David Ginsburg, popular columnist on Education Week Teacher warns teachers that technology is important, no denying that, but it has its place. Common courtesy tells us to focus on the people in our presence and many cannot do that anymore. It's not that we've become less interested in each other, but rather less caopable of paying attention to each other. Ginsburg encourages us to be prudent on your students' and colleagues'time. Wise man, I would say! Have you seen this happen in school? In your life outside of school? What's to be done? Share your thoughts.
The New Digital Divide. David Ginsburg. 9.2.12. Education Week Teacher
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2012/09/the_new_digital_divide_1.html
Ginsburg considers it common courtesy to focus entirely on the people in his presence. My generation considers it common courtesy to respond to all messages immediately. Not responding through email or text is just as rude as ignoring someone who is standing right in front of you. The courtesy of focus is extended to everyone who is in contact with you, whether they are physically or just digitally present.
ReplyDeleteThis predictability is part of what makes the theory of digital nativism so enticing. We can usually foresee what a person’s behavior and attitudes will be if we know when they were born and understand the relationship to technology that timing bears. As teachers, we use this theory to help anticipate our students’ reactions to technology use. The wrench in the theory is that we are making sweeping generalizations about everyone of a similar age, despite huge variations in their level of access to technology based on SES and cultural norms. We can use ideas about digital nativism to predict but we should never use them to assume, especially given the diverse populations Title 1 teachers work with.
Prensky, James Paul Gee, and others have proposed that digital natives’ brains work differently on a biological level. They argued that our students today are more capable of multitasking than other generations because they have been raised on it. Plasticity of the brain is a hot research topic and so far, we can’t really prove or disprove the claim. People say if digital natives want to multitask, we will teach them that way. When we embrace digital nativism full-force, we are agreeing to teach people they way we think they want to be taught. The problem is that there isn’t great evidence that this is the right thing for our kids. There is solid research showing productivity is lowered when adults try to do too much at once, but none of it focuses on the millennials we currently teach. We just don’t have enough information.
The issue is not how much tech to use but how to integrate it in a meaningful way. I always ask myself if I could teach the lesson without tech. If I can, I try to find a real justifiable reason and a measurable outcome that I think will improve based on its use.
To me, this article speaks to "right time/right place" useage of digital tools. Just like we work with students to know the difference between appropriate school language vs informal language, learning when it is time to put down the digital tools has to be establishned and learned as well. I agree with Catherine that not responding via text or email can be considered rude or could be viewed as ingoring someone who is standing right in front of you; especially if the expectation of an immediate response has been established. Because we are all so instantly connected through email and text, we may need to establish some new expectations of using other digital tools to communicate availablility, such as online calendars or auto replies in order to avoid misunderstanding. Also, I think it is important to set the tone in specific parts of life as to what is appropriate--for example, a company may very well establish a policy of no digital tools used during meetings or when working directly with clients. With policies set in advance, those who do not receive an immediate response will understand the reason is not due to simply being ignored.
ReplyDeleteI agree that an organization's policy on digital devices should be established from the outset in order to avoid conflict and confusion. I've also been in meetings where people repeat questions or comments because they're distracted and it is frustrating. At the same time, I feel the need to be connected and to respond quickly. That's where being conscious of time and place comes in. At first, I thought this article was going to address the use (or possible overuse) of technology in the classroom, which is something I'd like to read more about.
ReplyDeleteCatherine's cautionary statement about assuming digital natives or people in a particular age group will ALWAYS prefer to learn through the use of technology is key. I've prepared lessons for my students while assuming that adding technology will automatically increase engagement and motivation. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes they would rather read or use hands-on manipulatives. Students help keep me on my toes and responsive to their learning styles when they give feedback on lessons and activities.
I'd like the readers of this post to consider another article I posted, entitled "A Portrait of Today's College Freshmen." The authors Levine and Dean who wrote "Generation on a Tightrope: A Portrait of Today's College Student" conclude that new college freshman are more electonically connected than their parents and teachers but woefully unprepared for the real world. College instructors are being prepped to deal with this new reality, but the fact remains that these new freshman have difficulty relating to personnel in business who do not have the sophisticated digital skills but must deal with employees and managers on a 1:1 or small group basis. The art of conversation and discussion is indeed a 21st Century skill that needs to be practiced in K-12 so that these young scholars can meet the real world more successfully.
ReplyDeleteNote: There are still upper managers and CEOs who have never used, nor intend to use a computer.....cells phones, yes. Touch screens are a "must" for these folks.
I wish the article actually referenced the research the book is based on. That article just gives a two sentence synopsis of the book. I am left wondering what specific communication skills they think college students have, and what skills are lacking. I am also interested in how they came to those conclusions and what research methods they used. What was their sample of college students like? Did they find different communication patterns based on SES, cultural patterns, intended course of study, or other factors? I also wonder if they have recommendations about how to change the portrait, and whether or not it is too late to develop those skills by the time someone is a college freshman.
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the things that is lacking in college students is the ability to actually discuss something critically. People often talk about digital natives as being morally relativistic. Every decision is based on context and things that seem wrong in some situations are okay if you can justify them in a different way. Past generations have tended to view things as right or wrong in a more black and white way. Emma Gross published some excellent research applying this theory to the topic of academic dishonesty and plagiarism titled, "Clashing Values." I have it as a PDF but I don't think I can post a PDF in this comment box. Anyway, she argues that the attitude of "the ends justify the means" leads students today to view cheating in a much different light. I also think this makes a lot of class discussions really dull in college settings because students don't know how to apply logic and make arguments based on data. Everyone is so willing to "agree to disagree" based on their unique set of experiences that real discussion is lacking. It is almost like students today believe that we can't really know anything and absolutes don't exist because everything depends on the situation. Perhaps a reason for this is that digital communication often lacks this depth. We communicate by text, tweet, and Facebook status update really frequently but we rarely discuss anything in depth. I would love to read more research on how to really develop the art of discussion with students.