Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos | Action-Reaction

It is a common view that “if only someone could break this down and explain it clearly enough, more students would understand.” Khan Academy is a great example of this approach with its clear, concise videos on science. However it is debatable whether they really work. Research has shown that these types of videos may be positively received by students. They feel like they are learning and become more confident in their answers, but tests reveal they haven’t learned anything. [ed. note: textbook definition of pseudoteaching]

via Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos | Action-Reaction.

This links to a recent PhD thesis that suggests that the cognitive load needs to be high to facilitate long term learning. This means it is important to include misconceptions.

Does the same apply to student created content? Is it valuable to create? Does student created content need to discuss misconception? How about with shared content – like subject review wikis?

Do things like the heart voicethread project have a high enough cognitive load? Could this be extended?

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SSRN-Youth, Privacy and Reputation Literature Review by Alice Marwick, Diego Murgia-Diaz, John Palfrey

A bit too long to read in full at the moment, but it is interesting to see sophisticated discourse on some issues about privacy in a changing world, with explicit criticism of the image of digital natives

Often, young people are viewed on one side of a generational divide Herring 2008. “Millennials” or “digital natives” are portrayed as more comfortable with digital technologies and as having significantly different behaviors than their “digital immigrant” parents Palfrey & Gasser 2008; Solove 2008; N. Howe & Strauss 2000. There is a risk of this discourse exoticizing the experience of young people from an adult perspective…..

via SSRN-Youth, Privacy and Reputation Literature Review by Alice Marwick, Diego Murgia-Diaz, John Palfrey.

Net Gen Skeptic

Reference relating to technological determinism via NetGen Skeptic

They conclude that educational policy makers in universities and government should be cautious about “adopting technological determinist arguments that suggest that universities simply have to adapt to a changing student population who are described as a single group with definite and known characteristics.”

via Net Gen Skeptic.

Reflections on BTG

Now that BTG is over, it is worth a quick reflection:

• The presentation got done!
• The screencast was good to learn and makes for an artifact
• It was nice to have a small audience having not done this much before. I hope I can be more confident in letting this go a bit
• The presentation might have benefited by directing people more to a specific conclusion or letting it go to a specific conclusion with more interaction
• Authenticity through catalytic action? Only for me.
• There was no significant discussion online related to this
• I think I am a bit clearer about some issues – notably identifying things that are problematic.

So generally, good but not great!

The Millennial Muddle: How Stereotyping Students Became an Industry – Student Affairs – The Chronicle of Higher Education

An extended article discussing generational stereotypes in HE

The Millennial Muddle

How stereotyping students became a thriving industry and a bundle of contradictions

via The Millennial Muddle: How Stereotyping Students Became an Industry – Student Affairs – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Presentations at BTG09

A slidcast of BTG09 -to see presenter notes you need to open in slideshare.

and the corresponding paper:

Comments here or on slideshare always welcome!

Half an Hour: An Operating System for the Mind

This gives one side of a skills/content discussion couched in terms of 21st century learning. Instinctively I don’t like the title, though I am not sure why. Also I am not sure this hasn’t fallen into an either/or approach, but I think this provides some thoughtful discussion.

The core of the opposition to what are being called “21st century skills” is contained in the following argument: “Cognitive science teaches us that skills and knowledge are interdependent and that possessing a base of knowledge is necessary to the acquisition not only of more knowledge, but also of skills. Skills can neither be taught nor applied effectively without prior knowledge of a wide array of subjects.”

In response, I pose this question to the defenders of this 'base of knowledge', “why is a common core necessary for the teaching of skills, and why is testing of that core necessary.” And specifically, “the question isn't whether skills can be taught in isolation, but rather whether they must be taught in the context of some common base of knowledge and whether students ought to be tested on the basis of that knowledge.

via Half an Hour: An Operating System for the Mind.

New Millennium Learners Conference

PDF of preliminary findings from this conference:

This paper offers an account of the preliminary findings which the project has cumulated so far. Its main objective is to feed the ongoing discussions about the impact of technology on learners, by taking stock of what the existing empirical evidence is telling and identifying areas that would eventually benefit from further exploration in the current phase.

via New Millennium Learners Conference.

As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History – NYTimes.com

A prime example of nonsense:

“Kids are wired differently these days,” said Sheryl R. Abshire, chief technology officer for the Calcasieu Parish school system in Lake Charles, La. “They’re digitally nimble. They multitask, transpose and extrapolate. And they think of knowledge as infinite.

via As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History – NYTimes.com.

Digital Inclusion Commentary Site » Chapter 1: Definitions of Digital Inclusion

A site for discussion on digital inclusion:

In addition to equality, explicit and implicit definitions of digital inclusion encompass a number of inter-related concepts

* Access

* Use

* Empowerment

* Participation

via Digital Inclusion Commentary Site » Chapter 1: Definitions of Digital Inclusion.