Thinking about technology and the generation gap

When Mark and I were preparing for our multimedia presentation we decided that we wanted to hear what students thought about the education if we took school out of the equation.  Initially we were going to send the prompt out to students are working or have worked for us, mainly because they are readily accessible with contact information and such.  Then as we were talking we decided that posting to facebook might prove to be interesting, and so I posted.

As a first-generation college graduate who comes from a small farming town in western Colorado, I have many friends that have a very different perspective than my own (as I'm sure most of us do).  So when I created the note on my page I decided to not only post to my wall but also to tag some individuals who I thought would have a very different take on the abandonment of brick and mortar schools.

One such remark came from my mom who posted this statement:
"If technology continues at the rate it is currently moving, the teacher will be a robot, the students will have computers implanted in their hands and no one will communicate in person any longer!!! Smell like rotten eggs to me!! God help us all! I know that's not what you were looking for, sorry Sissy."


My first reaction was "Wow, thanks a lot Mom for the help and the support".  But as time has past, and my ego is a little less bruised, I think I can understand a little more where she is coming from.  My parents have had a computer since 1997 but are still learning how to log on to the internet, check email, and make on-line purchases.  Forget about downloading iTunes, linking up for a video chatting session (which would be amazing since they live so far away), or participating in interactive gaming.  


I do my best to help them, as I have been deemed the family computer expert because I know how to add attachments to emails, but since they are not using the technology everyday they forget everything they've learned as soon as I board the plane back to CA.  I'm not sure where I'm going with this line of thinking since I know plenty of 50 somethings (even 60, 70, and 80 somethings) that have jumped on the technology bandwagon with gusto.  I guess mostly I feel a little sad that my parents are being left out of a huge piece of what is going on in the world, and while they may be just fine with it, I can't help but feel like their missing out on something amazing. 

October camping trip in CO with Dad, Mom, Sister & Brother (not pictured)

Using technology we have

The timing of simulated learning couldn't have been better planned.  Mark and I were meeting last week and started talking about using the technology we already have available.  For years airplane pilots have been completing training in flight simulators.  What a perfect opportunity for them to learn flying techniques under various conditions without the worry of harm to others.  We obviously place a great deal of trust in the effectiveness of flight simulation training as we take to the air with the confidence that pilots are well-trained and prepared to react on a moments notice to shifts in wind patterns, mechanical problems, and hundreds of other scenarios that can occur mid-air.  Why then has it taken us so long to use simulation in classrooms as another educational tool?  The answer most assuredly begins with money, access, and equipment.  These are certainly large hurdles to get over, there has to be opportunities to use what we do have access to in order to provide another way for students to engage in the process of learning.

I've also been thinking a lot about the shift of citizenship from a local focus to more of a global one and the role that each of us plays on the world stage.  It seems that there is not one piece of society that, with the availability of information sharing, is not globally integrated.   I strongly believe that each of us has a responsibility to make the human condition better, but understanding role is quite a challenge.  In the assignments for this week, I was especially excited by earth album and real lives (through Educational Simulations Corporation).   Each of these tools were exciting and engaging and left me wanting to explore more, in fact I'm thinking about downloading the free trial of real lives.  What would be the outcome if 5th, 8th, 11th graders, college freshmen, company executives, educational leaders, politicians took on the role of a world community member that is "living" a different experience than their own? Could the impact be great enough to lead to change in economics, education, the way we conduct business, society on a whole?

"In the future we will all be distance learners"

Ten years ago, as a Masters student, I was introduced to 'Blackboard'.  Our professor, Dr. Doris Wright, was convinced that distance learning was the future of higher education; I was convinced that she was crazy.  In my naiveté I could not imagine a world beyond the traditional brick and mortar campus.  Even greater was my disbelief that anyone would want to participate in higher education in this way when the "fun" of being a college student is being on campus.

I believe some of my initial thoughts about distance learning remain true.  Much of the learning that takes place on college campuses occurs outside of the classroom.  This learning takes place as students participate in clubs and organizations, attend performances, become active members of the community, and interact with hall mates in the residence halls.  It is difficult, if not impossible, to recreate the experience of living, growing, and developing amongst peers and in a distance learning situation there is a loss of what makes "going away to college" so exciting.

That being said, I know now that most of my initial thoughts on distance learning were completely arrogant and unfounded.  As an educator I believe strongly in access and equity in education.  It seems to me that distance learning provides a greater number of students access to education that could potentially change the trajectory of a student's life.  Most people attend college, or some form of continuing education, to earn a degree or certificate that, at least in theory, will provide them opportunities that would not otherwise be available with a high school diploma or GED certificate.  In this way there is power and strength in the future of education as we move from what we know to be true to the possibilities of tomorrow.

Creating new knowledge

Creating new knowledge is one of the charges given to the University of California in the California Master Plan.  I spend the entire summer talking with new students about how attending a research university is likely to be different than any other institution they've attended in the past.  They will be asked to synthesize material, instead of regurgitating dates of this war or that treaty they will be asked to contemplate the events that lead up to said event and provide theories on why it might have occurred from a sociological, economical, perspective.  They are asked to think critically and to "think for yourself".

Many students struggle with this shift in structure, especially during their first quarter, and it's no wonder.  I had an ah-ha moment while watching the video that Katya sent to us on Saturday.  At one point the narrator and artist reminded me that along the way our education system has asked students to stop tapping into what excites us and learn the test material.  How have we moved so far from creativity and imagination and what will be the long-term consequences? 

"...Leaders must remove barriers to change."

As the credits ran and tears streamed down my face, the filmmakers left me with this thought "... leaders must remove barriers to change".  Late this afternoon I decided to go see "Waiting for Superman".  I knew that it would be heartbreaking and that I was likely to leave in a fairly foul mood, but I knew that it was a film I had to see.

We've been talking about and reading a lot on change and as leaders I believe that it is up to us to be change agents.  What I witnessed in the film was how resistant other stakeholders can be to change even when it is blatantly obvious that change is desperately needed.  To be sure behavior change is never easy, and isn't education reform one of the greatest societal behavior changes of all time? But to sit idly by and continue to operate with the status quo is to rob our nations students of a quality education that will prepare them to be the leaders of tomorrow.

It seems to me that many people are, at least philosophically, supportive of changes in education, but when it comes to the hard work of making change happen the masses seem to fade to the back.  In the reading by Tim O'Reilly he stated that "[paradigm shifts] are often hard fought, and the ideas underlying them not widely accepted until long after they were first introduced.  What's more, they often have implications that go far beyond the insights of their creators."  I found this statement to be ironically accurate and equally frightening as it seems we move further and further away from true education reform.

Engaging the audience

"Making the Most of Your First-Year" is one of the workshops that new students attend during Orientation in the summer.  This presentation is designed to introduce new students to campus services available at UCSB and to give tips and suggestion on how to have a successful first-year at the university.

As you can imagine EVERYONE (i.e. departments, student organziations, services, etc.) wants a piece of the action when it comes to communicating with new students the opportunities and services their particular office provides.  Since there is not enough time in a one or two-day program to have every campus service individually present to the students, my office has created the "Making the Most" presentation as one solution to ensurethat new students are made aware of the services available to them once they arrive on campus.

Yesterday, in a summer de-breifing meeting, the team wase discussing what went well and what could be improved on in this presentation.  A theme that continues to emerge after every summer is that the presentation needs to be more interactive.  We know that students better retain information when they can interface with the presentation, thus participating in constructivist learning about their new campus community.  Over the years we have toyed around with the idea of breaking into small groups, which was quickly discarded since the typical audience size is around 300 students.  We've thought about using iClickers to have the students participate in real time polling to questions or concerns pertinent to first-year students, but this idea also doesn't seem feesible given the additional tasks of handing out the device, training students on how to use it, and collecting at the end of the presentation.

One of the team members, Miles Ashlock, suggested for next summer that we look into the online site http://www.polleverywhere.com/.  Much like the iClicker, it allows for real time response to poll questions but instead of using the iClicker, students use their personal cell phones to respond to questions.  According to the website, student information is not stored so there should be no worry about getting spam or text message advertisements.  Also student responses are anonymous and cannot be linked to the student.  At this point polleverywhere might be one viable multimedia solution to our dilemma of making this particular presentation more interactive, increase audience participation, encouarge question asking, and engage the students.  I'm truly looking forward to seeing how it might be used in our 2011 program.

Be Emotional

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how to be the kind of leader that encourages and supports others in striving to reach their full potential both inside and outside of the organization.  Our first class meeting left me with even more to consider, but instead of making me feel like this is an unattainable task, I walked away feeling motivated and inspired to do more for the students who work for me.

My colleague and friend, Kim, and I got to talking yesterday about how to create symbolic meaning for the students who work in the Student Resource Building.  The building itself is a legacy, passed on by students that never saw the building to fruition but had a vision for what our campus could be with a space that draws communities and student services together.  

Instilling in our current SRB student staff the legacy that they carry as a result of working in the space is sometimes difficult, especially since most of them cannot remember a time before the existence of the SRB.  We bounced around some ideas of how to create rituals and ceremonies that could impress upon the staff not only the significance of the building, but perhaps more importantly, the significance of the service they provide for students as a result of working in the building.