
What can we do?
Use of student portfolios. Track competency. We are slow to change. We rarely look in the mirror to see where we are least effective. If colleges and universities were effective, companies wouldn't need training programs. Put students into small groups to solve problems rather than have them listen to lectures. Use your curiosity and knowledge to solve the problem.
Share course materials across classes so that best practices can be developed. Faculty do not interact with each other enough and talk about what's working and what's not. Many of our students are bored. How can we use their excitement about technology to get them to be active learners?
Tight integration between elearning and faculty development. How do you build on faculty curiosity? Problem vs. opportunity. Can't make anybody in the academy do anything. Change attitudes through persuasion. Augment traditional lectures with simulations and other ways of presenting material. Self assessment is also useful. Encourages involvement.
Accountability. Overall student success often measured by graduation rates. Literacy. Computer literacy.
Giving us a math problem. Problems should be solved quickly--that's our attitude. Breadth vs. depth. Not giving us the answer to the problem. Here's the problem: There are 29 children in class, 20 have dogs, 15 have cats. How many have both a dog and cat? IT professionals help people solve problems. We tend not to get frustrated. How do we help others not get frustrated and learn to solve the problem on their own? People need to learn to struggle and think things through. The need to have a quick answer is a part of American culture.
Data from alumni and employees can show how successful the graduates are. UMBC works to cut costs and become more effective by working in similar ways that private sectors work. Has a program to show the legislature how well they're doing. Automating certain processes so that faculty can focus on teaching and research.
Leaders' attitudes are important. Need to have a positive attitude and be excited about the work at hand. "You're on this side of the grass." Enthusiasm is often frowned upon in the academy. Can't be your best if you're being cynical.
Ended with the quote: "Watch your thoughts for they become your words. Watch your words for they become your actions. Watch your actions for they become your habits. What your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny."
Access is more than getting into college. It's also acquiring the skills needed to be successful. The Economy is driven by the knowledge of our citizens. We are competing globally. How to we prepare our own students to do well? 30% of UMBC's graduates are in IT. America is not necessarily the model that other countries are using to develop higher ed industry. Only 18% of every elementary school class will get a B.A. in 6 years. There is increasingly a lack of emphasis on education. It's about giving students the opportunity to get good jobs. The vast majority of Americans do not have a college degree. In the 1950s, jobs did not require a college degree. People could make a good living without a degree. Not so any more.
Graduation rates are lower among people of color. Only about half of the students who enter college will graduate. How do we compare? We are 2nd to last in graduation rates. Only Mexico is below us. Connect what we do to connect what we do in college to what we do in K-12. The enrollment in IT fields has declined by 40% while jobs in those fields are increasing. Shortages in IT may be similar to shortages in nursing and teaching.
Women and people of color are severely underrepresented in these fields. Notes that the room contains about 35% women, but very few people of color. We don't think about what might be but what we're accustomed to. If we don't see women in these fields, for example, then we assume that that's just the way it is. Two programs at UMBC--model scholars which helps people of color obtain Ph.D.s and the Center for Women in Technology focused on attracting women to these fields while working with middle school children. Showing a video of CWIT--some cool robotic stuff there.
Schools stopped spending money on the issue of attracting women into these fields.
What can we do?
- Be role models--as IT workers, we can show that these fields are exciting. What will the jobs in 2010 look like. Think about the liberal arts in technology. Think broadly--project management and technical.
- Elearning--just in time learning modules will plug the gaps in skills
- Analytics--use data analysis techniques to help students think about issues in an academic setting. Help them make good decisions.
Use of student portfolios. Track competency. We are slow to change. We rarely look in the mirror to see where we are least effective. If colleges and universities were effective, companies wouldn't need training programs. Put students into small groups to solve problems rather than have them listen to lectures. Use your curiosity and knowledge to solve the problem.
Share course materials across classes so that best practices can be developed. Faculty do not interact with each other enough and talk about what's working and what's not. Many of our students are bored. How can we use their excitement about technology to get them to be active learners?
Tight integration between elearning and faculty development. How do you build on faculty curiosity? Problem vs. opportunity. Can't make anybody in the academy do anything. Change attitudes through persuasion. Augment traditional lectures with simulations and other ways of presenting material. Self assessment is also useful. Encourages involvement.
Accountability. Overall student success often measured by graduation rates. Literacy. Computer literacy.
Giving us a math problem. Problems should be solved quickly--that's our attitude. Breadth vs. depth. Not giving us the answer to the problem. Here's the problem: There are 29 children in class, 20 have dogs, 15 have cats. How many have both a dog and cat? IT professionals help people solve problems. We tend not to get frustrated. How do we help others not get frustrated and learn to solve the problem on their own? People need to learn to struggle and think things through. The need to have a quick answer is a part of American culture.
Data from alumni and employees can show how successful the graduates are. UMBC works to cut costs and become more effective by working in similar ways that private sectors work. Has a program to show the legislature how well they're doing. Automating certain processes so that faculty can focus on teaching and research.
Leaders' attitudes are important. Need to have a positive attitude and be excited about the work at hand. "You're on this side of the grass." Enthusiasm is often frowned upon in the academy. Can't be your best if you're being cynical.
Ended with the quote: "Watch your thoughts for they become your words. Watch your words for they become your actions. Watch your actions for they become your habits. What your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny."
Labels: marc2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Technology Literacy
Inside Higher Ed reports today that the California State system will begin testing students for technology literacy. The article gives no specifics about what the test will cover, but it's being developed with the ETS which already has an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) test. The ETS gives some details about what their test covers. It's a short test (only 75 minutes), but covers everything from sorting email to conducting library research.
What is technology literacy, really, though? As Diana Oblinger points out in the article, technology changes so rapidly, it's difficult to assess what skills one needs. Two years ago, for example, no one really needed to know about podcasts. Now you do. In the comments on the article, there's a debate about the depth of technology students need to know with some commenters suggesting that students need to know how to program. Side note: I don't know much about programming and I have a job in technology. Most of what technology literacy involves, it seems to me, is about learning to manipulate information in various ways. As Dave Warlick puts it, information should be considered raw material as opposed to traditional views of information as end product:
But can and should any of this be tested? I would agree with Jeff at Yellow Dog. No, we can't and shouldn't. That doesn't mean, however, that we should continue to incorporate aspects of technology literacy into our curricula. I think perhaps we need to leverage what students already do with information--writing on blogs, in Facebook, MySpace, posting to YouTube, PhotoBucket and Flickr--and help them be critical of what they're doing and help them expand what they're already doing in ways that are more profound. We might think about the connections that can be made between what such web 2.0 applications allow and the information we work with in our classes. And we might also think about what applications we might need to accomplish goals for a given class or curriculum. But most of that can't be tested on some kind of standardized test. Still, if we think information and technology literacy is important, what do we do about it? Is what we're doing enough?
What is technology literacy, really, though? As Diana Oblinger points out in the article, technology changes so rapidly, it's difficult to assess what skills one needs. Two years ago, for example, no one really needed to know about podcasts. Now you do. In the comments on the article, there's a debate about the depth of technology students need to know with some commenters suggesting that students need to know how to program. Side note: I don't know much about programming and I have a job in technology. Most of what technology literacy involves, it seems to me, is about learning to manipulate information in various ways. As Dave Warlick puts it, information should be considered raw material as opposed to traditional views of information as end product:
We still teach too much as if information is the end product. We teach it, you learn it, we test it. Instead, we need to present information as a raw material. You access it, and then you do something with it, that adds value in some way.Looking at it this way, we can begin to think about what students need to know in order to manipulate information better. First, as most librarians will attest, they need to be able to find and evaluate information. For that, they need to know how to search databases, web sites, blogs, and wikis. They need to know how to compare sources for credibility. They need to be able to use that information, add their own information or knowledge to it and create something new out of it. Doing so might involve word processing, using a spreadsheet, creating graphs, shooting and producing video or recording audio. All of these applications have basic functionality that everyone should know and advanced functionality that separates the adept from the merely functional. There's also something missing here about the connectedness of information, how that information is connected, the politics behind the connections (if any) and also the rapid change of information and the tools used to manipulate it. I think any functioning as a knowledge worker today (and most of our college graduates will be) need to have a deep appreciation of change and learn to deal with it.
But can and should any of this be tested? I would agree with Jeff at Yellow Dog. No, we can't and shouldn't. That doesn't mean, however, that we should continue to incorporate aspects of technology literacy into our curricula. I think perhaps we need to leverage what students already do with information--writing on blogs, in Facebook, MySpace, posting to YouTube, PhotoBucket and Flickr--and help them be critical of what they're doing and help them expand what they're already doing in ways that are more profound. We might think about the connections that can be made between what such web 2.0 applications allow and the information we work with in our classes. And we might also think about what applications we might need to accomplish goals for a given class or curriculum. But most of that can't be tested on some kind of standardized test. Still, if we think information and technology literacy is important, what do we do about it? Is what we're doing enough?
Labels: technology literacy
