Another Bandwagon?

The feds have done it again. They have come up with a new way to revolutionize education. This time, we are not worried about leaving any children behind, this time the feds are offering up a Digital Promise to help educate our youth to be competitive in the 21st century. The new task force of sorts actually originated from a law signed by NCLB's George W. Bush, but was taken up by the Obama Administration.

This new 501(c)(3) made up of some government but mostly private sector members pledges the following three key factors as adapted from its Fact Sheet:

1. Identify breakthrough technologies.
2. Learn faster what's working and what's not.
3. Transform the market for learning technologies.

Originating from a presidential call to action, this Digital Promise initiative will be looking at things like robots that can help students with vocabulary, video games that can be used in classrooms, and online tutors that can help assess learning strategies.

Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York said today that “the creation of the Digital Promise Initiative heralds a new and much needed era that will ensure the rewards of the digital age will be available to everyone, those with wealth and those without, those who live in rural areas and those who live in urban areas, those who are young and those who are elderly. Just as the Northwest Ordinance, the Morrill Land-Grant College Act and the GI Bill stand as seminal achievements in earlier centuries, we look forward to seeing the Digital Promise Initiative shine in this century as an equally bright beacon."

Pretty hefty hopes, I'd have to say. I can only hope that this new "promise" is not just another swing of the educational pendulum, not just another bandwagon to jump on. I can only hope that before we jump at whatever Kool-Aid is being offered up next, we take the time to make sure that Jim Jones hasn't filled the cups.

I'm just-a-sayin'.

Marital Troubles in the Digital World

My husband refuses to have a Facebook.

It doesn't seem like a serious life decision; an insignificant choice really. Nothing that should affect our lives.

He says that he has too much to do and that "Fascespace My Face thingy is just a waste of time." I can't totally disagree with him there, but I tell him how cool it is that I have been able to connect with people that I haven't seen for years. He just shrugs it off.

"Look, I got through the entire decade of the 90s without programming a VCR; I am going to get through the 20 teens without a Facebook."

Personally, I think he is just trying to keep up his old curmudgeon persona -- he likes to be described as a "grumpy old man" (which is ironic, as he is only 33 -- and I am 6 years older than he is). He always talks about "kids today" and likes to shake the canes left in our house by his grandparents. I keep telling myself it's his schtick. But it has started to create problems in our marriage.

More than once, I have reminded him about party invitations and family events (sent on Facebook, of course), to which his reply is always, "Well, I wasn't invited."

"Of course you are invited, it says so right here," I always yell, pointing at my Facebook Events Page.

"If they can't pick up a phone, or just send an email to me, then I am not going."

At this point, I usually growl at him (a habit my 21-month-old daughter has picked up) and proceed to gently (in my mind anyway) tell him why he IS going. We have a short back-and-forth, and he decides it is in his best interest to go to whatever event it is. This scenario has repeated more than once.

I don't know why I get upset by this. Perhaps I should take his anti-tech nature as a cute quirk, but somehow I can't. It may be because, at times, he wants the best of both worlds.

"Hey, do you think we should have a Facebook page for the farm?" He asked one day a few months ago, "I hear everyone has them."

After I created the page, I tried again to get him to have his own account, if only for business purposes.

"I don't need one -- you have one," he said and smiled. "Hey, can you help me make the clicker work? I can't get the t.v. on."

"Of course you can't."

Sometimes I wonder how I am ever going to be able to teach students anything, when I can't even teach my own husband.

Put the Cellphone Down and Walk Away Slowly

As I sat browsing through my subscription feeds this evening, I came across this apt cartoon in one of my favorite magazines The Week. It reminded me of a conversation that I had earlier today with a few co-workers during our first fire drill of the school year.

As we stood in the parking lot waiting for the all-clear, one of my colleagues relayed a story of a sophomore who stood his textbook up on his desk, and then proceeded to text throughout the class.

My friend was verbalizing his thoughts on what should be done -- in the past he had collected all cell phones in a "phone jail" (aka "basket") that would then be returned after class. Unfortunately as class sizes grew, this option became more unwieldy. "Maybe I'll just have a cellphone jail for those who break the rule."

As I trotted back up to my room, I thought about one middle school teacher that the kids called "the cell phone Nazi." According to my obviously honest cherubs, "All she did was walk around yelling, 'Put that phone away, or it's mine.'" I thought about how exhausting it must be to make electronic devices your own personal crusade.

And yet, I understood her.

Over the years, I have confiscated or threatened to confiscate many an electronic device and have been interrupted in class by the inadvertent ring. What is shocking to me is how many times my students tell me that it is their moms or dads calling or texting. One day last year, a student actually answered his ringing phone and told his mother that he was in the middle of class, and that the teacher was going to yell at him now. He ended with "How many times have I told you not to call me in class?"

Ultimately, these distractions interrupt the learning process -- which is often difficult to regain momentum after such an event. I wonder how we could impart this information to parents, as it seems they, and not their students, may be the ones who need it most.

Empathy for the Unplugged

Reading friend and coworker Katie Dunn's recent post "Unplugged -- Sorry Digital Nation" -- I had to chuckle. I, too, felt a little unplugged this weekend, but unlike Katie I was in one of the most urban of areas -- Boston.

My sisters and I had decided to take a girls weekend to celebrate my youngest sister's 30th birthday. We splurged and stayed at (what was for us) the posh Marriott Copley Place. I say "posh" as there was a mall attached by escalator to our hotel -- a mall that included a Tiffany & Co. and Jimmy Choo -- obviously a place that none of us could afford to shop in, but we felt dang cool that we could shop there if we wanted to. I was shocked then, to learn that I would have to PAY for internet service in our hotel room -- $12.95 a day as of two days prior to our check-in.

Now I pay for internet service at home, and refused to pay what would almost be a monthly fee for a few days. I had assumed that free wi-fi is just a standard option in most hotels -- especially one as ubiquitous as the Marriott. I, however, was wrong. Free Wi-Fi was available in the hotel lobby or on the second floor near the Starbucks, but we could not access the costless option from our room on the 32nd floor.

I felt lost.

I was used to waking up, and reading the newspaper online, perhaps working a bit on an online course that I am taking, planning for upcoming classes, stalking new and old friends on Facebook, checking my bank account -- but now, with no in-room access I was forced to make my private surfing more public. I felt naked. What was I to do without being able to access my laptop in my pajamas?

It made me start to think about my students, and how plugged in they must feel. If I, a mere "immigrant" in this new Digital Nation felt lost without access, how must they feel when we deny them access in many ways?

This does not mean that I will allow them to have cellphones and IPods in the classroom -- and I certainly don't believe that Facebook is necessary on school property, but the experience does make me feel more empathy for them. I can understand a little more of their sense of unease at our taking away these things away. They must feel as lost as I did, having to actually put on clothes to use my laptop.

It felt good to be home this morning in my pjs...

Our Digital Nation and its Confused and Distracted Constituency

"What's wrong with a book?" My husband asked me this morning after hearing me rant of how confused I have become with all of the conflicting data and opinions of technology in education, "It always opens. You don't need a password to find out what's inside, and you don't have to worry about the damn thing crashing."

Oh, how he makes sense.

Yesterday while I was trying to teach my junior English class how to use discussion boards, I thought the same thing as a hand quickly went up, "Mrs. Brown, I can't log in." After 10 minutes of retrying passwords and an impassioned email to our tech team, she was able to complete what I thought was going to take 15 - 20 minutes total. Instead, we used almost twice that much time. 

Talk to any teacher who uses technology in the classroom, and you will find similar stories. While my student apologized profusely for not being able to log in, I told her not to worry -- it amazed me that it was only her. "Don't worry," I said, "it is always something." And it is. Sometimes the wireless signal is down. Sometimes the server is. Sometimes kids get locked out of accounts. Sometimes their computers weren't charged. This list is endless. The problems often make me want to toss every piece of electronic equipment I have into the nearby river.

I tell myself that digital literacy is a crucial skill that a well-educated 21st century student should have -- and school is obviously a perfect place to learn that skill. My thoughts are echoed by NY Times tech blogger Virgina Heffernan who in a recent post "Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade" left many a teacher reeling. The blog post, a review of Cathy N. Davidson's, co-director of the annual MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competitions, new book "Now You See It," begs educators to come out of the 19th century and to "stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don’t happen to possess it." While I don't hit that iconic mark until next year, I get her point.  It is ideas like these that make me keep bringing new technology into the classroom. I feel a sense of responsibility to my students.

But then I watch things like Frontline's Digital Nation and I sweat.  Am I helping students to become more distracted in their lives because of what I am doing in my class? Will they be like those kids in South Korea that have to be sent away to anti-tech camp to stop their addiction to the net and gaming?
And then there's the recent incendiary (to digiphiles anyway) yet enlightening NY Times article entitled "In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores" that questions just how effective the onset of all of this technology in classrooms is.

Ultimately, I keep returning to a quote from the Times article -- as Bryan Goodwin of  Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning so aptly told the reporter "Good teachers can make good use of computers, while bad teachers won’t, and they and their students could wind up becoming distracted by the technology."

I just hope to all that is good and holy that I am one of the "good teachers," not for my sake, but for my students'.

Self-publishing: Not Just for Literary Losers Anymore

Self-publishing, formerly seen by the book industry as one of those ugly practices that people with little talent and a lot of delusions undertook  earning it the name "Vanity Publishing," is now gaining new levels of respect.

Thanks to sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com writers not able to sell their works to traditional publishers are now able to become successful authors by publishing their books themselves.

Take young Amanda Hocking who has sold over 450,000 copies of her young adult series (over 99% e-books), J.A. Konrath who has sold over 100,000 self-published e-books, or H.P. Mallory who has sold over 70,000 books since last July. (Check out the full USA Today article.)

The message? Anyone can write and publish. While many may argue that such a practice cheapens the medium, as a teacher of writing, I think it is a wonderful message that can be sent to my students. Write a book -- you, too, may be able to sell hundreds of thousands of copies. A recent article in the Mineral Wells Index lets aspiring authors know just how easy self publishing can be.

For something a little less daunting, teens can visit sites like Figment, Teen Ink, and Cyberteens. The first two give teens an instant outlet for writing, while the third helps teens navigate the world of self-publishing.

It is obvious that the web has changed almost everything in our lives -- now it is making literary success and fame one step easier.

Remediation and Other Made-up and Misused Words...

Back in the early 80's when I was in grade school, I remember teachers whispering the term "remediation" -- as in "Little Johnny needs some remediation before he can move on to the 3rd grade." I wasn't quite sure what it meant, but I knew it was bad. So bad that little Johnny would hang his head in shame as he walked to the little room at the end of the hall to receive that help.

As I have become an educator myself I know that remediation is to remedy a situation. In Johnny's case remedying his inability to read, and while that is obviously a beneficent goal, it is impossible for me to shake the negative connotation of that word.

Now some 25+ years later, as I sit an read selections from Jay David Bolter's Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, I am annoyed.

Bolter, in a practice overused by academics, decided to take the word "remediation" and change its meaning. He use's it to mean some sort of a shift in medium -- a "re-medium-ation" if you will. He looks at the history of text from codex to computer and discusses what they mean to our culture. Granted the book was published in 2001 and even now some seems antiquated (my beloved Kindle was not even a glimmer in it's mommy's motherboard yet). But as I look at his use of "remediation" I can't help but think that there was no need to "correct" or "remedy" anything with the printed word.

There is nothing wrong with books.

While E. Annie Proulx quoted in Bolter's text may be wrong that "no one is going to read a novel on a twitchy little screen. Ever." She is more than correct when she says, "Books give esthetic and tactile pleasure, from the dust jacket art to the binding, paper, typography and text design, from the moment of purchase until the last page is turned...Books speak even when they stand unopened on the shelf." (read the entire article here) There is something about wandering through a bookstore with no particular aim in mind only to find the perfect book. One that will change the way you look at the world and everyone in it. As of now, there is no way that browsing the Amazon database and transmitting a book via the air will mirror that feeling.

How about a word that was created for this brave new world that is becoming ubiquitous in text-speak -- "hypertext"? The word itself was coined by Professor Ted Nelson in the 60's and has come to mean "text that links to other information." The word is even on Merriam-Webster's online, but first entries in a Google search link to sites like TechTerms.

I have to admit -- my inquisitive mind does love those links. A perfect example is used by Maine Writer's and Publisher's Alliance Director, Joshua Bodwell. Bodwell sends out frequent emails littered with recent stories, trivia, and upcoming events that every member looks forward to getting. If you are a writer in Maine you need to join, if only for those emails.

Proponents of digital over text talk about the individualized experience that hypertext gives. I'd have to argue that people have individualized experiences while reading hard print as well -- we are individuals after all, with our own thoughts and emotions that colors everything we read.

I've babbled enough. I think I am going to read something -- in the old school medium.