Students and Online Technologies

I’ll start with a shout out to my friend on Educationation as his recent post covered this topic as well.  Stop by the Educationation Blog for an interesting read.

Introduction -
Found some interesting stuff this weekend. I really need to spend some more time looking at raw data, but these seem to be from reliable sources, so I will throw it out there.  Is what we see here part of the Mindshift of the next generation? Maybe computers are the Mindtools spoken about by Jonassen and Carr (2000).
Note the Jonassen and Carr writing was in 2000. Most of these studies I show are from the last year or so. Have things changed?

Students Actually Use the Internet for Education

Technology Horizons in Education -
Research by NSBA speaks to students using internet for education based purposes. THis study has an interesting component of social networking which is generally prohibited by schools inside the walls of the classroom. I will defer to the Communication Majors as to what “Social Networking” actually is as we would define it today.

Web use may boost student achievement

eSchool News – (registration required)
A couple of interesting Quotes, which really shouldn’t surprise us.
“Learning was enhanced when interface adaptation matched the users’ cognitive style.”
“The internet is the preferred medium for information for this digital generation.”
They speak to the use of visual interfaces for learning such as design of web pages and the like.

Students More Likely Webheads Than TV Addicts

Online Media Daily -
I was part of the TV generation. Is it dying?

Internet Study

Stanford -
Some interesting data on how people spend their time online.
Most of it is not too surprising

In conclusion this data confirms my thoughts that we are on the beginning edge of technology in Academia.
It is worth our time to learn how to use it effectively.  As I have stated before, as educators we need to understand how to use the technology, we don’t necessarily need to become experts.

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References:

Jonassen, D. H., and C. S. Carr. 2000. Mindtools: Affording Multiple Knowledge Representations for Learning. In Computers as Cognitive Tools, Volume Two: No More Walls: Theory Change, Paradigm Shifts, and their influence on the use of computers for instructional purposes, edited by S. P. Lajoie. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

“It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:12)

We are individuals with the different talents. I believe that it is our duty to take these gifts and use them to the best of our ability. Sometimes we know early in life what these gifts are and are able to develop them right away. This was not my case with the gift of teaching that I believe I have been given. The best way to present this topic is to tell my story.

My Story -
I have always been interested in things mechanical. While growing up I was always taking things apart, and tried my best to reassemble them, not always successfully. I was sure my gift was to be a mechanical engineer. Even though I had this aptitude I was not sure that it was what I wished to do for a living. Upon graduation from high school I proceeded to join the Navy to pursue my career. I was trained as a nuclear mechanical operator and spent the next four years on an aircraft carrier. While in the Navy I honed my practical mechanical skills. I knew for certain that after I got out, I would be going to school for mechanical engineering.

Looking back now I see that even though I had the gift of mechanical aptitude (not one of the gifts mentioned by Paul in Ephesians) another interest began growing within me. One of the assignments I had while on the ship was that of a trainer. When someone reported to the command they were required to undergo a rigorous training program to learn their job and become formally qualified. Two years into my assignment on the carrier, I was fully qualified and considered a senior operator. I was chosen by my division officer to assist in the training program that I had gone through. This was the beginning of my awareness that possibly I was fortunate to have been given another gift in addition to my mechanical aptitude.

Six years in the Navy went by quite quickly and upon leaving I was accepted by the University of Minnesota into the Mechanical Engineering program. I spent the next 5 years as a student, and didn’t think much about teaching. After graduation I started my career as a mechanical engineer. Although I focused on the discipline I had studied in school, I kept seeing areas where people needed to be shown how to do things. Maybe my gift was beginning to awaken.

Learning About My Call -
About a year ago I was speaking with a good friend of mine that is a pastor by training. In our conversation he told me I had “the gift”. Not sure what he meant I asked him to please explain. He proceeded to tell me that in the time we have known each other many of our conversations centered on my giving him help with various issues that arose with his computer. He said that I was very adept at fixing the problems, but while performing the work, I was able to explain to him in terms he understood what I was doing. Thus he said I had the gift of teaching.

Parker Palmer in The Courage To Teach speaks about the heart of a teacher. He says that teaching is more than just technique; it is part of our identity. He speaks of teaching as a true calling in an almost spiritual way. Although Palmer doesn’t share his faith with us, he talks extensively about the spiritual nature of teaching.

Even though my teaching experience is limited, I now fully understand and agree with Palmer when he speaks of finding your true self through teaching.

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This was an excerpt from a paper I wrote last year when I was taking a class in graduate school called “The Teaching Craft”.  I have recycled it here because my friend at  educationation asked the question, What Makes a Good Teacher?  He had an extensive list, and many of the points reminded me of my professor in The Teaching Craft.  She discussed Parker Palmer extensively and how teaching is more than a Job, it is a calling or Vocation.  This short post tells my story.

-Loren
http://www.theteachingbox.com