Category: Higher Education

Research and Collaborate with SimplyBox

SimplyBox is a free service that allows you to visually capture any part of a web page. As you collect items that you captured, you organize them in boxes. You can then share these items or boxes with friends, colleagues, … the world. The result is: efficient and visual collaboration around content. They call it “content networking.” (Source)

Overview

Research

  • Collect only the parts from a web page that you want.
  • Write your notes/comments on the content you found.
  • Have a direct link back to the sites each of your items were collected from.

Student Collaboration

  • Collect into a box useful content from the web and add your comments to it.
  • Share the box with your students, even if they are not SimplyBox users.
  • The students can add their comments and content.

Connecting Beyond the Classroom

  • Create boxes with content related to the different topics you teach.
  • Exchange the boxes with other teachers (even if in different schools!.
  • Have them help you find more content and engage their classes in the discussion.

Mobile Devices in the Classroom (Thinking Out Loud #4)

THINKING OUT LOUD
Episode 004

Teachers’ Online Identities

Miguel Guhlin has once again pushed my thinking. This time its about the issue of personal content that K-12 teachers post online. I’ve spent a lot of time researching, thinking about and discussing this topic, but it struck me that this issue is actually a lot hairier than I’ve previously realized. There are a lot of different aspects that need to be considered.

Here are a few points from Miguel’s post. I encourage you to consider each question twice asking yourself Do.. the first time and Should… the second time.

  • Do/Should school districts have any say about what a teacher does after hours?
  • Do/Should school districts have any say about what a teacher posts online?
  • Do/Should teachers represent the district after hours?

Rather than commenting on the discussion at this point, I hope to further it by asking a few more questions.

  • Do/Should schools districts have any say about what staff members (Secretary, custodian, cafeteria staff, bus driver, mechanic, maintenance, etc.) do after hours? Post online?
  • Do/Should parents and the community have any say in these matters?
  • How does this translate to higher education?
  • If the answers to these questions are “yes” then is the same true for individuals in other professions (Nurse, news reporter, radio DJ, police officer, elected official, unelected government employee, or store clerk)?

Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom: Valuable or Distracting?

The following was posted on The Chronicle site today and has kicked-off a lively discussion.

Web 2.0 Classroom Versus Learning
By: Josh Fischman

There were some skeptics here this morning at The Chronicle Technology Forum, listening to a talk called “Building the Classroom of the Future: From iTunes to Twitter.” Some in the audience seemed unconvinced that tools connecting students to the Web, and to one another, would help in that future classroom.

Making the case for Web 2.0, Cole W. Camplese, director of education technology services at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, spoke engagingly about the opportunities for students to draw information from the Internet and bring it into classroom discussions.

At least two professors in the audience, however, questioned the value of open laptops and ongoing Web searches during class. When teaching physics, one of them said, some aspects require sustained concentration and focus from students. He was concerned that they would not learn intricate equations if their attention was divided.

This is an ongoing debate in higher education. It has led some professors to ban laptops. It has led others to argue that Web tools make the classroom a more productive place. There seems to be substantial evidence supporting both positions. Which side are you on, and why? (Source)

Discussion
What is your reaction? Do you think Web 2.0 tools enhance teaching and learning or are they distractions?

An “A” for Effort

A+

The following editorial came through my Inbox (Thanks, Lee). I share it as a follow-up to my recent post, Confusing the Level of Effort with Quality of Work.

‘A’ for Effort? Not in My Class
By: Bill Maxwell

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Even now, more than 20 years later, I clearly recall the student’s anger as she flung the red-inked essay across my desk and screamed that she had “worked too hard” for the grade of C. It was the first time a college student had so vehemently challenged a grade I had given on a writing assignment. It would not be the last.

Along with being startled, I wondered if I was in danger of bodily harm. The student, a freshman, continued to scream, saying her parents would kill her if she earned anything less than a B. She had been an honor student in high school, she said, and demanded that I change the grade. I explained that her writing was undistinguished, merely satisfying the standard — “average” — requirements of an expository essay. I did not change her grade. The term was young enough for her to withdraw from my class and find another.

When I told colleagues about the incident, I was surprised that all of them had similar experiences. Over time, I came to expect students to challenge lower-than-expected grades solely on the basis of having “worked hard” and having satisfied the basic requirements.

A recent New York Times article shed light on the increasing problem by summarizing a study, “Self-Entitled College Students: Contributions of Personality, Parenting, and Motivational Factors,” that was published last year in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. I read the study, and it confirms everything my colleagues and I had discovered years ago by way of sharing anecdotes.

Conducted by researchers for the University of California, Irvine, the study reports that many of the students surveyed, a diverse group that included East and Southeast Asian Americans, Caucasians, Latinos and other groups, expected B’s because they attended class. A larger number expected B’s for having read the assigned material.

The researchers, professors themselves, looked for the sources of this growing trend of entitlement among students. More than any other factors, they found that pressure from parents and competition among peers and relatives have given students a greater sense of what is referred to as “achievement anxiety.”

Other researchers in education and the behavioral sciences also have been looking into the causes of the phenomenon. Some have traced it back to students’ experiences in their K-12 classrooms, where they are bombarded with high-stakes tests that determine if they move to the next level — or even graduate from kindergarten. One result is that they have become exceptionally skilled at preparing for tests, producing a level of efficiency that encourages these young people to search for what one professor calls “a magic formula to get high scores.”

When such formulas get students high scores in K-12, the expectation of high scores follows far too many freshmen into the college classroom. This expectation has become a new religion, a very real and perhaps harmful sense of entitlement.

As my colleagues and I had experienced, the study shows that the rising sense of entitlement creates, among other negative problems, selfishness, unrealistic and demanding attitudes toward professors, exploitation of peers and university staff members, narcissism and, of course, various forms of academic dishonesty.

A University of Maryland senior who spoke to the New York Times is a poster child for the academically entitled college student. “I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” he said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in? If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point? If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”

Obviously, I disagree. Putting in your maximum effort does not always produce levels of excellence that deserve the highest grade. As my colleagues and I reminded many disgruntled students, you should want to explore ideas, test new techniques and expand your knowledge.

You should set aside the need to be instantly rewarded with a mere grade for effort. Enlightenment should be your goal. And yes, you can call me out of step and old-fashioned.

New Diigo Group

DiigoI’m a big, big fan of Diigo. I appreciate that I can save and share bookmarks, highlight and leave comments on webpages, annotate resources, host and participate in groups and forums on particular topics, message and interact with friends and colleagues, and much more. It’s a very big component of my personal learning network (PLN). I’m also impressed and pleased that the Diigo founders and employees listened to its community of teacher-users and developed Diigo for Educators (More fondly referred to as EduDiigo). Here are some thoughts about about why teachers and learners might use Diigo.

I started a new group dedicated to the topic of design and development. I invite everyone with an interest/expertise in the topic to become an active member.

FYI, consider joining these other groups that started, too.

I encourage everyone to take a look at Diigo’s services and consider taking advantage of it. Please feel free to friend me because, as I frequently say, “Together we learn more.”

Confusing the Level of Effort with Quality of Work

Effort

I’ve been teaching for more than 16 years now. Whether teaching elementary and middle school students or undergraduate and graduate students I’ve occasionally encountered learners that believed that no matter what they get an A for effort.

I’ve recently read some research and several articles on this topic. The response I received after sharing one of the resources over Twitter and Plurk is the motivation for this and a forth-coming blog post. I invite your feedback and reaction.

—-

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes
By: Max Roosevelt

Prof. Marshall Grossman has come to expect complaints whenever he returns graded papers in his English classes at the University of Maryland.

“Many students come in with the conviction that they’ve worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said. “Some assert that they have never gotten a grade as low as this before.”

He attributes those complaints to his students’ sense of entitlement.

“I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.”

A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.

“I noticed an increased sense of entitlement in my students and wanted to discover what was causing it,” said Ellen Greenberger, the lead author of the study, called “Self-Entitled College Students: Contributions of Personality, Parenting, and Motivational Factors,” which appeared last year in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Professor Greenberger said that the sense of entitlement could be related to increased parental pressure, competition among peers and family members and a heightened sense of achievement anxiety.

Aaron M. Brower, the vice provost for teaching and learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offered another theory.

“I think that it stems from their K-12 experiences,” Professor Brower said. “They have become ultra-efficient in test preparation. And this hyper-efficiency has led them to look for a magic formula to get high scores.”

James Hogge, associate dean of the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University, said: “Students often confuse the level of effort with the quality of work. There is a mentality in students that ‘if I work hard, I deserve a high grade.’ “

In line with Dean Hogge’s observation are Professor Greenberger’s test results. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade.

Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University of Maryland echoed that view.

“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”

“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”

Sarah Kinn, a junior English major at the University of Vermont, agreed, saying, “I feel that if I do all of the readings and attend class regularly that I should be able to achieve a grade of at least a B.”

At Vanderbilt, there is an emphasis on what Dean Hogge calls “the locus of control.” The goal is to put the academic burden on the student.

“Instead of getting an A, they make an A,” he said. “Similarly, if they make a lesser grade, it is not the teacher’s fault. Attributing the outcome of a failure to someone else is a common problem.”

Additionally, Dean Hogge said, “professors often try to outline the ‘rules of the game’ in their syllabi,” in an effort to curb haggling over grades.

Professor Brower said professors at Wisconsin emphasized that students must “read for knowledge and write with the goal of exploring ideas.”

This informal mission statement, along with special seminars for freshmen, is intended to help “re-teach students about what education is.”

The seminars are integrated into introductory courses. Examples include the conventional, like a global-warming seminar, and the more obscure, like physics in religion.

The seminars “are meant to help students think differently about their classes and connect them to real life,” Professor Brower said.

He said that if students developed a genuine interest in their field, grades would take a back seat, and holistic and intrinsically motivated learning could take place.

“College students want to be part of a different and better world, but they don’t know how,” he said. “Unless teachers are very intentional with our goals, we play into the system in place.”

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Note that this article has sparked a lot of conversation about this topic. Take a look at the many replies in the comments section.

What Lies Ahead?

New Ideas Come through Conversations

We’re living in exciting times! It’s still the (late) dawn of a new century. Innovation and scientific discovery abound. Digital technologies are changing the way we work, play and stay connected. The business world is evolving and there’s the potential for positive transformation in education. This is not a new conversation. It has previously been brought to light by Karl Fish, Clay Shirky, Clayton Christensen, and others. The following video is based on Charles Leadbeater‘s book, We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production, in which he explores the potential impact of the Internet. Watch this 4 minute video and then let’s discuss it a bit.

Here are a few phrases from the video that I like.

  • “The audience is taking the stage.” What a picturesque (Ooh, good word!) way to describe the whole 2.0 thing.
  • “Mass innovation comes from communities…it’s like building a bird’s nest where everyone leaves their piece.”
  • “Equality because knowledge can be set free to help people who need it but cannot pay.” Isn’t this a paradigm shift?! (I know, I don’t like using that phrase, either…but it is!)
  • “Freedom because more people will know what it’s like to be creative.” This one hits me right between the eyes. I started this blog to share resources and interact with K-12 teachers. I had no idea just how right-brain this would be. It has become a creative outlet in some ways.
  • “In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what you share…How do we earn a living when everyone is freely sharing their ideas?” Are the freeconomists right?

Here are a few side thoughts.

  • Video is emerging as a dominate form of communication and whole new language and literacy are evolving right before our eyes. The graphic design and music selections used in this presentation wouldn’t have been my first (or second or third) choice but they work well. Of course, the pacing was key.
  • The technological, scientific, economic, political and medical predictions for 2009 are intriguing, but none of us know what really lies ahead in the years to come. It all just reminds me that the future is truly full of potential.

So, what do YOU think? Please share your thoughts and reactions in the comments. Remember that you can also leave audio and video comments, too.

The Art of Possibility

Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and on the faculty of the New England Conservatory. “Zander is a prophet of human potential…Watch as he helps unlock the boundless potential of a 15 year old cellist and teaches the entire…audience what it means to live in a world of possibility” (Source: Pop! Tech). Zander’s presentation is high-octane and will challenge your thinking about teaching and learning.



Here are just a few of the things that I really like about the presentation.

  • It’s low-tech (or no-tech) yet his message is clear and powerful.
  • I appreciate the downward spiral analogy and his point that negative comments are not statements of circumstances but rather a reflection of one’s attitude.
  • I’m a believer in goal setting and like the notion of learning contracts (as a means of students taking responsibility for their learning, setting their own goals and motivating students). I’ve approached this with a variety of strategies in my classes throughout the years, but I’ve never used the exact strategy that Zander shares. I’ve made a mental note of his idea, though, because I, as a learner, would really, really like his approach.
  • “Michelangelo…said in each piece of marble there is a beautiful statue. All you need is a hammer and a chisel just to get rid of the stone that is in the way of that beautiful statue. That is a theory of education! It’s not the one we use.”
  • I like his suggestion about how we should react to mistakes. What a change in attitude that would foster.
  • I cracked-up about the whole one-buttock-playing aside. You’ll have to watch it to find out what I’m talking about.
  • Kudos to his young participant, Nikolai, for his talent and bravery!
  • “Time doesn’t matter in possibility.” This rings true with me in so many ways.
  • A leader is one that can distinguish the downward spiral and has the capacity to refocus the nay-sayers on the possibilities and the vision.