Becoming a Millennial

221. Creation and Science

I am a committed Christian.  I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God.  For years I have struggled to reconcile the biblical account of creation with the so-called indisputable evidence for evolution and an old universe. 

 

When you read the Genesis account it so clearly describes a process of creation by a God who spoke, and out of nothing brought life in all its forms -- plants, trees, sun, moon, fish, birds, animals, and man.  About the time I convince myself that that is really what I believe, I get hammered by a myriad voices (from atheists to born-again Christians) who scoff at the possibility of a young earth fashioned by a Creator.

 

There are incredible pressures today to subscribe to science's "party line".   A person holding to biblical creation is typically viewed as an uneducated Bible thumper.  If you are a professional in the sciences you jeopardize your career if you suggest a theory other than millions of years of macroevolution.

 

I watched two videos recently that were extremely helpful to me.  If you have an open mind (and are not offended by God) you will be challenged and surprised by the body of evidence that can paint a far different picture than what is being taught in school today.

Lecture Part 1

Lecture Part 2

 

Dr. Stephen Flink, a graduate of Wabash College and Indiana University Medical School, has been a practicing physician for many years.   These are two talks he presented at Taylor University on December 3, 2008.  Each is an hour in length.

 

215. A Wiki-ized University?

I pass on a fascinating article in the Jan/Feb 2009 Educause Review, Higher Education and the Logic of Wikinomics, by David J. Staley.  Success of a wiki-ized educational platform depends on a spirit of volunteerism ... but isn't that what most educators possess?  If any of us were in it for the money we would have gotten out a long time ago!  I think we are going to see some exciting innovations in education in the days ahead.

213. Help Rescue a Culture

The times they are a changin'.  Watch this powerful video, Did You Know?  Should be a wake-up call to us in America.  Our culture has grown lazy and "entitled".  The days of easy prosperity with little personal effort are quickly passing away.  Our challenge as educators is to help rescue a culture.

209. Six Ways Not to Become Rote Using Technology

An excellent article by Ruth Reynard for teachers and professors experimenting with new technologies in the classroom.  One of Ruth's key points -- don't overlook getting feedback from your students.

Ruth Reynard, "6 Ways Not To Become Rote Using Instructional Technology," Campus Technology, 11/19/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=69331

208. How Students Learn

Have you been paying attention to how your students learn?  If you are a teacher at any level, it would be worth your time to watch this 7-minute video

205. Turning Point Increases Student Engagement

It is no surprise that the more students are engaged, the more they will learn.  Technology can play a part in fostering an environment of engagement and active learning.

This fall 20 faculty and nearly 40% of the student body are using the Turning Point classroom response technology in a wide variety of classes.  Students purchase the clickers in the ETC for $30.  A clicker can be used in multiple classes and for the duration of a student's time at Taylor. 

The clickers interface with PowerPoint slides that present multiple choice or T/F questions.  Students key in their responses and the results are immediately displayed as a bar graph or pie chart.

Professors can use the clickers for anonymous polling to check for student understanding of class material.  By registering the clickers with the students' Blackboard accounts they can also be used for graded quizzes, the results being automatically recorded in the gradebook.

204. Record Attendance at T4T Conference

Attendance at the annual faculty "Technology for Teaching" (T4T) Conference increased for the sixth consecutive year.  138 faculty and staff participated in the 2-day conference held August 14 & 15.  The majority of participants were from Taylor University and TU Fort Wayne.  They were joined by guests from Ivy Tech and Indiana Wesleyan University. 

 

Thirty-two different breakout sessions were offered on such topics as Switching to Word 2007, Teaching a Hybrid Course, Engaging Students Using Turning Point, Social Networking Tools, and Shooting Better Photos & Videos.

The conference opened with an engaging panel discussion on the topic, "Student Laptops in the Classroom -- Ban 'em or Embrace 'em?".  As students in greater numbers bring their wireless laptops into the classroom instructors face the challenge of minimizing the distraction potential and leveraging the laptops as a learning tool.

The conference received excellent feedback.  One professor commented, "A big thank you for continuing to expose us to new technology for teaching."  Another responded, "Thanks for a fantastic conference!"

201. 6th Annual T4T Conference

We were able to complete the schedule for Taylor's "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held August 14 & 15.  It took most of the month of June to put everything together.  Nearly 40 of our faculty & staff are helping to present sessions.  

This year's theme is, "Engaging Students With Digital Technology" and many of the 40 breakout sessions highlight technologies to do just that.  I'm especially looking forward to the opening panel, "Laptops in the Classroom: Ban 'em or Embrace 'Em?".  The topic has already begun to generate some energy with our faculty. 

We expect an attendance of over 100, mostly our own faculty.  We have also sent invitations to faculty from neighboring universities.  It always adds a nice dynamic to have participation from other schools. 

If you are somewhere within driving distance and would like to join us for either or both days we would love to have you.  Cost is $25/day and includes breakfast and lunch.  Here is the registration information:

1.  T4T schedule

2.  T4T session descriptions 

3.  T4T online registration

189. IE 7.0 features you may have missed

Many of you are probably now using Internet Explorer 7.0, and if you are like me you probably haven't taken the time to explore some of it's most basic features. 

Take 5 minutes to watch this video and you will be glad you did. 

This video came from a set of podcasts I have been watching called "EdTech 101" by Brian C. Dvorak.  You can go to iTunes to subscribe or directly to the EdTech101.com site.  The episodes are short, 5-15 minutes in length, but very informative for educators.

185. Lightweight laptops to transform the classroom

I'm going to make a prediction.  Ultra-portable long-battery light-weight laptops are going to transform the way students use laptops on campus.

Up until now laptops have been somewhat of a hassle.  You have to stick them in a bulky carrying case, make sure you have your power cord, make sure where you're going has a power outlet nearby, hassle with getting the bulky device out of the carrying case and set up in front of you where it's 15.4" screen is obtrusive and annoys the people around you ...

Imagine this scenario:  Grab your 3-pound laptop, stick it under your arm, take it to the library or to class, no worries about battery life because you have a full 8 hours, it's small size makes it almost unnoticeable as you set it besides your textbook and cup of coffee ...

I'm using such a laptop right now, the Gateway E-100M.  Yes, these ultra-portables are still on the expensive side, costing $1,500-2,200, but within another year or two their prices will be down as well, and you will find students flocking to your classes with them.

181. The World is Flat

I just finished reading Thomas Friedman’s best-seller, The World is Flat. In broad terms I have been aware of what has been happening globally – tech outsourcing to India, China’s economic explosion, cellular and broadband saturation in Europe and Asia – but the scenarios that Friedman describes were eye-opening … and sobering. I had no idea how rapidly the shift is taking place.

What struck me is how vulnerable our country currently is. Our educational system is going the wrong direction, catering to the lowest common denominator. Our brightest are not being challenged.

Compared to places like India, China, and Korea, our youth lack drive and motivation. Most do as little as possible to get through school, and they enter the work force not at all prepared for the sophisticated 21^st century. The factories that once absorbed this segment of our population are vanishing.

Many of the low-skilled jobs that are available are not wanted by our own, and are being snapped up by the rapidly increasing immigrant population. Where will all our 20-year-olds work? What about our 40 and 50-year-olds lacking skills for the digital age, whose factories are closing down? Serious social upheaval seems imminent.

Can America’s slide be reversed? Is it too late to shore up the foundational elements of our culture – initiative, responsibility, faith, family, morality, education -- that would position America in the 21^st century to maintain its global standing and quality of life?

It could happen. But it’s going to take some amazing leadership. Read Friedman’s book.

178. Faith, Technology & Teaching in the 21st Century

Second Life, podcasting, social networking, Web 2.0 ... What does it all mean?  Where are we being taken?  How do I deal with these overwhelming technologies as an educator? as a Christian?

I invite you to watch the keynote talk I gave at Taylor University's recent "Technology for Teaching" Conference.  The title of my presentation is How Web 2.0 is Impacting Education. 

Following the session one of our professors came up to me and said, "I get it! I finally understand what you have been saying to our faculty over the past couple years."

I apologize that the video quality isn't the greatest, as it was only at the last minute that I requested a camera to be set up to record the session. 

176. Top 100 Tools for Learning

Jane Hart, Head of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies, has compiled a fascinating list of the top 100 technology tools for learning.  Interesting to note -- 9 of the top 10 tools are FREE!  Word didn't make the top 10.  PowerPoint barely made it.

172. "Technology for Teaching" Conference

Web 2.0 tools will be a major theme at our 5th Annual "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held August 16 & 17 on the Taylor University Upland campus.  This conference is primarily for our TU faculty, although we have invited a limited number of guests from nearby universities. 

This year we have expanded the offerings to include 39 different breakout sessions, an opening general session on "How Web 2.0 is Impacting Education", and 12 "mini-grant" presentations by faculty.  Click here to see the schedule.  Click here to see a description of the breakout sessions.

155. The New vs. the Old

A recent article in Educause Review (March/April 2007) is worth reading.  Malcolm Brown, Director of Academic Computing at Dartmouth College, writes about Web 2.0, pedagogy, and course management systems. 

Brown compares Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 technologies, and notes how they mirror the teaching paradigm vs. learning paradigm.  Course management systems (CMS) are fairly new and would still be labeled CMS 1.0.  However, they will soon be morphing into CMS 2.0 that will include Web 2.0 technologies such as content generation, content sharing, content markup, and content repurposing.  The timing will be right as faculty begin looking for tools to support the learning paradigm over the teaching paradigm.

153. The Horizon Report

The 2007 Horizon Report is a collaboration between the NEW MEDIA CONSORTIUM and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.  If you are interested in following the changing educational landscape over the next five years you need to read this report.  According to the report six trends are emerging, listed below.  1-2 are already upon us, 3-4 are two to three years out, 5-6 are four to five years away:

1. User-created content
2. Social networking
3. Mobile phones
4. Virtual worlds
5. The new scholarship and emerging forms of publication
6. Massively multiplayer educational gaming

142. Effective "Hybrid" Courses

Daniel Brunner (George Fox Evangelical Seminary) wrote an excellent article, Using "Hybrid" Effectively in Christian Higher Education, published in the Winter 2007 Christian Scholar's Review. 

He borrows a definition from the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee:  "Hybrid courses are those which seek to combine face-to-face classroom instruction with computer-based learning, resulting in more online learning and less seat time than a traditional course."  This article caught my attention as Taylor University is looking into offering hybrid courses in the near future.

Brunner shares six Essentials for Hybridization:
1.  The teacher must facilitate learning
2.  Courses must be re-imagined from the ground up
3.  Online and face-to-face must be intentionally integrated
4.  Socialization must be prioritized
5.  Course design must incorporate clarity and consistency
6.  Both students and instructors must be provided training and support

Last night I emailed Daniel and he gave me permission to post his article on my blog.  Click here for the PDF version.

138. Challenging the Myths About Distance Learning

Let me share with you one of the best articles I've read on distance learning.  In the Jan 5, 2007 issue of Distance Learning Today Dr. Robert Mendenhall, president of Western Governors University, clarifies a number of common misconceptions:
Myth 1 -- Classroom learning is superior to distance learning.
Myth 2 -- Distance learning lacks important interaction with faculty and other students.
Myth 3 -- Distance learning works well for some subjects/degrees but not for others.
Myth 4 -- Distance learning works well only for certain types of students.
Myth 5 -- Employers don't value online degrees or courses as highly as classroom instruction.
Myth 6 -- It is difficult to measure learning at a distance, because you can't be sure how much time people are spending or who is really doing the work.
Myth 7 -- Distance learning is a quick and easy way to get a degree.
Myth 8 -- Online learning diminishes the teacher's importance.
Myth 9 -- Distance learning is less expensive to provide than traditional education.
Myth 10 -- Distance learning will make traditional classroom-based education obsolete.

The entire article is well worth reading (PDF): Challenging the Myths about Distance Learning

133. Google and Scholarly Publications

Educause Review (Nov/Dec 2006 issue) has an interesting article on scholarly publishing, written by Paul Kobulnicky, University Librarian at Youngstown State University. 

He writes, "...for the sake of the argument, I asked if scholars would choose (1) to have their work published in the premier journal in their field or (2) to have that work regularly come up on the first screen in an appropriate Google search." 

Some interesting changes could be happening in the arena of academic publishing as a result of the rapidly emerging Web 2.0 world.  Click here to read the entire article.

131. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site used for professional networking.  According to its website it has more than 8 million registered users, representing 130 industries.  The network can be used to find jobs, people, and business opportunities recommended by the user's direct contacts, or by individuals connected to a contact.  According to Business 2.0 LinkedIn "gives recruiters one-stop shopping for all the top tech talent."

This made we wonder what an education-oriented social network might look like?  Could it help scholars connect to others in the field to share their research?  Could it help institutions find the right faculty in the annual search process?  Could it provide content in the form of lesson plans and learning objects?  Could it provide insights, motivation, and time-saving tips for tired teachers?  Could it assist in planning study trips and placing interns?

I have this sense that some of the capabilities we as educators have dreamed about are sitting on the doorstep within arm's reach.  Let's not let the kids and the business world get all the benefit from these amazing new technologies. 

130. Cell Phones for Learning

StudyCell is a website that will turn a cell phone into a pedagogical tool.  You can either create your own or download already-created flash card decks (e.g. for language learning or SAT prep).

Just another example of the creative use of technology for learning purposes.

125. Macs on the Rebound in Higher Ed

According to the Oct 25 edition of Inside Higher Ed --

"Apple’s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, announced last week that the company is emerging from its best back-to-school quarter ever for its higher education division, with shipments of Mac portables increasing 49 percent from last year within the sector ...

While Dell continues to grow and remains the overwhelming powerhouse on college campuses, Apple, which rapidly lost its market share on campuses in the 1990s, is now quickly expanding its presence at colleges and universities, according to experts who track both student purchasing and institutional trends. The rise of iTunes and the iPod, Apple’s marketing coup of positioning itself as an especially hip brand, and an overall increase in laptop purchases, a sector in which Apple proves particularly strong among college-aged buyers, all contribute to the trend ...

“If we look at ownership and purchase intent, among those students who plan to buy a new notebook, naturally No. 1 is Dell, but No. 2 is Apple. Which is huge. If we went back five years ago, IBM’s ThinkPad owned that spot ... "

Click here to read entire article.

122. How Faculty Like to Learn

At Educause I heard a presentation by Carl Berger (University of Michigan) on how faculty learn technology.  Here are some of the points that he shared:
1. Faculty need to be rewarded
2. They like having one "go-to" person for their questions
3. Keep choices to a minimum
4. People helping people is most preferred
5. Workshops are still desired
6. Faculty are willing to learn on their own
7. Faculty least prefer books, manuals, and anything with a cost
8. Strong preference for email with links
9. It is important to follow-up with faculty after a workshop (this is something I need to do more of)
10. Step-by-step instructions are appreciated
11. Use various approaches for different learning styles

121. "Digital Natives" Changing Corporate America

"Generation Y is invading corporate America and bringing with it personal technology that will create a revolution in corporate technology departments, Gartner analysts told attendees at the annual Symposium ... Consumer technologies, including podcasting, blogging, VOIP (voice over IP) and video on demand will penetrate the enterprise workplace by the year 2012, spearheaded by 20-somethings raised on the technologies-- who Gartner analysts are calling "digital natives".
-- eWeek, October 16, 2006

How well are our educational institutions preparing students for this marketplace?  This is the question that motivates me in our efforts to move forward with our academic technology.  Our young people are immersed with these technologies before they enter college.  They will be immersed with them in the marketplace after they graduate.  It makes sense that they be immersed during their 4-year academic program.

120. 100 Million Laptops

The "One Laptop Per Child" Project has been brewing now for a few years, sponsored by the likes of MIT, AMD, eBay, Google, News Corp, Nortel, and Red Hat.

The goal is to provide a $100 wireless laptop to 100 million children in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Nigeria, and Thailand.

It was interesting to read the eWeek article, Securing 100 Million Laptops.  You would think the buzz would be about how this initiative could change the way children are educated, or how it might revitalize a faltering country.  Rather, the concern is security.  What a fat target 100 million computers, all identical, will be to would-be hackers and cyber-terrorists.

This will be very interesting to watch. 

118. A Note to Educators

A colleague from our education department left this note on my desk this morning.  This caused me to take a deep breath ...

117. Ten Commandments of a NetGen Student

I'm at the Educause conference in Dallas with about 6,500 other educators and tech people.  I just attended a panel session, "Future of Course Management Systems", in which an NC State student shared the values of her Net Generation classmates.  I have re-phrased her 10 commandments, as I wasn't quick enough to write down her catchy descriptions:

1. We go online -- we don't use phone books or fold-up maps.
2. We don't like "busy work" -- must see value in our assignments.
3. We don't want to recite or regurgitate.
4. We prefer to email a prof rather than stop by the office.
5. We prefer graphics to text.
6. We'll Google it first.
7. When content is put online we will print out the documents for study purposes -- unless they are too long (it costs too much!)
8. We prefer IM, blogs, text messaging, over voice communication.
9. We're net-savvy, but we don't know all the technologies.
10. Not all students in a class are NetGens (many are non-traditional students).

I was surprised by #7.  Apparently younger folk also prefer to study from hard-copy that they can mark up, rather than reading everything off a computer screen.

Two out of my own three children would heartily concur with #2 and #3.  They are not motivated to do course work for which they don't see a purpose.

114. Podcasting at Kansas State University

Several of our TU faculty are beginning to experiment with the podcasting of lecture material.  Kanas State University has announced plans to convert some 6,000 course recordings into "enhanced podcasts" that combine audio with slides and annotation. Many classes are now set up to automatically record lectures and convert them to an iPod-friendly format.  Read more.

111. 4th Thursday Faculty Workshop

For the past three years we have scheduled each month a 4th Thursday "Successful Teaching" Workshop for our faculty, from 8-10 am.  It includes breakfast followed by a 90-minute workshop on technologies related to teaching & learning.
________________________________________________

This week's topics are:
1. Demo (Leon Amstutz) -- 66" SmartBoard installed in the newly rennovated Ayres Conference Room.
2. Demo (Rich Parker) -- Rich's fully online Blackboard course, "Music and World Cultures", loaded with multimedia content.
3. Discussion/Presentation (Gary Friesen, Jeremy Case) -- Blogs & Wikis for Classroom and Personal/Professional Use
______________________________________________________________________

Samples of TU faculty blogs:
Win Corduan -- informal style ... frequent postings ... combination of personal, professional, devotional
Andy Rowell -- formal style ... less frequent postings ... professional, church leadership topics
Chris Bade -- using TU's MoveableType blog tool ... combination of personal, professional
Mark West -- using TU's MoveableType blog tool ... I don't know what it is -- it's all in French!

Examples of TU faculty using Blackboard Journal (essentially a blog):
Ron Benbow in his MAT 262 course -- you'll need a TU Bb login to access these courses
Jeremy Case in his IAS 110 course

Example of TU faculty using Blackboard Teams (essentially a wiki):
Jeremy Case in his IAS 495 course

Search sites that help you find blogs:
BlogPulse -- general seach
Technorati -- general search
CyberJournalist -- journalist blogs
eTalkingHead -- political blogs
Rhetorica -- professors who blog

Wikis to explore:
WikiUniversity -- hosts and develops free content for teachers
WikiBooks -- free open-content text books that you can edit
Wiki How -- the how-to manual that anyone can write or edit

Sample classroom assignment:
1. Create and maintain a blog using any free blog tool of your choice (or Bb Journal could be used)
2.  Select five "professional" blogs that you will read on a regular basis
3.  Create a daily entry in your blog commenting on the five blogs, including quotations, links, graphics when appropriate, and your own opinions and analysis

105. iPods in the Classroom

University uses iPods in the Classroom.  This is a short CNN video clip that reports on how a music professor and a political science professor at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) are using iPods in their coursework.  (You might need to Browse/Search in the Watch Free Video area to locate this clip.  Enter "ipods in the classroom" in the Search box)

98. When a Teacher Quits Learning

I might step on some toes with this posting.  But I think it needs to be said.  When teachers at any level -- elementary, secondary, college, post-graduate -- decide that they don't do technology (either because they feel they can't or because they simply won't) what does this communicate to our students?

One of Taylor University's educational goals is to help students become "lifelong learners".  I would venture that most institutions of higher education have this goal stated somewhere in their literature.  If we as educators steer clear of the very arena where much of the progress is being made today, i.e. technological tools, how can we claim to be models of lifelong learning?

I quote again from Will Richardson's book:

"Whereas students are open to the ways of new technologies, schools by and large are not.  Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs, says, 'I make a basic distinction (one that I think is widening) between education and schooling: people, especially young people, continue to learn -- and to adopt new media -- but institutions, and those who run them, are much slower to change their ways" (Rheingold, 2004). All of this paints the picture of an educational system that is out of touch with the ways its students learn."

"The good news, however, is that the tools discussed in this book have just as much chance of closing this gap as widening it.  The reason is because by their very nature, they are relatively easy for anyone ... to employ in the classroom."

Ten years ago the technology tools were admittedly difficult to use.  Scanners were expensive and quirky. One had to master HTML to post content to the web.  But the landscape has changed.  A good scanner costs $90 and can be accessed directly from Word or PowerPoint.  Content can now be easily posted to the web through tools such as Blackboard or a blog.  Easy-to-use tools are readily available to facilitate classroom engagement (TurningPoint) or to help students master factual content (StudyMate) or to help students collaborate on group projects (Campus Pack Teams LX or Writely).

Yes, it takes a level of commitment to learn to use these technologies.  Most of us are not "digital natives", to use the term coined by Marc Prensky.  We are "digital immigrants" who, no matter how hard we work at it, will always retain something of an accent.  But, in the same way that Filipinos appreciated me trying to speak to them in Tagalog, today's students will appreciate any effort we make to communicate with them using their digital tools.  And in the process we will model for them what it means to be a lifelong learner.

97. The Read/Write Web

Will Richardson in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms writes: "In and of itself the ‘old’ read-only web was a transformative technology. It has changed the way we work, the way we learn, and the way we communicate. I would argue that historians may look back on these past 10 years the same way we look back on the early days of the printing press, the steam engine, or the automobile. The Web has changed our lives.”

Janet and I are at the tail end of a 10-day trip through Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Every motel we have stayed in has had internet access, either in the room or at least wireless in the lobby. In fact, right now Janet is catching a few extra winks and I’m lounging in bed with my ETC laptop writing this blog entry.

The fact that the web has changed our lives is not news to you. What might be news to you is Will Richardson’s next statement: "This 'new' Read/Write Web will change it even more." Yes, what's new is that people can now write to the web using tools that are as easy to use as email. For years it has been possible to publish on the web, but you had to be a techie. You had to be able to navigate Frontpage or some such web editor to create your web site. But with blogs, wikis, and social networking software one can literally sign up and within minutes begin sharing ideas with the world.

Richardson writes, “The bad news is the Read/Write Web threatens to make the differences between teachers and learners even more acute. Whereas students are open to the ways of new technologies, schools by and large are not.” 

What if our writing teachers would encourage their students to write their essays on a blog where they could easily be read by the rest of the class … or their parents, friends … or the world at large? Would their motivation be greater knowing they are really publishing as opposed to generating what they perceive to be busy work that gets graded and thrown away?

We have a success story. This spring I spent a couple days in English Methods (as I have done for the past 4-5 years) teaching these education majors how to use Publisher to make a website to which they would post their group semester projects – lesson plans, course units, links to resources, etc. For the first time we announced that the site would be posted on an external server, linked to the English Dept web site, and kept live for the world to see (including participants at a conference the professor was going to present at later on in the summer). It was amazing to see the difference in motivation as the students attacked a project that was genuine and not just an “assignment”.

96. Podcasts and Shopping

I enjoy shopping with my wife … I really do. And yet, there are times when I need a little help. My trusty Olympus player has been a great companion for those hours outside the fitting room.

Prior to leaving on our trip I downloaded from iTunes a number of Patrick Norton’s DL.TV podcast episodes. You need to be somewhat of a techie to appreciate these podcasts, but this has been one of my sources this summer for keeping up on the world of technology.

Yesterday between Kohls, Penny’s, and Christopher & Banks I learned about BlueRay, duo-core, P3, Bluetooth, VOIP, the AMD & ATI merger, and all kinds of other good stuff.

There are podcasts on every subject imaginable. You, too, could do a little multitasking on your next shopping trip.

Carry this one step further. Could we package content for our students so that they could do the same with their iPods on their next outing? Schools like University of Michigan and Stanford are experimenting with this and finding it effective.

94. It's Been a Busy Summer

For the Taylor University faculty you will come back to some beautifully rennovated facilities.  The Language Lab has a new look, with a counter (for 24 new computers running the Edutronix Genesis software) running along the outside of the room and an inside U-shaped table for when the instructor directs the students to swing their chairs around for class activities.

The large classroom in Ayres is almost finished.  It will seat 64 students. Each station will have power and network connectivity. There will be two projectors/screens for a lot of flexibility in presenting.

The Ayres conference room will seat 20.  It features a new Smart Technologies 66" smart board, and will also have full PolyCom video-conferencing capability.

A few finishing touches remain, but everything should be pretty much in place for the start of school.

92. Discussion With a Philosophy Professor

I'm in Toronto at my 35th high school class reunion.  My 50 classmates from Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) are scattered all around the world.  Nearly 20 of us are here for the weekend.  Ruth flew in from Germany, Ken from Southern California, Mary from New York, Jennifer from Texas, ... Many brought their spouses.  Tonight we feast on sushi at a downtown Japanese restaurant!

One of my best friends, Paul Reasoner (pictured), is the chair of the Philosophy Department at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN.  Paul and I grew up together in Japan. He was our point guard who got me the ball :)

We were talking last night about the current generation of students.  Are they different from the students Paul had in his philosophy classes 20-some years ago?  How has technology helped or hindered what happens in his classroom? 

Paul talked about the amazing search capabilities of internet technology, and the potential to find things quickly.  The downside is that students often grab the easy stuff and don't go the next mile to find those sources that would be the "mother lode". 

Philosophy is difficult.  It takes time to read an argument and think through its implications.  Many students today have difficulty focusing for any length of time.  Yes, they can multitask.  But is it possible to develop a difficult philosophical argument while you're watching TV and loading pictures into Facebook?  Is it possible to hammer out a difficult proof in Abstract Algebra (bringing it into what used to be my world) while IMing a couple friends and checking your email?  I don't think so.

And what about class time? Paul appreciates technology and is a competent user.  Does he have to accommodate today's Millennial and change what he does in class every 10 minutes to keep their attention? Isn't there still a place for spending an hour wrestling with a difficult intellectual concept -- with no multimedia? 

We as educators are in challenging times ...

A side note about Paul.  I can't imagine teaching philosophy in English -- the concepts can be so challenging and slippery.  Paul spent several years at a university in Tokyo teaching philosophy in Japanese!

91. Cheating

My future son-in-law came home today from his class at Ball State talking about the latest cheating technique.  Kids are bringing their cell picture-phones to class, photographing their answers and sending them to each other during the test.

Here you see Mike checking to see if it really is possible to take a digital picture of your answer sheet ... and have it appear readable on the screen.  Given the right zoom level it does seem to work.

Mike is pretty excited because he figures he might now have a chance of making it through graduate school.  Just kidding.

For the teacher, the moral of the story is you had better proctor.  Most students today do not consider cheating to be wrong. A good practice is to sit/stand in the back of the room where you can see virtually any movement a student makes.  It is easy to catch someone glancing at a neighbor's paper, even more so getting out their cell phone to make a call.

89. Getting Ready For the School Year

As you know, one of my projects this summer has been to play with (or should I say "research, analyze, and assess"?) the various digital tools young people are using today.  Much of what I am learning will be presented in various workshops at our 4th annual "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held the week before the start of school. 

One session in particular is going to be a lot of fun.  We advertised that the first 20 to sign up for the "Tools of the Millennials" workshop would receive a free Olympus WS-320M player.  The session filled up fast! 

The past two years we have had over 80 attend the conference, and this year it looks like we will have even more.  Most of the participants will be our own Taylor faculty, but we have also invited colleagues from nearby institutions.  Here are links to the schedule and session descriptions.  If you are in the area and would be interested in attending let us know.  We might still have a few spots available.

81. Let's Stretch Our Use of Blackboard

The July/August 2006 issue of Educause Review has an interesting article discussing current course management systems from the point of view of students, faculty, and administrators.

What seems like such a new tool for us (i.e. Blackboard) in reality can seem pretty "old school" and unimaginative for the students.  Here are some exerpts from the article, Managing Courses Defining Learning.

"Students especially made the case that it's time for a change in how we think about teaching and learning and that the change is long overdue... They wondered why there is so little incorporation of the tools they use everyday, tools that they know are available (for free, they pointed out) but that instructors don't use.  Why, in an age of speed and instant response, does everything take so long and seem so clumsy and hard to use?  They told us that it is time for the academy to get with the program... they really don't want instructors to invade MySpace but that they do want the e-learning environment to use the same tools: blogs, wikis, home pages, public messages, online presence."

The author, Colleen Carmean, continues several paragraphs later --

"It would be a mistake to think that any of us can last out the storm by staying huddled together and expecting students to continue to come to traditional education gladly... The next-generation e-learning environment includes Google, IM, SMS, Web 2.0 social knowledge and software, intelligent systems with memory and personalization of the learner's needs, mobile learning, wireless learning ..."

Think about taking another "baby step".  This semester let's see if we can stretch our use of Blackboard a bit.  What about using the Gradebook so students can enjoy quick feedback?  ... or try the Assignments tool so students can electronically submit their papers?  ... or online quizzing to provide some interactivity? ... or experiment with the new Journal and Teams tools that provide blogging and wiki capabilities?  ... or try the Virtual Classroom/Chat for late-night virtual office hours? <-- that would suprise them!

71. TU Blackboard Also Has a Blog

Campus Pack also has a blog module, called Journal LX, that is great for student journaling. 

This will be ideal for programs that require students to keep journals: Education majors, business practicums, social work field experiences, etc.

67. Baby Steps

I was talking with one of our professors yesterday in the ETC and he asked the question, "Isn't one of the differences between us and the Millennials is that they have time to play with all of these tools?"  We talked about the load that faculty carry, leaving little time to experiment and simply "play" with technology.  I wish we had a way to lighten this load, to provide an hour or two release time each year for this purpose.   

I believe the secret is to keep taking "baby steps".  That is why I'm writing this blog ... to help with these baby steps.  I'm trying to distill what is out there, and pass on in small chunks what I believe will be most helpful and relevant to teaching faculty.

If you can take a few minutes each day to read the new entry you will keep moving forward and stay current (at least conceptually) with today's technologies.  Then from time to time some tip or utility will strike you and you'll figure out a way to carve out the minutes (or hours) to try to incorporate it into your teaching.

65. A Student's Thoughts About Blackboard

This week a friend (thanks KM) sent me this interesting article in Campus Technology, A Graduate's View of the Course Management System.  A student is writing about his experiences with Blackboard at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Here are some of his observations:

1. 1. "Those faculty who actively put material online and clarified assignments made it easier for everyone to maximize their time in class."
2. "Those faculty who created assignments that required Blackboard participation had students who came to class better prepared to participate in classroom discussions."
3. "To me it was also fantastic to get immediate feedback -- including grades on any of my assignments ..."
4. "It was those classes where the professors only partially used Blackboard that were the most frustrating.  In these situations, professors would sporadically post material, would occasionally respond to online inquiries, and would redundantly distribute materials both online and in class. I would never know if new material had been posted unless I checked regularly.  It was frustrating to not be able to rely on regular updates."

This last point was disturbing to me.  In fact, I almost hesitated to post it because we have been trying so hard just to get faculty on board using Blackboard.  My strategy has been that any content posted is better than none at all.

But I guess it's kind of like PowerPoint.  Once you get people to use the tool, then it's important to coach them in using it effectively (e.g. ditch all the sounds and annoying special effects).

54. Should Students Ever Cite Wikipedia?

The other day a friend forwarded to me this article, Wise Words on Wikipedia.  Professor Alan Liu, UC Santa Barbara, provides some guidelines as to when a student might appropriately cite Wikipedia.  The article is followed by sixteen instructive comments from teachers and librarians. See former posting about Wikipedia.

52. Parallels Between the Global Economy and Education

This series of six articles from the July issue of Wired leads to some interesting comparisons between the global economy and the educational world.  People Power --  the power of "regular folks" (I suppose that includes students) to produce, connect, and harness information. Video Unlimited -- what is today's Millennial if not video-oriented? Personalize It -- students want choices, options, and personalization. All-Access Economy -- students expect no-fuss ease of access

45. ePortfolios for Faculty Promotion & Tenure

If Blackboard can be used to facilitate e-portfolios for students, why not use it for faculty?  For our tenure and promotion process we are offering faculty the option of submitting all of their materials in a Blackboard portfolio.  No longer do a couple thick binders need to be passed around to all the committee members.  All can view it at any time online.

37. Streaming Media Task Force

I am part of a task force that is investigating the use of streaming media here at Taylor.  We met for the first time two weeks ago.  We meet again this morning, and will meet every two weeks through the summer and fall.  On our campus there are demands for streaming coming from every direction -- admissions, athletics, academics, resident life, ... How do we facilitate all of this?

You may have heard about Apple's iTunes U.  Apple is offering to universities free hosting for the streaming of academic content -- half a terabyte of server space (that's 500 GB!)  Yesterday I talked to an Apple rep on the phone for half an hour, and then she sent me a formal application.  We'll discuss it more in our meeting today.  Some high-profile schools such as Stanford and University of Michigan have been early partners with Apple on this venture. 

I have been so impressed with the cross-platform functionality of iTunes.  Apple seems to finally be "getting it", that if they support the Windows world it will be to their advantage and everybody else's.  Now that Macs are being shipped with Intel processors it is really getting interesting.

To TU faculty -- if you have an idea of how you might use streaming media (either audio or video) in any of your courses please let me know.  If we were to go with a service such as iTunes U we need to document a carefully thought-out plan.

29. Let's Have a Discussion

Question:  Do you think it is possible today to be an effective teacher (let's say at the college level) and not use technology?  Post your thoughts in the comments area.

Note -- you will have to create a Xanga account (takes about a minute) in order for your comment to be posted.  I checked with people who are using other blog tools and this seems to be standard practice.  Will this generate spam?  You will get an email message from Xanga as a follow up.  My wife was quick to report this to me, but I assured her that one email message is not spam.  To be honest, I'm not sure to what degree signing up for an account like this will add to your overall volume of spam and spyware.

27. Your Students Are Going to Use Wikipedia

Here is an interesting article published
in The Chronicle of Higher Education
on the merits of Wikipedia, a resource
your students (if you're a teacher at
either the high school or college level)
will be using -- much like previous
generations used traditional encyclopedias.

The discussion following the article gives some interesting perspectives. Thanks, Lee, for pointing me to this.

21. The Power of Audio

You've just figured out what a blog is ... and along comes something new, the vlog.  What in the world is a vlog? 

Thursday night I drove down to Indy to pick up some friends at the airport. I took along my Olympus MP3 player and listened to a podcast I had downloaded earlier through iTunes.  It's a weekly podcast called TWiT (This Week in Technology).  Basically what I listened to was an 80-minute "free for all" where 8-10 people were sitting around a table at a computer convention in San Francisco.

But it was fascinating.  These were some of today's leading technology innovators discussing "vlogging", which is basically blogging using video. Yes, at times they were all talking on top of each other, but I was drawn in as they discussed the merits of different media platforms. You can watch a movie on the big screen, or view it on your 32" TV in your living room, or sit in front of your 17" computer monitor reading someone's blog, or take out your video iPod with its 2.5" screen and watch a vlog -- each is a very different experience producing different types of engagement.

Many of us have probably thought that pure audio (e.g. radio) would be going away in favor of living color video.  But as I sat in my car and listened to 80 minutes of audio I realized that this medium can be very effective.  My earbuds brought crystal-clear audio right between my ears and I felt I was in the middle of that meeting in San Francisco.  And the beauty of it was that I could be fully engaged in this event as I drove down I-69, something you couldn't (or shouldn't!) do with video.

What if we as educators could produce this type of content that would engage our students as they drive home on spring break or toss the frisbee back and forth on the lawn outside their residence hall?

12. My First Attempt to Record a Podcast

I'm quite certain that podcasting of lecture content is going to be a new delivery method for our faculty.  Entire lectures can be recorded (easily, I think) and posted for review purposes.  Or, a professor could provide supplementary materials in a podcast.  In fact, one of our chemistry professors for years has provided his students audio materials on cassette tape and CD to help them master difficult concepts.  This could all be podcasted.
(Note -- Graphic from eWeek June 5, 2006)

Yesterday I gave it a try.  I took out my trusty Olympus recorder and began recording.  For content I decided to read my blog entries, beginning from day 1.  Recording is tricky. I found myself appreciating media people who can read a script without stumbling.  I guess with a podcast the key is not to be too much of a perfectionist -- otherwise you find yourself constantly starting over.

I created four short audio files.  My recorder saves them in the WMA format (Windows Media).  The sound quality is great, very clean and clear.  I needed to convert them to MP3 so folks can listen to them on any type of player.  I thought for sure Windows Media Player could do that, but I looked through all the menus and it doesn't seem to have that capability. 

I then tried iTunes and got a pleasant surprise. I went to File ... Add File to Library ... When I selected my first three-minute recording, it recognized that it was in the WMA format and asked if I wanted to convert it to MP3.  Why YES, that's exactly what I was wanting to do!  Very quickly I had all four files in MP3 format.  Mission accomplished.

Now, how to get them into a podcast so others can access them?  I emailed our TU webmaster for a little help with this.  I'll keep you posted ...

9. Why Am I Doing This?

My initial purpose in starting this Xanga blog was for ME.  To effectively function as a technology leader on our campus I realized I needed to immerse myself in the kind of digital world that our children and students live in. 

But then, as I've gotten started I've realized that my blog might help other 40, 50, 60-year old educator types to vicariously experience my journey ... and to actually use a "Millennial" tool to receive information, catch a vision, and have some fun as well.  For that purpose I've sent my URL to the Taylor faculty and also the CCCU technology listserve.