South Carolina EdTech 2010 Discover the Mystery Digital Age: Potentials and Pitfalls Dr. Corey Lee, Assistant Professor Dr. Joe Winslow, Associate Professor & Department Chair Dr. Jeremy Dickerson, Associate Professor

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery The medium is the massage… Marshall McLuhan

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Digital Age Constant acquisition of new information Attention Span (Tolerance level) Seeking answers, not understanding Cyber Bullying Internet Pornography Videogame, online game Texting Quantity > Quality Multitasking Disconnect Anxiety Social Networking

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Constant acquisition of new information Abundance of Info A weekday edition of the New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in 17th-century England. Information Anxiety, Wurman, 2003

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Student’s Attention Span Abundance of Info

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Seeking answers, not understanding Abundance of Info

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery FRONTLINE: digital nation (PBS) Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Multitasking 'Infomania' worse than marijuana (BBC) Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Multitasking How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking Harvard Business Publishing “In reality, our productivity goes down by as much as 40%. We don't actually multitask. We switch-task, rapidly shifting from one thing to another, interrupting ourselves unproductively, and losing time in the process.” Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Smartphone & Disconnect Anxiety Disconnect Anxiety refers to various feelings of disorientation and nervousness experienced when a person is deprived of Internet or wireless access for a period of time. Safety Work Social Navigation Solutions Research Group, % of Americans suffer from 'Disconnect Anxiety' Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Smartphone & Disconnect Anxiety 83% said they take their cell phones “everywhere they go.” Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Texting  _______ of teen texters say they are more likely to use their cell phones to text their friends than talk to them to them by cell phone. Pew Research Center, 2010 Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better) 66%  _______ of teens sends more than 100 text messages a day, or 3000 texts a month. 33%

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Texting  _____ of teens say they have sent a sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude image of themselves to someone via text message. Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better) 4% 26%  ______ of all American teens say they have texted while driving.

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Social Networking “… 96% of youngsters ages 9 to 17 use social networking technologies (Facebook, MySpace or Webkinz)” Transforming Learning with New Technologies Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Quantity > Quality Immediacy (faster, not necessarily better)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Cyber Bullying Distraction

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Internet Pornography Pornographic websites4.2 million 12% of total websites Pornographic pages372 million Daily pornographic search engine requests 68 million 25% of total search engine requests Internet Pornography Statistics By Jerry Ropelato Distraction

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Internet Pornography Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old year olds having multiple hard-core exposures 80% 8-16 year olds having viewed porn online 90% (most while doing homework) Distraction

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Internet Pornography Youths who received sexual solicitation 20% US porn revenue (6.2 billion) exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC Distraction

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Videogame addiction Distraction

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Digital Age (recap) Constant acquisition of new information Attention Span (Tolerance level) Seeking answers, not understanding Cyber Bullying Internet Pornography Videogame, online game Texting Quantity > Quality Multitasking Disconnect Anxiety Social Networking

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  Lifetime exposure to all the other toys and tools of the digital age  Accustomed to instant access  Beamed, instant and text messaging  No lectures, step-by-step logic, or "teach to test" instruction Today’s Students

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Today’s Students

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery  “Smart and funny is the new rock ‘n’ roll.” (Nick Shore, Head of Research, MTV)  Think differently (divergent).  Parallel process and multi-task  Graphics before text  Random access (like hypertext)  Networking & share experiences  Games before serious works  Instant gratification, frequent rewards Today’s Students

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Today’s Students  Turned off to school  Focused on passing the next test  Not excited by the classroom  No application to life after school  Discouraged from following their own interests

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery What do we do now?  Get training—stay informed  Pay attention to trends—embrace the future  Try project-based learning  Be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage  Don’t underestimate the digital natives. They are capable of substance. Partner with them. (Prensky, 2010)

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Conclusion Marc suggests three Web-savvy competencies:  digital literacy  technology consumerism  content criticism Marc My Words: Will Social Media Rot Our Brains? Rosenberg, 2010

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery Conclusion “We cannot be smart users of technology if we are not also smart consumers of technology-delivered content. Technology, including social networking, cannot compensate for a lack of critical thinking abilities, skill mastery, or deep expertise.” Marc My Words: Will Social Media Rot Our Brains? Rosenberg, 2010

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery From an article by Roger Shank, Engines for Education Marc My Words: Will Social Media Rot Our Brains? Guilty plea entered in baby's death Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning (Marc Prensky, 2010) Social Media and Young Adults FRONTLINE: digital nation - life on the virtual frontier FRONTLINE: Growing Up Online Reference

EdTech 2010, South Carolina Discover the Mystery 'Infomania' worse than marijuana Teens, Cell Phones and Texting How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking Internet pornography statistics Reference