Here’s what I think I know about digital aliens: they are not “quick studies.” In thinking back on what we have done in our 533 class, what takes shape in my mind is a kind of indistinct blur.
We created – in my case, for the first time – a website, a blog, a podcast, a PowerPoint presentation and a wiki. We also worked with Excel 2007, Word 2007 and other software I knew nothing about three months ago.
Before this class started, I didn’t know hypertext, browsers or URLs from a dairy cow. Yet, as much ground as we had to cover, I can honestly say I know much more about the computer and the possibilities it offers than I ever have, and that feels good.
What troubles me is that I’m not sure I could repeat any of the assignments we’ve completed without the same level of instruction that was offered the first time around. In other words, I fear I won’t learn this stuff in a meaningful way until I can be around it on a regular basis.
Then again, the reason that hasn’t happened before now is that I simply haven’t felt compelled to take the time. And part of that, I’m sure, resulted from feeling intimidated by a technology for which I didn’t feel any natural affinity.
I believe the key shortcoming of the digital alien is a lack of curiosity that is based largely on fear. That leads to a failure to do the one thing that brings understanding of a new technology: exploring. With all that we have been exposed to, I hope I have overcome that barrier, at least to some degree.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Wonders of Technology
On Thursday night, I was in the audience at Theater Theatre on Belmont Street, awaiting the opening night performance of Rick Huddle's new one-man show, "Spent," which is pretty good, by the way.Like most opening nights, the production was a little late getting underway, and after killing a couple minutes reading the program, I settled in for the show. Directly in front of me was a couple, probably in their late '30s or early '40s. Across the aisle from them was another guy about their age, either a friend or someone with whom they'd struck up an amiable conversation.
He was showing them the features on his cell phone, which looked to me like a fairly advanced model. It was about the size of half a deck of playing cards and its face with covered with touchpoints decorated with icons I probably wouldn't have understood even if I had been able to see them clearly. It looked to me like the guy was explaining to the couple the various functions of the device and they looked on eagerly.
Down the row from them was another, somewhat younger couple, probably in their late '20s. They were a good-looking pair and I judged from the rather formal quality of their body language that this was their first date, or something close to it. In any case, it wasn't long before he had his cell phone out, and something about it was intriguing enough that it formed the basis of a discussion.
Is this, I thought to myself, what technology has given us? (Or taken away?) In the few free minutes these people had before the start of the show, did they have nothing more interesting to talk about than these little machines?
How about: "What's new with you?"
Just a thought.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Labor Issues
Something's been troubling me lately. The discussion surrounding the possible bailout of America's largest auto manufacturers has generated a fairly standard response from commentators of a more business-friendly persuasion.
In essence, they suggest that the high wages and generous benefits packages of unionized workers are responsible for the inability of companies like General Motors to compete in the market. Forget about the fact that many American cars are built by cheap labor in places like Mexico and Brazil, that the auto industry employs far fewer worker in the United States than it once did, or that Detroit has made a lot of lousy cars for several decades now. The money paid to its workforce is what's killing the Big Three automakers, they say.
Is it true?
I am not a fan of unregulated capitalism; I tend to side with labor over business. But one thing trips me up in this debate. I remember learning, back in the '70s, that people working on assembly lines in Detroit were making 20 dollars an hour and more. For those too young to make sense of that, it may be helpful to know that making 20 buck an hour even now, in 2008, would make you richer than probably 55 to 60 percent of American workers.
In other words, auto workers were making very handsome sums of money. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it, but could it have played a significant role in the subsequent decline in the fortunes of the American auto industry (along with the fact that, at roughly the same time, Detroit began making some of the worst-built cars in history)?
Anyway, here's what I'm driving at. (Sorry.) How much do teacher unions contribute to some of the problems in public education today, from quality of instruction to school funding?
I have two observations that may or may not be germaine.
My daughter, now a fifth grader, attends on of the best funded and most well regarded public elementary schools in Portland. And yet, for three straight years, she had teachers that my wife and I regarded as far less than inspiring. Two of them were nearing the end of their careers and seemed to be doing little more than going through the motions of teaching. Could they have been demoted or dismissed? I don't know. But I doubt it, based on what I know, or think I know, about the strength of teacher unions.
The other anecdote involves something I was told a few years back by an acquaintance who is a successful Portland businessman (and an admitted conservative). At a time when local schools were facing budget shortfalls and taxpayers were about to be asked to fund a stopgap levy, this friend told me that the cost of health care for each unionized teacher in Portland was $900 a month, and that the reason the figure was so high was that teachers had insisted on a plan that didn't require them to pay any deductible whatsoever or make even a minimal copayment on doctor visits or medications.
He told me the cost to taxpayers would have been reduced by half if teachers had consented to even a modest contribution. Later, a coworker of mine, a journalist who was covering education issues at the time, essentially confirmed what I had been told.
As I said before, I consider my beliefs to be largely in accord with those of working people. Yet I question the validity of a system that costs taxpayers - and students - millions of dollars so that a relatively small number of union members can save themselves what seems like an almost insignificant amount of money.
Of course, if everything goes according to plan for me personally, I will soon benefit from the power and influence of the teachers' union. What I don't know is whether that will properly address the misgivings I have currently regarding unions and their priorities.
In essence, they suggest that the high wages and generous benefits packages of unionized workers are responsible for the inability of companies like General Motors to compete in the market. Forget about the fact that many American cars are built by cheap labor in places like Mexico and Brazil, that the auto industry employs far fewer worker in the United States than it once did, or that Detroit has made a lot of lousy cars for several decades now. The money paid to its workforce is what's killing the Big Three automakers, they say.
Is it true?
I am not a fan of unregulated capitalism; I tend to side with labor over business. But one thing trips me up in this debate. I remember learning, back in the '70s, that people working on assembly lines in Detroit were making 20 dollars an hour and more. For those too young to make sense of that, it may be helpful to know that making 20 buck an hour even now, in 2008, would make you richer than probably 55 to 60 percent of American workers.
In other words, auto workers were making very handsome sums of money. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it, but could it have played a significant role in the subsequent decline in the fortunes of the American auto industry (along with the fact that, at roughly the same time, Detroit began making some of the worst-built cars in history)?
Anyway, here's what I'm driving at. (Sorry.) How much do teacher unions contribute to some of the problems in public education today, from quality of instruction to school funding?
I have two observations that may or may not be germaine.
My daughter, now a fifth grader, attends on of the best funded and most well regarded public elementary schools in Portland. And yet, for three straight years, she had teachers that my wife and I regarded as far less than inspiring. Two of them were nearing the end of their careers and seemed to be doing little more than going through the motions of teaching. Could they have been demoted or dismissed? I don't know. But I doubt it, based on what I know, or think I know, about the strength of teacher unions.
The other anecdote involves something I was told a few years back by an acquaintance who is a successful Portland businessman (and an admitted conservative). At a time when local schools were facing budget shortfalls and taxpayers were about to be asked to fund a stopgap levy, this friend told me that the cost of health care for each unionized teacher in Portland was $900 a month, and that the reason the figure was so high was that teachers had insisted on a plan that didn't require them to pay any deductible whatsoever or make even a minimal copayment on doctor visits or medications.
He told me the cost to taxpayers would have been reduced by half if teachers had consented to even a modest contribution. Later, a coworker of mine, a journalist who was covering education issues at the time, essentially confirmed what I had been told.
As I said before, I consider my beliefs to be largely in accord with those of working people. Yet I question the validity of a system that costs taxpayers - and students - millions of dollars so that a relatively small number of union members can save themselves what seems like an almost insignificant amount of money.
Of course, if everything goes according to plan for me personally, I will soon benefit from the power and influence of the teachers' union. What I don't know is whether that will properly address the misgivings I have currently regarding unions and their priorities.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Watching your profile
I'm sure some of you saw the news about the Tigard High principal who was forced to resign after being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Perhaps some of you know him; he's been around education in Portland for awhile.
It made me think about the consequences for educators when mistakes are made even away from school. Not that I'm planning on a drunk driving arrest or driving with a suspended license or anything in that category, but something like this serves as a reminder of how important image can be for those who work in our schools.
Just a thought.
It made me think about the consequences for educators when mistakes are made even away from school. Not that I'm planning on a drunk driving arrest or driving with a suspended license or anything in that category, but something like this serves as a reminder of how important image can be for those who work in our schools.
Just a thought.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Hey Gang, I've got a really intriguing ethical question for you, and I'm fairly confident it's relevant to educators.
At work last week, I walked past the desk of the sports editor for one of our affiliated weekly newspapers. On top of a pile of other stuff was a photocopy of an image taken by a stringer at a local high school soccer game. A playoff game.
In the shot, one player was on his knees, having just scored a goal that would propel his team to a win in a state quarterfinal game. Another player had rushed over and thrown his arms around his heroic teammate, who turned and, in the moment the picture was snapped, kissed the other player on the cheek.
It was clearly no accident, not a guy with his face smushed against another's. He puckered up. It was a kiss.
It was also a tremendous piece of photo journalism, a captured image bursting with energy and triumphant, exhuberant joy. Beautiful. It had to run in the paper. Didn't it?
Then it hit me. These are high school kids. Two high school boys. In a story that will run in a small suburban weekly.
You make the call. Do you run the picture? And what if it had been taken by a photographer for a high school paper and you're the journalism advisor?
I'm dying to know what you guys think.
At work last week, I walked past the desk of the sports editor for one of our affiliated weekly newspapers. On top of a pile of other stuff was a photocopy of an image taken by a stringer at a local high school soccer game. A playoff game.
In the shot, one player was on his knees, having just scored a goal that would propel his team to a win in a state quarterfinal game. Another player had rushed over and thrown his arms around his heroic teammate, who turned and, in the moment the picture was snapped, kissed the other player on the cheek.
It was clearly no accident, not a guy with his face smushed against another's. He puckered up. It was a kiss.
It was also a tremendous piece of photo journalism, a captured image bursting with energy and triumphant, exhuberant joy. Beautiful. It had to run in the paper. Didn't it?
Then it hit me. These are high school kids. Two high school boys. In a story that will run in a small suburban weekly.
You make the call. Do you run the picture? And what if it had been taken by a photographer for a high school paper and you're the journalism advisor?
I'm dying to know what you guys think.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Strengths and Weaknesses
In the first week of 533, we were still finishing up Dr. Lichau's 532 course, so the differences between the two classes were immediately clear.
While Dr. Lichau seemed to favor teaching strategies that encouraged us to demonstrate a great deal of initiative and imagination, we relied heavily on small group dynamics and wider classroom discussion to foster an atmosphere in which ideas and opinions were exchanged energetically. We sometimes had to wonder precisely what it was our instructor wanted from us, but we were certainly free to seek out the answers we needed from her and the cohort.
In 533, the instruction we were provided was generally clear, especially to those who already had a foundation of understanding. But I believe many of us felt a sense of isolation from the rest of the cohort that was unfamiliar, especially for those of us who had never taken an online course. I wonder if more could have been done at the outset to encourage us to use the discussion feature as a way to create a support network.
While Dr. Lichau seemed to favor teaching strategies that encouraged us to demonstrate a great deal of initiative and imagination, we relied heavily on small group dynamics and wider classroom discussion to foster an atmosphere in which ideas and opinions were exchanged energetically. We sometimes had to wonder precisely what it was our instructor wanted from us, but we were certainly free to seek out the answers we needed from her and the cohort.
In 533, the instruction we were provided was generally clear, especially to those who already had a foundation of understanding. But I believe many of us felt a sense of isolation from the rest of the cohort that was unfamiliar, especially for those of us who had never taken an online course. I wonder if more could have been done at the outset to encourage us to use the discussion feature as a way to create a support network.
Using Blogs in the Classroom
Karen Work Richardson says that "Civil discourse forms the foundation of a Democratic society." If she's right, America has got some work to do, judging by the tone of the political debate we've seen in recent months.
Nonetheless, it is interesting to consider the learning opportunity that online discussion provides for today's students. It seems to me that the blog allows for a kind of fast-moving, highly concentrated exchange of ideas that may not have existed for students in past generations. In that charged environment, people will certainly make mistakes, allowing emotions to substitute for considered opinion and attacking the messenger instead of the message.
But that, theoretically, is where the teachable moments reside. I firmly believe that, as a society, we have faltered in our ability to both think critically and disagree respectfully. Perhaps online discussions in schools give us a chance to reclaim those skills.
The example of the classroom blog that we examined indicated the wide range of possibilities the tool offers for both teachers and students. I was a bit puzzled to see an ad for a dating service on one portion of the blog.
Nonetheless, it is interesting to consider the learning opportunity that online discussion provides for today's students. It seems to me that the blog allows for a kind of fast-moving, highly concentrated exchange of ideas that may not have existed for students in past generations. In that charged environment, people will certainly make mistakes, allowing emotions to substitute for considered opinion and attacking the messenger instead of the message.
But that, theoretically, is where the teachable moments reside. I firmly believe that, as a society, we have faltered in our ability to both think critically and disagree respectfully. Perhaps online discussions in schools give us a chance to reclaim those skills.
The example of the classroom blog that we examined indicated the wide range of possibilities the tool offers for both teachers and students. I was a bit puzzled to see an ad for a dating service on one portion of the blog.
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