The App Generation

The App Generation

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Recently, I read the book titled The App Generation, by Howard Gardner and Katie Davis.  I learned that new technologies impact students, and people in general, in 3 distinct areas:  identity, intimacy, and imagination.  With respect to identity formation, “...apps can short circuit identity formation, pushing you into being someone else’s avatar.”  Often times, kids may go into college with an unrealistic plan, as if they have their lives all mapped out in a super-app.  Also, these days, narcissism is at an all time high with 30-40% of ordinary conversations being self-focused and 80% of social media posts being self-focused.  Not to mention, many people’s posts these days are glamorized, not reflecting their true identity, which causes others to think differently about themselves.  Regarding intimacy, “...apps can facilitate superficialties, and discourage face to face confrontations and interactions…”  In 1985, the average number of discussion partners reported by Americans was 2.94 and by 2004 this number had dropped to 2.08!  “The number of people reporting that they talk to no one about matters they consider important to them rose from 10% in 1985 to 25% in 2004.”  Unfortunately, recent polls have also shown an increase in the amount of cyberbullying and racist/sexist language on the internet…  Finally, with respect to imagination, “apps can make you lazy, discourage the development of new skills, and limit you to mimicry…”  Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking have shown drastic changes over the years, with large drops in scores of elaboration, fluency, originality, and creative strengths.  Certain writing studies have also shown decreases in originality and creativity.  Yes, new technologies can enhance students’ abilities to demonstrate strong skills but we as educators have to teach students to utilize these tools to work through elements of the PICKLE via the ABCS and AeCTS.  We have to teach students to respect these new technologies, while using appropriate features of SSCCS and NetSmart/Information Diet qualities.  I have noticed that the students that I work with often become comfortable with taking the easy way out and they want to know what it takes to “get an A.”  They are less interested in being creative or demonstrating unique ways of thinking, almost as if they’re lazy.  The books we’ve read lately have supported this observation and the fact that the app generation of students live their lives within the structure of apps themselves.  I have been teaching students to think outside the box while using these apps that they love to create content that is original and well thought out.  These students need to be pushed to use technology efficiently, but they also need to be taught how to use technology to generate ideas effectively.  There have been many instances where students have had a tremendously difficult time coming up with unique project ideas and they always get stuck on the same old products that they’re used to creating.  I want to slowly but steadily change the thinking process that students are used to using and I want them to understand how to use the amazing resources out there such as InfoBits, Scratch, iMovie, or Scholastic Go (just to name a few) for a wider array of project ideas that align with the PICKLE.  I plan on teaching students to use these resources for authentic projects creation. 

Being NetSmart

NetSmart

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This week, we read the book Net Smart – How to Thrive Online, by Howard Rheingold.  It really taught me a lot about mindful use of digital media.  I learned that there are 5 important digital skills that the author presents as being important when it comes to assisting one’s ability to practice mindful use of digital media.  They are attention, participation, collaboration, network smarts, and the critical consumption of information.  I learned that to prevent the internet and social media from controlling your life, you have to practice mindfulness.  In today’s day in age, there is so much information online and it can be super overwhelming.  It can be helpful to work on your ability to filter information and use metacognition.  Why?  Because sometimes you have to think about your thinking, take a step back, and ask yourself what your goals really are.  Is the source of information benefitting me in any way?  Is it just rubbish?  Participating online is important, as it enables people to interact with tools, but is it giving you a sense of being?  Is the participation enabling productivity?  Rheingold believes that it’s important to be “an active citizen rather than simply a passive consumer” but you have to know your purpose.  Through collaboration online, more can be accomplished and people can often learn from one another.  Teamwork makes the dream work, but ineffective collaboration or a lack of understandability between the group and their common or shared goal can be disastrous.  I know from completing the “pro” and “con” activity that the 5 important digital skills that Rheingold mentions can be both powerful tools, but detrimental consequences as well (depending on how they’re applied).  Network awareness is extremely vital, especially with all of the social networks nowadays.  Enabling connections amongst wider ranges of people can be powerful and “diverse networks are collectively smarter and provide a richer variety of resources to participating nodes.”  Again, however, you have to be smart about who you’re networking with or how you’re spending your time online (depending on the information you’re consuming or sharing).  With a tool like collaborative Google docs, your attention is geared towards the changes or additions people are making to the document.  The participation aspect is related to the sharing of the document and, obviously, the collaboration involvement includes people coming together to actively edit the work.  With regard to network awareness, it can help virtual teams bridge the distance while critical consumption of the information provided can be aided by the fact that Google docs tracks who made changes.  All in all, there are clearly going to be negative traits to the online tools, digital media, etc… that you’re faced with each and every day, but you have to have net smarts to be able to handle the plethora of online activity that you may be involved with.  I want to continually improve my ability to be smarter and more efficient online because I want the time I spend online to be spend productively.  I don’t want to get caught up in the whirlwind of distractions, fabricated information, or inefficiencies that are in fact present on the internet.  I also want to teach students to be net smart, to use common sense strategies online, and to practice mindfulness and metacognition.  In the end, it can help keep you sane when it comes to the insane amount of material in the world wide web! 

Information Ethics and Copyright

Information Ethics and Copyright

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This week, I learned a lot about Copyright Clarity.  It was pretty eye-opening to read about how fair use supports digital learning!  I was surprised by some of the facts mentioned in the book, because it changed the way I was used to thinking about things.  In a way, I was left feeling energized because of the concept of fair use and how it applies to us as educators.  Often times, teachers feel hindered by copyright laws (or their interpretation of them) and it can prevent amazing things from happening within the classroom.  As mentioned in the book, teachers are scared by the specifics of the charts and graphs notifying what you can and can’t do, but, in the end, it matters if/how you or your students transformed the content in a fair-use manner.  The U.S. Constitution says that the purpose of copyright is to promote the spread of knowledge and innovation and Renee Hobbs points out that, “At the heart of copyright law, the doctrine of fair use states that people have a right to use copyrighted materials freely without payment or permission, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.”  As long as students are creating new material out of old material, that’s what counts.  That is what promotes critical thinking in a new age of digital innovation.

These concepts mean a lot, in my opinion.  Teachers need to understand the true meaning of fair use and what it means to them.  We need to develop a different mindset and “instead of hiding our students’ work, we need to open the classroom door.” (Renee Hobbs)  There are so many resources out there, and reasoning and judgement have to come into play.  You sometimes have to ask the question, “Does the specific use of copyrighted works benefit society more than it hurts the copyright holder?” (Renee Hobbs)  Teachers, along with students, need to clarify the meaning of fair use to today’s day in age so that meaningful learning experiences can take place in the classroom.  If you discourage your students from using certain multimedia materials when they could possibly be used in transformative ways, “the full potential of 21^st century literacy is diminished.” (Renee Hobbs)  Creative work should not be limited to closed audiences if it is altered creatively though innovation.

Copyright Clarity impacts my occupation because I want to be able to communicate an accurate message to students and teachers.  Because I am an IFT (Instructional Facilitator, Technology), there are boatloads of resources online that students and teachers will be faced with now and in the future and I want them to be able to realize the true meaning of fair use and transformativeness.  I want to be able to promote critical thinking, creative expression, and the spread of knowledge in my school building.  We can improve the quality of teaching and learning if we better understand the fair use policy.