Frankly, I find the digital "revolution" a pain in the... And I'm getting pretty tired of hearing how great the upcoming generation is at multi-tasking. I'm sure the DSM VI will no longer classify ADD or ADHD as a disorder. Instead, it will simply be someone who is very good at multi-taksing.
Digital sources only makes it easier to find information (assuming reliable sources etc.), they will still have to READ it at some point--a terribly linear and finite process. (I'm assuming, of course, that all the information can't be made into Sponge Bob videos). As well, I would bet that the easier things get in associating information (hyperlinks say to related stuff) the easier it will be for these students to think they know something because they have "collected" it all in their electronic notebooks and had a gander at it. At least one problem will be in tracking down plagiarism, unless those tools keep pace and are ever more affordable. But perhaps, in the future, individual experts will no longer be required. After all, everything will be electronic and hyperlinked and DVD'd and all students will have been trained only in "cooperative" education where all work is shared in group learning environments. So, when you go to see the physician of the future, it will actually be a group of people working on your case via satelite link while you strip in a room with various sensors for the collection of the relevent data. Of course, while you are stripping, they will be working on other cases at various locations around the world or talking on their communicator to their fridge to order something special for dinner--paradise for some no doubt, hell for others. --Mike On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 2:30 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > When so many tentative hypotheses are phrased as facts it's no wonder that > people read this stuff and believe it. > > Sigh. > > Deep Sigh. > > They will be in my classroom very, very, very soon. > > My favorite is the first quote on children being wired differently these > days. Really? What's the evidence? You mean their nervous system > distribution is different than in past generations? So we have had a major > Darwinian selection in just one generation? WOW! That's faster than finch > beaks change in the Galapagos! Quite extraordinary and quite in need of > extraordinary evidence. I supppose it's a good article for class........ > > Annette > > > > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > 619-260-4006 > [email protected] > > > ---- Original message ---- > >Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 10:20:44 -0400 > >From: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> > >Subject: [tips] Will These Students Hit A Wall When They Get To College? > >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" < > [email protected]> > >Cc: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> > > > >There is a curious article in the NY Times about the "digital turn" > >that appears to be occurring in some grade and high schools in > >in the U.S., namely the replacement of the traditional textbook > >with collections of materials obtained through the internet (is > >this "intellectual beachcoming"?). See: > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/education/09textbook.html?ref=todayspaper > > > >The article claims that it is only a matter of time before textbooks > >in 1-12 are replaced by computers and net access and that this is > >occurring because, in part I'm sure, kids today are somehow > >different from previous kids (a form of evolution that teachers > >have somehow missed?). Consider the following quote: > > > >|"Kids are wired differently these days," said Sheryl R. Abshire, > >|chief technology officer for the Calcasieu Parish school system in > >|Lake Charles, La. "They're digitally nimble. They multitask, transpose > >|and extrapolate. And they think of knowledge as infinite. > > > >I wonder if Dr. Abshire would recommend that high schoolers engage > >in these activities, say, while driving because "they multitask" and > >driving would just be one more task that they can switch attention to > >temporarily while executing other tasks? How will students respond > >to demands that they focus their attention on a stingle task and devote > >all of their cognitive resources in performing just that task? > > > >Quoting again: > >|"They don't engage with textbooks that are finite, linear and rote," > >|Dr. Abshire continued. > > > >I wonder what will happen when student come across old-fashioned > >books that a "finite, liniear, and rote" that haven't made the digital > >transition (I think that everything that has be printed or produced will > >NOT be digitalized because only small numbers of people will be > >interested in them [e.g., scholars studying a particular person or topic] > >and even those that are digitized may be in wretched form because it > >was done with "dumb" Optical Character Recognition (OCR) of poor > >copies that do not have a high hit rate in recognizing printed words). > >Knowledge may be infinitie but that doesn't mean that one is competent > >in dealing with it systematicly, being able to combine relevant components > >into coherent units, and understand why some things go together while > >other things do not. Even expert scholars have difficulty doing this. > > > >|"Teachers need digital resources to find those documents, those blogs, > >|those wikis that get them beyond the plain vanilla curriculum in the > textbooks." > > > >Of course this assumes that teachers will have the time, energey, and > >resources to locate all of these sources of information. They also better > >be tenured in a stable position. I wonder how colleges which have started > >to rely quite heavily on part-time/adjunct professors will be able to > support > >and maintain this type of activity especially given the problems of > providing > >support for "essential" services. > > > >Quoting again: > >|"In five years, I think the majority of students will be using digital > textbooks," > >|said William M. Habermehl, superintendent of the 500,000-student Orange > >|County schools. "They can be better than traditional textbooks." > > > >This sounds almost like a fact instead of a tentative speculation. Is > there > >research on this point or is this just an expression of faith? > > > >Continuing to quote Mr. Habermehl: > >|"I don't believe that charters and vouchers are the threat to schools in > >|Orange County," he said. "What's a threat is the digital world - that > >|someone's going to put together brilliant $200 courses in French, in > >|geometry by the best teachers in the world." > > > >I wonder. Who exactly is going to put together these courses or is it > >expected that teachers will simply surf the web and put together > masterpieces > >from what they find? Also, if a teacher does put together a brilliant > course > >in "(insert course name here)", couldn't the teacher copyright or put some > >other limited use protection on it and associated materials in order to > recoup > >that time and energy put into the producation of the course (i.e., profit > from > >their labors)? Would such a course actually cost only $200? > > > >Though the article focuses on 1-12 classes, there is some discussion about > >"open source" and digital text used in colleges. For example: > > > >|The move to open-source materials is well under way in higher > >|education - and may be accelerated by President Obama's proposal > >|to invest in creating free online courses as part of his push to improve > >|community colleges. > >| > >|Around the world, hundreds of universities, including M.I.T. and King > Fahd > >|University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia, now use and share > >|open-source courses. Connexions, a Rice University nonprofit organization > >|devoted to open-source learning, submitted an algebra text to California. > > > >But pragmatism may forestall the "digital revolution" for a while: > > > >|But given the economy, many educators and technology experts agree > >|that the K-12 digital revolution may be further off. > >| > >|"There's a lot of stalled purchasing and decision making right now," said > >|Mark Schneiderman, director of federal education policy at the > >|Software & Information Industry Association. "But it's going to happen." > >| > >|For all the attention to the California initiative, digital textbooks are > only > >|the start of the revolution in educational technology. > > > >Will the revoultion be tweeted? > > > >-Mike Palij > >New York University > >[email protected] > > > >--- > >To make changes to your subscription contact: > > > >Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
