from Education Week

Cech, S.J. (2008). Tests of tech literacy still not widespread despite NCLB goals; Education Week; http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/01/3021techtests.h27.html?

*not all students in 2008 are "technologically literate"
*to be "technologically literate" need to know how to operate hardware, software AND analyze information that flows through the
machines. They must be able to EVALUATE digital content, while using this content creatively and ethically to communicate with
others.
*as of yet, we still don't have a national tool for measuring "technological literacy".
*there is a bill introduced this year called ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION ACT that would uniformly
define what student tech literacy should be.

What I read here is that although technology is an appliance as noted earlier, there still isn't a framework for what students should learn technologically in school nor do we know who, specifically, should teach this.

Reading Teenage Life Online (2001)

Perhaps this research has been updated, but my advisor pointed me towards this study and it helped me to understand the teenagers I work with, and future teachers will work with, a little better:

Lenhart, A, Rainie, L & Lewis, O. (2001). Teenage life online; the rise of the instant-messaging generation and the internet’s impact on friendships and family relationships. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project; http://www.pewinternet.org/report _display.asp?r=36, retrieved 28. January, 2008.

*The internet has a pivotal role in the lives of American teenagers. About 17 million youth ages 12 through 17 use the Internet: about 73%. Teenagers use of the Internet plays a major role in their relationships with their friends, their families, and their schools. (This is up according to readings from this class)

•55% of parents believe that it is essential for today’s children to learn how to use the Internet in order to be successful and another 40% believe it is important. (It is more than half. I imagine this number has gone up in seven years)

•Many teens manage and play-with their online identities. Significant numbers also say they pretend to be different people and that they have been given false information by others. (What teenager isn't playing with their identity? Shoot! What adult isn't?)

•At times, parents and teens don’t see eye to eye about the Internet and their family. Parents and their children often do not agree about the place of the internet in their home.(Are they supposed to?)

•At times, the role of the Internet at home generates struggles

•The Internet helps at school. 11% get their primary or only access to the Internet through school.

•87% of parents believe the Internet helps their children in school. 78% of teens agree.

•94% of online teens report using the Internet to research for school. (This is key for my understanding of research in 2008)

•71% say they relied mostly on Internet sources for the last big project they did for school.

•Online material is a teaching tool outside school, too.

•Going to the a website where they can express opinions about something is at 38% (Here is where I think Blogging is most interesting. I'm not sure if there are studies yet of how Blogging is used by classroom teachers. I'm interested in how it can be a tool for having students write beyond the "teacher as assessor" model we have today. Audience awareness is key in the teaching of writing and the development of a write)

•Creating a web page is at 24% (this study doesn't differentiate between web pages and social networking sites because social networking sites came after it was released.

•Not all teenagers use the internet in the same way (Imagine that. We're all individuals)

•Mutlitasking is a way of life

•The majority of teens and parents say that teenagers know more about the Internet than the adults (and their teachers!)

•83% use the internet primarily at home and not at school (This is a key item for me. This tells me that computer use is definitely a vehicle for homework and outside of school writing ---)

•The Internet allows a distance that allows more difficult conversations to occur online with friends.

•Most feel the Internet allows uses to find their true selves

•Schools are the primary place for those who are less privileged to have access to the Internet (Teachers need to know this!)

The Pew Internet study addressed a lot more, but this is what I thought was useful for my needs. I'm curious if they've updated it and I need to check on this. I guess that is what research is all about.

Bryan

Scribbling with THE DIGITAL PENCIL

I've just finished:

Lei, J., Conway, P.F., & Zhao, Y. (2008). The digital pencil; one-to-one computing for children. New York, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Although I may choose this text to review for another class, (we're assigned to write a review to send off for publication), I wish to post here how this text assists my thinking on "Blogging In An English Classroom".

•computers have moved from being innovative into being an appliance that can be used in a classroom like a pencil, a pencil sharpener and a chalkboard. “computer technology is no longer an innovation. Computers have become appliances seamlessly integrated into our lives.” 10 “Compared to innovations, appliances are more affordable, widespread and reliable; they have fixed functions and often disappear into the context where they are used. (2).

•There’s been a move from group ownership of computer technology to individual ownership.

•computers function as communities themselves: a community that can compute, take photographs, create video, watch DVDs, connect to the internet, fax, listen to the radio, etc

•social capital is the potential to access resources through social resources and informational resources available via technology today creates cyber communities. Interconnected communities grow. We are social creatures. Online people learn from each other and assist the learning --- an audience is real. Audience Awareness is key in a writing classroom.

•The internet is favored over other mediums during a student’s leisure time.

•At one time, information was “pushed” at individuals and controlled by those with media power. Today, information can be “pulled” to the convenience of those seeking information (or entertainment) when they want it. p. 12

•“The most fundamental change in ICT is perhaps the capability it affords individuals to publish and broadcast their ideas to a broader audience. Thanks to low-cost digital tools and easy access to the Internet, practically anyone who wishes to publicize his or her ideas, images, or any other personal information can do so. Publishing and broadcasting are no longer controlled by corporations or organizations; they are now within the reach of the individual. Podcasting, Web logs (or blogs), and YouTube.com are just a few examples of personalized publishing and broadcasting.

•“Blogging is another form of personalized publishing that has grown exponentially in a matter of years. A blog, or Web log, is a user-generated Web site written in a journal style. It started as manually entered online journal entires in the mid 1990s, but toward the end of the 1000s, tools to facilitate the creation of blogs became available, which made it possible for anyone who can browe the Web to contribute to the web. Blogs began to grow as a quickening speed. As of November 2006, a conservative estimate put the number of blogs at 60 million. Blogs kept by individuals have already become an important competitor to traditional mass media such as newspapers.” 13.

•rapid #’s of students are using “digital pencils”

•There needs to be a “co-evolution and co-adaptation for digital citizenship.” 186

• new, one-to-one learning is likely to play a critical role in helping education systems attain educational goals of:
o understanding the global system
o capacity to think analytically and creatively across disciplines
o ability to tackle problems and issues that do not respect disciplinary boundaries
o knowledge and ability to interact civilly and productively with individuals from quite different cultural backgrounds
o knowledge and respect for one’s own cultural traditions
o fostering of hybrid identies
o fostering of tolerance

•social networking sites allow the predicted two out of every three individuals who go online to be individuals who producing, collaborate, research and publish from their personal computers. 189

•pushes forth the questions: How is one-to-one technology changing children’s media consumptions and production patterns What is the role of adults and educators in mediating these patterns both in and out of school? 191

•m-generation: media/multitasking (Rideout, et. al, 2005), N(et) generation (Tapscott, 1998) or digital natives (Prensky, 2001). --- regardless, there is no distinction between play and learning. “They are not passive consumers of information, but energetic participants and active contributors to the digital world.” 192

•more intercurriculum, more sharing, more collaborating, more national, more international

•The digital world is a part of our lives. “Then, in this digital world, in which technology defines talents, what kinds of talents are needed? What kinds of skills will our students have to learn? Thus, schools need to teach our children to learn how to become competent citizens of this new world.” 200

•FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS:
o knowledge of the nature of the digital world
o positive attitude toward the digital world, including appreciation for the complexity and uncertainty of it.
o ability to use different tools to participate and lead in the digital world
o ability to use different tools to express, create digital products, and create and manage online communities.

• “Our ecological view of technology necessitates that we take seriously the social life of the digital pencil.” 204

Zebra Mussels and Automobiles

I'm a believer in Dewey's belief that experience + reflection = knowledge. That is why I'm curious to experience this "blog world". Many of my graduates keep blogs while off at college and they've invited me to join. So, in 2008, I promised myself I'd spend a year journaling online to see what it is about --- this began before I knew about blogging weekly reflections for this class.

I keep writing journals and each is packed, but sits dusty on bookshelves with no audience. The "community" space of blogs intrigues me because it is a public. I think Chris's idea of "self aggrandizing" is true, and posting online has a bit of hubris to it. Yet, I'm recognizing early on -- who actually visits and reads these posts? One of my previous students, now a senior a Purdue, has blogged his entire college experience. I've keep up with it and am shocked by how detailed his postings are and how personal. I've wondered often, "is it decent to post such intimate material?"

Either way, this week I wanted to teach myself if it was possible to upload a video reflection for the reading. I don't know if I like that as a forum, but I'm giving it a try so I have a new experience to reflect on.

BrY

My Local Perspective on Political Definitions of E-Learning;

I grew up with a typewriter. Sometime in the young, 1980s, my family purchased Atari. When I headed off to college, I bought myself a Brother Word Processor. A few of the kids on campus from 1990 – 1994 had an Apple computer.

In 1996, after finishing my Teaching Masters, I enrolled for an environmental science degree, too. It was here, I first learned about e-mail. I worked as an intern for the Beargrass Creek Task Force and operated on an Apple computer for word-processing and creating newsletters, mailing lists and databases. Also, I began learning about the web and, with dial up, I helped create a Kentucky Environmental Resource Guide. Soon after, I bought my first Apple personal computer.

When I entered the classroom in 1998 to teach 9th, 1oth & 12th grade English, I didn’t have a computer in my room. Instead, I had the one at home. By 1999, we were upgraded to have a new computer. I had an original eMac. By 2001, I joined forces with the CSILE Network in my district, and this provided my students with four eMacs. By 2003, I had a Powerbook and now I operate on a MacBook Pro.

In many ways, I evolved with the current “E-Learning” age. As an English Teacher, I tried my best to utilize technology and feel moderately successful. I know that colleagues of mine chose the “Luddite” approach and I like to think of myself as more of an “enthusiastic embracer” (Conway & Zhao, 2003a). My room inevitably moved from a text-centered room to a text/cybertext reality. I transitioned with my students and I can attest to the digital divide (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006) of one urban school.

I am not a sage who is able to see far into the future, but I know that the conventional teaching strategies of yesterday will not be the same tomorrow. As a tool, computers, the internet and social network sites have changed a lot of my thinking about how to get students ready for a future where ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) will be at the forefront.

Looking at the world of blogs and how they can encourage the teaching of writing in a high school classroom is my early-focus of this semester. Because of this, I wish to highlight several points made in Chapter 26: A Global Perspective on Political Definitions of E-Learning: Commonalities and Differences in National Educational Technology Strategy Discourses (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006).

#1- Zhao & Conway (2001) identified technology, teachers, students, and educational goals as the four defining elements of e-learning. How these four elements are seen through policy represent how e-learning might be viewed presently.

#2-Zhao & Conway (2001) brought from cognitive science and educational psychology that there are three images of student learning through e-learning policy: passive responder, active solo inquirer and active social inquirer. All three of these images can be found in online-blogs.

#3-With today’s global village, “the competition of economy among countries is more and more a competition of knowledge and technology is viewed as a powerful tool in improving the country’s competency in a global economy” (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). Blogs joins the global village.

#4-Our national success relies on how able students are with acquiring skills and intelligence necessary for work and citizenship.(U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Blogs provide real-world audiences.

#5-“Can schools afford the investment? The real question is, can they afford not to make this investment?”(U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Schools have stipulations against blog website, but most students use blogs from home. Perhaps safe “blog spaces” are needed for schools to use where non-threatening posts can be guaranteed.

#6- There are inequities in the access to educational resources. (Sayers, 1996). All one needs to do is visit local schools in the city and in the suburbs.

#7-“The main goal for integrating technology in schools is to improve the performance of school children and thus enhance the country’s competency in a global economy. This view ignores the development of human beings and how the use of technology influences the overall development of students” (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006).

#8-e-learning policy and plans have a utopian tone and are extremely optimistic (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). In the words of Brendan Kennally, “I love/to believe/in hope.”

#9- implementing new technologies in schools takes a long time (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). There needs to be applause, however with how quickly American schools have accomplished a lot of good technological work. I’d argue that there was a lack in my experience, however, with professional development in technology. I am mostly self-taught.

#10-About one/third of e-learning policy does not provide a discussion about how students learn (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). The internet has much available, however, for how students learn. The world is at their fingertips. They need to be taught how to navigate this, however.

#11- Policies assume that students are already active, quick and competent learners. (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). In many instances, students are more capable than their teachers with technology. This needs to be noted, too.

#12-Teachers become Luddites or enthusiastic embracers (Conway & Zhao, 2003a). Embracing technology is the answer in my opinion.

#13-Technological optimism is frighteningly similar amongst international policies and seems to unite cultures rather than recognize the individual cultures of each nation with unique needs. (Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F, 2006). Perhaps in the end we’ll finally learn there is only one race: the human race.

This text was wonderfully informative and written. It is needed in 2007.

Conway, P.F. & Zhao, Y (2003a). From ludittes to gatekeepers to designers: images of teachers in political documents. In: Zhao, Y (Ed.) What Teachers Should Know About Technology? Perspectives and Practices. Greenwich, CT: Information
Age Press

Sayers, D. (1995). Educational Equity In An Information Age. Teachers College Record

U.S Department of Education. (1996). Getting America’s Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge.

Zhao, Y., Lei, J. & Conway, P.F,. (2006). A global perspective on political definitions of E-learning: Commonalities and differences in national educational technology strategy discourses. In The International Handbook of Virtual Learning
Environments, 673 -697. Springer, Printed in the Netherlands.

Zhao, Y & Conway, P.F. (2001). What’s in, what’s out?: an analysis of state technology plans. Teachers College Record. Available online at: http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?ContentID=10717.

Welcome!

Tonight, I entered a new semester at Syracuse University enrolled in a class taught by Professor Jing Lei entitled, "Educational Media Theory and Research."  There are three students enrolled in the class and each of us are in charge of conducting an independent study on research that interests us in the field of technology.  

My major interests are in the teaching of writing, creating writing communities, encouraging creativity in the classroom and empowering students.  For many years, I've worked as a Critical Friends Coach, in a K - 12 Public School in downtown, Louisville, Kentucky: The J. Graham Brown School.  A past student of mine, Patrick Yen, created a video project to capture the essence of the school: community (which can viewed at this link).

For the last few years, I've followed a few students as they journal their college-experiences and I've had a growing interest in how "blogging" keeps the Brown School community alive.  I've dappled in a few blogs of my own, too, and currently I'm interested in how online, blogging communities can be used as a "critical friends" network.  In particular, I'm curious to how blogging can be used as a tool to support colleagues with their thinking, writing and teaching.

It is the intent of this blog to serve as a vessel for online communication as my classmates and I work our way through educational media theory.  

I welcome you.