I admit, I get a bit of a kick reading about the latest technology that has come out and then reading the comments on the article to see how many prophets of doom that have a PhD attached to their name like to come out and say that whatever the new gadget is will completely ruin education, etc etc etc.
I heard one about the Kindle, which I admit I don't know much about but if it's true that a student could just buy one of these then pay a lot less to download books onto it... well, from a students perspective that's pretty cool. (Yes I know there's the whole textbook industry to think about but at what point is it ridiculous that you can't buy a used book because the professor is using the newest edition that has 2 pages changed in it?)
Then I heard about the person who came up with (as a joke, I will add) the corrupted email attachment that students can pay $5.00 to download and send to their professors to buy a little extra time to write the paper. Again, I admit I giggled a little bit when I read that. Yes, I know it's ethically wrong to do, but if you were to ask a random sampling of students if they ever wished they had something like that I bet 75% would say that at some point in their life they wished they had thought of that. (It's that whole reality thing again!)
But that's not the point of this blog.
The point was the outrage (and rightly so, but still) of various professors and instructors in the comments section of this article. Many, many, many of them said "I never use email for anything in my class and after reading this I never ever will!" But here's where I get confused. Most of us in the business world use email on a daily basis for a lot of important communication. So why can't education hop on the same bandwagon? What is causing this horrible horrible fear that many academics have in both secondary school and post secondary education about using technology in the classroom? It's got to be more than the occasional corrupt file that a student sends to buy another day to write a paper. Why is there a seeming stubborn contingent that wants us to stay permanently in 1975? (Or earlier...) But yet we can't imagine a 16 year old driving a car now without a cell phone...
I do think that these things (email, Kindles, Blackboard and other online learning software, even social networking) are there to improve our lives and improve learning... if first we learn not to be afraid of them. (The ironic thing is as I'm writing this I'm looking at my cell phone which only calls people and can do text messages- nothing else... I intentionally bought a phone that doesn't have anything else on it, mainly because I don't need it. I'm not against it being out there and available, it's just not necessary for me at this time.) Plus, a LOT of the online software that is being used in higher education has options that prevent cheating. But if that's where kids are- on the computer and online... why not go to them instead of forcing them to conform to something out of date? Maybe we could look at adapting to them, since the 16-22 year old demographic tends to be on the cutting edge of the newest technology, and encourage them to take the technology and run with it. (Aren't we complaining about the lack of innovation and creativity in kids? I hear it quite a bit...) Who knows what might happen!
Moral of the story... adapt. Things won't ever, ever stay the same no matter how much we'd sometimes like them to, especially with the speed at which technology is evolving now. But it's not going to do anyone any good to dig your heels in and say you're not playing... so might as well join 'em if you can't beat em.
Anyway- read the article-- the issue it's about is one thing, but the response of the academics is what scares me.
Students? What do you think?
Teachers/professors? What do you think?
Showing posts with label technology in high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology in high school. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Games + College Admission
Not gonna lie, when we started talking about that I got the fun little chills that come with hearing a REALLY good idea come up.
What about this: Almost all teens and even their parents now are playing some kind of video game, be that on the Xbox, on their mobile phone or on the internet. (I watched one of the high school kids I work with outside of Anycollege play Bejeweled obsessively on her phone for almost an hour the other night.)
So what about a casual type of game to help with college admissions? I'm not sure yet what this would be... but it sounds kind of cool. Think about the games on Facebook and Myspace that people use: the Mafia Wars and similar games, even the Lil' Green Patch, etc. My guess is that you can think of someone who is crazy addicted to one of these games. So what if it was something like that but centered around a college? Hmmm...
Lots of possibility...
What about this: Almost all teens and even their parents now are playing some kind of video game, be that on the Xbox, on their mobile phone or on the internet. (I watched one of the high school kids I work with outside of Anycollege play Bejeweled obsessively on her phone for almost an hour the other night.)
So what about a casual type of game to help with college admissions? I'm not sure yet what this would be... but it sounds kind of cool. Think about the games on Facebook and Myspace that people use: the Mafia Wars and similar games, even the Lil' Green Patch, etc. My guess is that you can think of someone who is crazy addicted to one of these games. So what if it was something like that but centered around a college? Hmmm...
Lots of possibility...
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Internets iz a scary place!
Lots of hubbub this morning about a well respected blog for higher education marketing being taken down, due to to disagreements between the blogger and the blogger's higher-ups.
Basically the back story is this: The blog is a personal blog, tastefully and humorously written, that fictionalizes the blogger's roadblocks at work. Identities of the people, places and events being referred to are not disclosed or heavily fictionalized in the form of cartoons, and the blog brought some insight into the blogger's life and the background of the work he was doing for his school. But, the school decided that he was too openly criticizing their processes and as soon as they found out about the blog he was "given a talking to" about the blog, and the writer decided to shut it down. Basically they were afraid his critiques, though cleverly disguised, were not disguised enough and it would hinder their web redesign process even more if others saw it and were afraid of how they would be represented on it. (Granted in a humorous, cartoony way.)
This got me thinking, as it did many others.
The Internet is empowering to everyone- anyone can go on it and instantly have a voice via a blog or twitter or commenting on articles that is public and out there for the world to see. And that scares the bejeebus out of some institutions and whatnot (the college I worked for previously was one of these places, and closely monitored anything students said about it and would not allow any kind of public commenting forum because of what students might say on it), because they can't 100% monitor what is being publicly said about them.
And you know what? I think that's great.
That isn't to say I approve of the people who go on various articles and say terrible things about anyone that disagrees with them. But if someone has a terrible experience somewhere this not only gives the ability to share that with others who could potentially go there, but also a heads up to that institution/company/ etc. that someone had a terrible time and there is a situation to be remedied. Maybe it's too late to fix that one experience, but it's a chance to find an underlying problem and fix it. Plus if you can find something like this and then apologize and rectify everything how good does your company look then???
Sure we only want to see great things about whatever it is that we're involved with, but I think with the prevalence of the Internet authenticity is now valued more than constant pitches. A good review on a blog of a product or place is worth more than a thousand advertisements saying how good the product is. Why? We are all savvy now to being pitched to. No one wants to be sold anything, they want to find it organically, from a source they trust.
That being said, I think more people are more likely to trust a blog's opinion or a Tweet than an advertisement because it's an authentic reaction to whatever it is the blog or Tweet is about.
Sadly, many places still try to monitor everything that is being said about them, directly or indirectly, as in the case of this blog. But that just isn't possible anymore, and hey, if you can't beat them- join them! And let's face it, you can't make everyone happy all the time.
Again, I don't think there is a place for what I call "internet litter" (the hateful remarks spewed on some comment forms at other posters or the article itself) but conversation can be critical and be OK... as a college or company isn't it better to know someone is unhappy so you can do something about it rather than pretend it never happened?
Times is a changin'... some of the old ways of marketing and PR just don't work anymore with the "web 2.0" stuff.
I have to share the initial blog's response to the outcry on the web from blogs such as this one. What a beauty of a response- well done!
And on that note- have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Basically the back story is this: The blog is a personal blog, tastefully and humorously written, that fictionalizes the blogger's roadblocks at work. Identities of the people, places and events being referred to are not disclosed or heavily fictionalized in the form of cartoons, and the blog brought some insight into the blogger's life and the background of the work he was doing for his school. But, the school decided that he was too openly criticizing their processes and as soon as they found out about the blog he was "given a talking to" about the blog, and the writer decided to shut it down. Basically they were afraid his critiques, though cleverly disguised, were not disguised enough and it would hinder their web redesign process even more if others saw it and were afraid of how they would be represented on it. (Granted in a humorous, cartoony way.)
This got me thinking, as it did many others.
The Internet is empowering to everyone- anyone can go on it and instantly have a voice via a blog or twitter or commenting on articles that is public and out there for the world to see. And that scares the bejeebus out of some institutions and whatnot (the college I worked for previously was one of these places, and closely monitored anything students said about it and would not allow any kind of public commenting forum because of what students might say on it), because they can't 100% monitor what is being publicly said about them.
And you know what? I think that's great.
That isn't to say I approve of the people who go on various articles and say terrible things about anyone that disagrees with them. But if someone has a terrible experience somewhere this not only gives the ability to share that with others who could potentially go there, but also a heads up to that institution/company/ etc. that someone had a terrible time and there is a situation to be remedied. Maybe it's too late to fix that one experience, but it's a chance to find an underlying problem and fix it. Plus if you can find something like this and then apologize and rectify everything how good does your company look then???
Sure we only want to see great things about whatever it is that we're involved with, but I think with the prevalence of the Internet authenticity is now valued more than constant pitches. A good review on a blog of a product or place is worth more than a thousand advertisements saying how good the product is. Why? We are all savvy now to being pitched to. No one wants to be sold anything, they want to find it organically, from a source they trust.
That being said, I think more people are more likely to trust a blog's opinion or a Tweet than an advertisement because it's an authentic reaction to whatever it is the blog or Tweet is about.
Sadly, many places still try to monitor everything that is being said about them, directly or indirectly, as in the case of this blog. But that just isn't possible anymore, and hey, if you can't beat them- join them! And let's face it, you can't make everyone happy all the time.
Again, I don't think there is a place for what I call "internet litter" (the hateful remarks spewed on some comment forms at other posters or the article itself) but conversation can be critical and be OK... as a college or company isn't it better to know someone is unhappy so you can do something about it rather than pretend it never happened?
Times is a changin'... some of the old ways of marketing and PR just don't work anymore with the "web 2.0" stuff.
I have to share the initial blog's response to the outcry on the web from blogs such as this one. What a beauty of a response- well done!
And on that note- have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Email and Etiquette
First off, I like email.
I know email isn't as cool with the younger crowd anymore, they'd rather have a Facebook message, and that's fine too but I still really like my email.
You can contact several people at once, you can spell check it, and you can attach whatever you need to! But I have found that I've run into a question of etiquette that I'm not sure of anymore. If you get an announcement email, or a request email, do you need to respond or acknowledge it? I recently sent out several announcements about a Shakespeare theatre production I'm involved with to invite some local high school teachers and their students to auditions, and no one acknowledged receiving the email. Now, there was nothing in the email asking them to respond, but I just would have thought at least one of them would have said "Cool! Thanks!" (Unless the whole thing was really lame... also possible!) When I contact colleges with general updates and information usually at least half of them will respond with a simple "Thank you"... so I know they received it. So is that something you should do? Or not? Or does it depend on the email?
So then, if you're contacted by a school via email do you need to respond? I guess I would always encourage it... since usually it's not spam- and if you're not interested in the school you can use the response as an opportunity to tell them you're not interested. Otherwise if you're undecided use your response to ask more questions and learn more, and more importantly, get a feeling about the personnel at the college. Does it take them 3 minutes or 3 days to respond to your email?
As for me, I generally like a basic response to emails I send out- even if it's just a 'yes' or a 'thank you'... and that's it! But I don't know if that's to be expected or not from a majority?
Can anyone enlighten me a little bit please??
I know email isn't as cool with the younger crowd anymore, they'd rather have a Facebook message, and that's fine too but I still really like my email.
You can contact several people at once, you can spell check it, and you can attach whatever you need to! But I have found that I've run into a question of etiquette that I'm not sure of anymore. If you get an announcement email, or a request email, do you need to respond or acknowledge it? I recently sent out several announcements about a Shakespeare theatre production I'm involved with to invite some local high school teachers and their students to auditions, and no one acknowledged receiving the email. Now, there was nothing in the email asking them to respond, but I just would have thought at least one of them would have said "Cool! Thanks!" (Unless the whole thing was really lame... also possible!) When I contact colleges with general updates and information usually at least half of them will respond with a simple "Thank you"... so I know they received it. So is that something you should do? Or not? Or does it depend on the email?
So then, if you're contacted by a school via email do you need to respond? I guess I would always encourage it... since usually it's not spam- and if you're not interested in the school you can use the response as an opportunity to tell them you're not interested. Otherwise if you're undecided use your response to ask more questions and learn more, and more importantly, get a feeling about the personnel at the college. Does it take them 3 minutes or 3 days to respond to your email?
As for me, I generally like a basic response to emails I send out- even if it's just a 'yes' or a 'thank you'... and that's it! But I don't know if that's to be expected or not from a majority?
Can anyone enlighten me a little bit please??
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Announcing Announcements... How Do You Do It?
Again another topic I find fascinating.
There is an article on Inside Higher Ed today about people learning family announcements that are fairly important via Facebook/Twitter and other social networking sites rather than in person with a phone call, etc.
There is much grumbling from an older generation about this (read the comments on the article) ... how it's tearing the social fabric of our society, etc, etc, etc... but while it might be tearing an older version of our society I do think it's rebuilding a new one. The technology that is available now is changing so quickly, and for many of the younger generation (today's college and high school students) these things have always been around. It is now second nature to immediately post your news as your Facebook status for this group.
I'm torn. Sure I like a phone call to let me know- for instance, my best friend just called to tell me she's thinking of moving to Rhode Island this summer and wanted to let me know before she put it on Faceboook. It was a gesture I appreciated, though had I learned it via Facebook or Twitter I wouldn't have been upset. From what I see in the high school students I work with have college students I used to work with, learning news via these messages is perfectly acceptable. Now, I know there are some older folks out there who don't use these sites and don't think this is the way to learn news. At one time it wasn't, and for you (depending on who you are) it may not be. But for these kids, I really think it is and these "impersonal" (as I heard them called) methods of communication are not impersonal at all to this generation.
Broadcasting to all 300+ of your Facebook/Myspace/Twitter friends that you just had a major life changing event happen immediately after it happens I think is the way this group reaches out to their support network. It's not second nature for this group to pick up the phone, or go to someone's house. They log in instead.
Is it bad? No, I don't think so. It's just different, and different than what maybe some people are accustomed to. Change isn't all bad- my guess is that with a little digging I could find some of the same opinions that came out when the telephone became more commonplace. (What do you MEAN people can just call each other with news and not do it face to face??!)
Just think, in 40 years when we're 500 new versions of these sites down the road this generation will be grumbeling about how impersonal it is that all 300 of your Thoughtbook friends can hear your thoughts as soon as you think them. :) Yep, these things go in cycles. I bet, if you're thinking about how much you disagree with this post you can think of something you did as a teenager that was commonplace to you that your parents would have been shocked at!
There is an article on Inside Higher Ed today about people learning family announcements that are fairly important via Facebook/Twitter and other social networking sites rather than in person with a phone call, etc.
There is much grumbling from an older generation about this (read the comments on the article) ... how it's tearing the social fabric of our society, etc, etc, etc... but while it might be tearing an older version of our society I do think it's rebuilding a new one. The technology that is available now is changing so quickly, and for many of the younger generation (today's college and high school students) these things have always been around. It is now second nature to immediately post your news as your Facebook status for this group.
I'm torn. Sure I like a phone call to let me know- for instance, my best friend just called to tell me she's thinking of moving to Rhode Island this summer and wanted to let me know before she put it on Faceboook. It was a gesture I appreciated, though had I learned it via Facebook or Twitter I wouldn't have been upset. From what I see in the high school students I work with have college students I used to work with, learning news via these messages is perfectly acceptable. Now, I know there are some older folks out there who don't use these sites and don't think this is the way to learn news. At one time it wasn't, and for you (depending on who you are) it may not be. But for these kids, I really think it is and these "impersonal" (as I heard them called) methods of communication are not impersonal at all to this generation.
Broadcasting to all 300+ of your Facebook/Myspace/Twitter friends that you just had a major life changing event happen immediately after it happens I think is the way this group reaches out to their support network. It's not second nature for this group to pick up the phone, or go to someone's house. They log in instead.
Is it bad? No, I don't think so. It's just different, and different than what maybe some people are accustomed to. Change isn't all bad- my guess is that with a little digging I could find some of the same opinions that came out when the telephone became more commonplace. (What do you MEAN people can just call each other with news and not do it face to face??!)
Just think, in 40 years when we're 500 new versions of these sites down the road this generation will be grumbeling about how impersonal it is that all 300 of your Thoughtbook friends can hear your thoughts as soon as you think them. :) Yep, these things go in cycles. I bet, if you're thinking about how much you disagree with this post you can think of something you did as a teenager that was commonplace to you that your parents would have been shocked at!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
All or Nothing- Or, a Pedagogical Ponzi Scheme
Please, please please go read this blog about access to technology in classrooms, and take the time to read the comments.
Fascinating.
What a tough question. If one classroom has the opportunity to get additional technology should the school turn it down because all of the classrooms can't get it?
There is another part of this question though that has not come up for debate from what I could see in the comments. It is this: if the school CAN get the equipment but cannot use or maintain it because of existing facilities then should they turn it down?
Again, another tough, tough question.
I particularly enjoyed one comment about the first part of the question (the "fairness" part if you will...) - "Maybe we can’t help all the students, I guess that is an impossible dream. But if we save a class, that is 30 students who will go out and effect 30 more each. Those 900 will save others, it’s exponential. Maybe it’s a pedagogical Ponzi scheme but if we don’t start with a single one, then we still stay at zero forever. "
I think I agree with the camp of "If you can get it than do so, it's better to help 5 students than none." Plus, as many of the commenters pointed out having is not using or using effectively. Simple personality differences in teachers and teaching styles may make some teacher adept at using this technology whereas others may not. Really, is it that beneficial to have a smart board in a classroom of a teacher who will just use it as a replacement for the old fashioned overhead projector and not do anything new with it? And this isn't to say teachers haven't and are not doing now brilliant things with that overhead projector- but there simply are some people who are better suited for the technology than others.
However if you're in the classroom or the teacher or the parent of a student in the class who doesn't get the technology and who is able to use it would it be frustrating? Absolutely!
Again, this is a tough question. I wouldn't want to be an administrator in one of those schools that is facing this question, but I'm sure it's probably pretty common.
Teachers? Students? Counselors? What is your experience with this? Where do you fall?
Fascinating.
What a tough question. If one classroom has the opportunity to get additional technology should the school turn it down because all of the classrooms can't get it?
There is another part of this question though that has not come up for debate from what I could see in the comments. It is this: if the school CAN get the equipment but cannot use or maintain it because of existing facilities then should they turn it down?
Again, another tough, tough question.
I particularly enjoyed one comment about the first part of the question (the "fairness" part if you will...) - "Maybe we can’t help all the students, I guess that is an impossible dream. But if we save a class, that is 30 students who will go out and effect 30 more each. Those 900 will save others, it’s exponential. Maybe it’s a pedagogical Ponzi scheme but if we don’t start with a single one, then we still stay at zero forever. "
I think I agree with the camp of "If you can get it than do so, it's better to help 5 students than none." Plus, as many of the commenters pointed out having is not using or using effectively. Simple personality differences in teachers and teaching styles may make some teacher adept at using this technology whereas others may not. Really, is it that beneficial to have a smart board in a classroom of a teacher who will just use it as a replacement for the old fashioned overhead projector and not do anything new with it? And this isn't to say teachers haven't and are not doing now brilliant things with that overhead projector- but there simply are some people who are better suited for the technology than others.
However if you're in the classroom or the teacher or the parent of a student in the class who doesn't get the technology and who is able to use it would it be frustrating? Absolutely!
Again, this is a tough question. I wouldn't want to be an administrator in one of those schools that is facing this question, but I'm sure it's probably pretty common.
Teachers? Students? Counselors? What is your experience with this? Where do you fall?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Am I Blind?
I always thought I could find about anything online... but this one is still eluding me!
I can't find a up to date measure of what percentage of American teens are online and how much time per week they spend online on average!
Anyone know?!
I can't find a up to date measure of what percentage of American teens are online and how much time per week they spend online on average!
Anyone know?!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Couldn't Be More True
Well, the first time I tried to post this I managed to only post the blog title. Anyway, technological mishaps aside...
I read a little bit about your "web footprints" today. This article had some good points that nothing ever really "goes away" on the web. Between Google and Twitter and the dozens and dozens of sites that have a cache of everything that has ever been posted on them you've got to be cautious about what you post about yourself.
This is especially true of high school/college students with college admissions folk, RA's and employers becoming more web savvy. Someone left the comment on the article that "You shouldn't put anything on a social networking site that you wouldn't want on the front page of the paper, because you never know when it will end up there". There was also a little blurb about an executive who was travelling to meet a client and posted a derogatory comment about the city the client lived in on Twitter. the client saw it, didn't find it funny at all and promptly discontinued the business relationship.
Yikes.
The most appealing part of the whole article, though was this simple statement at the end: "Whether you believe in monitoring yourself online or not, don't forget the point of the social Web: to get to know other like minded people, share resources, have fun, and leave the place a little nicer than you found it." Gee, is that so hard to do?
Even online, we can leave the world a little bit better than we found it. Give it a shot! Hold back that nasty remark on your "status update" and put something fun or funny on it. Make someones day. Find a constructive way to leave a comment on a blog rather than saying something nasty that eventually someone will read and think "what a jerk" about. Sure it takes a little effort, but just like picking up litter on the street we can prevent some "litter" on the web.
Plus when you look back at your web footprints there is nothing to be ashamed of!
I read a little bit about your "web footprints" today. This article had some good points that nothing ever really "goes away" on the web. Between Google and Twitter and the dozens and dozens of sites that have a cache of everything that has ever been posted on them you've got to be cautious about what you post about yourself.
This is especially true of high school/college students with college admissions folk, RA's and employers becoming more web savvy. Someone left the comment on the article that "You shouldn't put anything on a social networking site that you wouldn't want on the front page of the paper, because you never know when it will end up there". There was also a little blurb about an executive who was travelling to meet a client and posted a derogatory comment about the city the client lived in on Twitter. the client saw it, didn't find it funny at all and promptly discontinued the business relationship.
Yikes.
The most appealing part of the whole article, though was this simple statement at the end: "Whether you believe in monitoring yourself online or not, don't forget the point of the social Web: to get to know other like minded people, share resources, have fun, and leave the place a little nicer than you found it." Gee, is that so hard to do?
Even online, we can leave the world a little bit better than we found it. Give it a shot! Hold back that nasty remark on your "status update" and put something fun or funny on it. Make someones day. Find a constructive way to leave a comment on a blog rather than saying something nasty that eventually someone will read and think "what a jerk" about. Sure it takes a little effort, but just like picking up litter on the street we can prevent some "litter" on the web.
Plus when you look back at your web footprints there is nothing to be ashamed of!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Social Networking Counselors
Have you updated your Twitter yet?
What was your last blog about?
What is your status on Facebook?
These might seem like odd questions to be asking a high school counselor, but more and more schools are looking into the possible integration of some of these social networks into their schools to help improve the educational experience of their students.
There are varied responses to this. While some schools ban all of these sites outright, many are starting to acknowledge that it is a viable way to reach their students. A 2008 Survey conducted by College board shows 89% actively use Social Networking Sites, visiting these sites one or more times a day and spending an average of 32 minutes per visit. What may be surprising is that of these high school students using Social Networking Sites (SNS), 61% are using it to contact classmates for class notes, help with homework assignments, and other academic purposes. (Collegeboard, 2009)
One school uses Myspace to collaborate with another classroom two states away through comments, messages and blogs for various projects. Another uses it to engage the students in discussions about race and segregation. (Smith, 2007). At the Science Leadership Academy they firmly believe in using this new technology to help shape their students. “When I hear people say it's our job to create the twenty-first-century workforce, it scares the hell out of me," says their founding principal, Chris Lehmann. "Our job is to create twenty-first-century citizens. We need workers, yes, but we also need scholars, activists, parents -- compassionate, engaged people. We're not reinventing schools to create a new version of a trade school. We're reinventing schools to help kids be adaptable in a world that is changing at a blinding rate." (Smith, 2007)
Some schools are using it to bring up web safety and responsibility. Rather than ignoring the issue or allowing it to be someone else’s problem teachers and counselors are tackling it head on by posing questions and discussions to their students such as “what does it mean to be a fifteen year old calling him/her self nineteen and posting racy pictures?” Or “What are some possible outcomes from employers or colleagues who see your inappropriate collegiate spring break pictures?” (Smith, 2007) By engaging the students in direct conversation about these topics the faculty at these high schools hope to encourage safer net usage as well as encourage the students to connect with each other via the web.
While many schools are utilizing these online websites, the staff promoting it and who monitor the accounts usually draw a clear line between what is academic and personal. “I’ve no personal connection to my own Facebook account; and happily connect to anyone, including my students, within Facebook. Yet my twitter network is extremely personal to me; it’s my personal space, I don’t want to interact with family or students in twitter.” Writes Sue Waters of Edublogs.org. (2008) This allows a safer connection for these professionals to their students without divulging too much personal information but allowing them to still engage their students in a way that is more meaningful to the student. The use of blogs has also been more popular with various staff and faculty at high schools, allowing them to blog about their classroom experiences and strategies, which in turn provides a wonderful resource for other teachers and staff to draw from or connect to.
The whole idea of “Web 2.0” as it is being called may be a new concept to some folks working at the high schools, but it certainly is nothing new to the students attending. It is this constant moving forward of technology which can be difficult at times to keep up with, but is imperative if we are to stay connected to students and remain relevant in their world. There are also many opportunities to connect with people all over the world to share experiences- it just requires a little non-traditional thinking!
Academia Group, (2008) High School Students Tell All. http://www.academiagroup.com/ Accessed on 1/29/2009 http://www.academicagroup.com/node/5337
Collegeboard, (2009) Social Networking Sites and College Bound Students. www.collegeboard.com , Accessed on 1/29/2009, http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/trends/studentpoll/social-networking
Smith, F. (2007), My School, Meet Myspace: Social Networking At School, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
Waters, S. (2008), Educational Networking and Staying Out of My Face, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/2008/01/31/educational-networking-and-staying-out-of-my-face/
What was your last blog about?
What is your status on Facebook?
These might seem like odd questions to be asking a high school counselor, but more and more schools are looking into the possible integration of some of these social networks into their schools to help improve the educational experience of their students.
There are varied responses to this. While some schools ban all of these sites outright, many are starting to acknowledge that it is a viable way to reach their students. A 2008 Survey conducted by College board shows 89% actively use Social Networking Sites, visiting these sites one or more times a day and spending an average of 32 minutes per visit. What may be surprising is that of these high school students using Social Networking Sites (SNS), 61% are using it to contact classmates for class notes, help with homework assignments, and other academic purposes. (Collegeboard, 2009)
One school uses Myspace to collaborate with another classroom two states away through comments, messages and blogs for various projects. Another uses it to engage the students in discussions about race and segregation. (Smith, 2007). At the Science Leadership Academy they firmly believe in using this new technology to help shape their students. “When I hear people say it's our job to create the twenty-first-century workforce, it scares the hell out of me," says their founding principal, Chris Lehmann. "Our job is to create twenty-first-century citizens. We need workers, yes, but we also need scholars, activists, parents -- compassionate, engaged people. We're not reinventing schools to create a new version of a trade school. We're reinventing schools to help kids be adaptable in a world that is changing at a blinding rate." (Smith, 2007)
Some schools are using it to bring up web safety and responsibility. Rather than ignoring the issue or allowing it to be someone else’s problem teachers and counselors are tackling it head on by posing questions and discussions to their students such as “what does it mean to be a fifteen year old calling him/her self nineteen and posting racy pictures?” Or “What are some possible outcomes from employers or colleagues who see your inappropriate collegiate spring break pictures?” (Smith, 2007) By engaging the students in direct conversation about these topics the faculty at these high schools hope to encourage safer net usage as well as encourage the students to connect with each other via the web.
While many schools are utilizing these online websites, the staff promoting it and who monitor the accounts usually draw a clear line between what is academic and personal. “I’ve no personal connection to my own Facebook account; and happily connect to anyone, including my students, within Facebook. Yet my twitter network is extremely personal to me; it’s my personal space, I don’t want to interact with family or students in twitter.” Writes Sue Waters of Edublogs.org. (2008) This allows a safer connection for these professionals to their students without divulging too much personal information but allowing them to still engage their students in a way that is more meaningful to the student. The use of blogs has also been more popular with various staff and faculty at high schools, allowing them to blog about their classroom experiences and strategies, which in turn provides a wonderful resource for other teachers and staff to draw from or connect to.
The whole idea of “Web 2.0” as it is being called may be a new concept to some folks working at the high schools, but it certainly is nothing new to the students attending. It is this constant moving forward of technology which can be difficult at times to keep up with, but is imperative if we are to stay connected to students and remain relevant in their world. There are also many opportunities to connect with people all over the world to share experiences- it just requires a little non-traditional thinking!
Academia Group, (2008) High School Students Tell All. http://www.academiagroup.com/ Accessed on 1/29/2009 http://www.academicagroup.com/node/5337
Collegeboard, (2009) Social Networking Sites and College Bound Students. www.collegeboard.com , Accessed on 1/29/2009, http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/trends/studentpoll/social-networking
Smith, F. (2007), My School, Meet Myspace: Social Networking At School, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
Waters, S. (2008), Educational Networking and Staying Out of My Face, Accessed on 1/29/09 http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/2008/01/31/educational-networking-and-staying-out-of-my-face/
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Education and Web Technology
We've finally caved and joined Twitter.
After hearing and hearing and hearing about it we finally decided that we should join the bandwagon, create and account and start "tweeting" (hey, all the cool kids are doing it!). What surprised me the most though was the creative ways that teachers and professors in both k-12 and higher ed are using the various services.
Some classes are using it to collaborate with students across the country, professors use them to facilitate online discussion for projects or answer student questions... it goes on and on. This is fantastic- and I think so incredibly useful. The best part of it is that it doesn't cost the schools anything to use, other than the upfront cost of the computer and whatever the internet service costs are- both of which I'm fairly sure the schools have anyway.
I've also seen some college admissions departments use it to broadcast open houses, deadlines, etc which I think is absoultely brilliant. What an easy way for students to keep up with the college and feel connected to it. I know it's not in person, but any more it seems that more and more socializing is taking place on the web (how many kids spend hours and hours and hours on Facebook, or XBox Live?) so why not connect to students that way with a continual feed of information? It seems pretty logical at this point.
Are you using any of these tools in a creative way? Is your school utilizing any of these websites to connect to students, or is a particular teacher/professor? I would love to hear about more ways that these sites are being used!
After hearing and hearing and hearing about it we finally decided that we should join the bandwagon, create and account and start "tweeting" (hey, all the cool kids are doing it!). What surprised me the most though was the creative ways that teachers and professors in both k-12 and higher ed are using the various services.
Some classes are using it to collaborate with students across the country, professors use them to facilitate online discussion for projects or answer student questions... it goes on and on. This is fantastic- and I think so incredibly useful. The best part of it is that it doesn't cost the schools anything to use, other than the upfront cost of the computer and whatever the internet service costs are- both of which I'm fairly sure the schools have anyway.
I've also seen some college admissions departments use it to broadcast open houses, deadlines, etc which I think is absoultely brilliant. What an easy way for students to keep up with the college and feel connected to it. I know it's not in person, but any more it seems that more and more socializing is taking place on the web (how many kids spend hours and hours and hours on Facebook, or XBox Live?) so why not connect to students that way with a continual feed of information? It seems pretty logical at this point.
Are you using any of these tools in a creative way? Is your school utilizing any of these websites to connect to students, or is a particular teacher/professor? I would love to hear about more ways that these sites are being used!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Moving Along With Technology
We recently sent out a survey to about 4,800 high school counselors asking them about our website and their web usage when helping kids find colleges.
What truly, truly surprised me was the amount of responses I received (huge thank you to all of the counselors who took the two minutes to fill it out!) and how many of those responses said that they do not use the web to help students find a college. My gut instinct was to say "no way!" but after I thought about it I wondered how many of the counselors just aren't comfortable with it was an information medium. This article about a Freshman English prof also made me think more about this.
However, glaring in the face of this is the amount of kids who don't know the world B.G. (before Google) and to whom the web is the first place to turn when learning about anything. Last week I made the mistake (I think) of asking the middle and high school kids I coach if anyone knew what the weather was supposed to be the next day. Before I could blink almost every kid had a cell phone in hand and was pulling up the weather channel on the web. Whoa! I was just curious if anyone had listened to the radio or seen it on the news the night before... silly outdated me. But the kids seemed to only accept the latest most up to date information which they would find on the web.
I think it works this way with colleges too. Beyond sites like we have at Anycollege, the actual college websites themselves provide a wealth of up to date information from the classes being offered the next semester, the latest scores from the football team or what the upcoming season is for the Theatre department. These are as important to know, I think, as what majors the college offers or simply what sports it is known for.
Adapting to new technologies and/or strategies to reach students isn't always the easiest but it can be effective. A large reason for my personal Facebook page was to be accessible on the social network to my students when working at the college. I didn't have a lot of faith in it, but sure enough I would get 2 AM questions on things I don't think they were OK sending me at my "official" email address. (Nothing inappropriate, in fact often they were pleas for help with personal issues such as housing, etc.) However it gave the students another way in which to connect to me that was more comfortable to them. I think it might be something like this with web searches too. If counselors can take advantage of all of the info that is out there on colleges it might help the student make a truly good decision by choosing the college with the best overall fit rather than one that just offers the major/sport he/she wants to play.
Students... Any thoughts? Parents? Counselors? Recruiters?? Anyone???
What truly, truly surprised me was the amount of responses I received (huge thank you to all of the counselors who took the two minutes to fill it out!) and how many of those responses said that they do not use the web to help students find a college. My gut instinct was to say "no way!" but after I thought about it I wondered how many of the counselors just aren't comfortable with it was an information medium. This article about a Freshman English prof also made me think more about this.
However, glaring in the face of this is the amount of kids who don't know the world B.G. (before Google) and to whom the web is the first place to turn when learning about anything. Last week I made the mistake (I think) of asking the middle and high school kids I coach if anyone knew what the weather was supposed to be the next day. Before I could blink almost every kid had a cell phone in hand and was pulling up the weather channel on the web. Whoa! I was just curious if anyone had listened to the radio or seen it on the news the night before... silly outdated me. But the kids seemed to only accept the latest most up to date information which they would find on the web.
I think it works this way with colleges too. Beyond sites like we have at Anycollege, the actual college websites themselves provide a wealth of up to date information from the classes being offered the next semester, the latest scores from the football team or what the upcoming season is for the Theatre department. These are as important to know, I think, as what majors the college offers or simply what sports it is known for.
Adapting to new technologies and/or strategies to reach students isn't always the easiest but it can be effective. A large reason for my personal Facebook page was to be accessible on the social network to my students when working at the college. I didn't have a lot of faith in it, but sure enough I would get 2 AM questions on things I don't think they were OK sending me at my "official" email address. (Nothing inappropriate, in fact often they were pleas for help with personal issues such as housing, etc.) However it gave the students another way in which to connect to me that was more comfortable to them. I think it might be something like this with web searches too. If counselors can take advantage of all of the info that is out there on colleges it might help the student make a truly good decision by choosing the college with the best overall fit rather than one that just offers the major/sport he/she wants to play.
Students... Any thoughts? Parents? Counselors? Recruiters?? Anyone???
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