Amusing Ourselves at eLCC2011

Are We AmusingOurselves to Death?With a tip of the cap to Neil Postman

Barry Dahl dot com

Excellence in e-Education • Webinars • On-site workshops • Speaking engagements • Consulting • E-Quality Initiatives • Conference Comes to Youhttp://xlents.com

Clicker Time• Grab your clicker• Courtesy of Turning Technologies• First, some demographics.

Your Job at a College/University1.Faculty 54%2.Staff or 35% Administrator 12%3.Not at a college ty .. . ... ul in le c l dm co Fa rA a at o t ff No a St

Gender & Life Experience 50%1. Female, < 40 yrs.2. Female, 40 + yrs. 22%3. Male, < 40 yrs. 15% 14%4. Male, 40 + yrs. .. ... . . s. . s. . y. +y yr yr 40 40 40 + < 0 e, e, ,4 ,< al al ale ale m m M M Fe Fe

Self-evaluation: Tech Savviness1. Technophobe/ 52% 46% Newbie2. Perfectly normal3. Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek 2% . .. ... ... d rm /N ea no be r -h ho ly le ct el p rfe no op ch Pe Pr Te

Faculty Perspective• For the next two clicker statements –• Put on your faculty hat, regardless of whether you actually have one

Entertaining Students is NOT my Job33% 1. Fact67% 2. Whack

Engaging Students is NOT my Job6% 1. Fact94% 2. Whack

Not this kind of entertainment

More like a Bridge Party

Who said this?“Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education & entertainment doesnt know the first thing about either.”

and now this …….

Which of the following do you do?79% 1. File income taxes online (e-file)93% 2. Use online banking services73% 3. Check email on 3 or more diff. accts44% 4. Have an avatar in Second Life16% 5. Were born in 1980 or AFTER4% 6. None of the above

Choose each true statement64% 1. You own an iPhone, Droid, Blackberry59% 2. Prefer online news over newspapers82% 3. You consider yourself to be creative41% 4. You have more than 5 cloud documents72% 5. You can define the term “Web 2.0”2% 6. None of the above are true

What is Web 2.0?

Select each site where you have an account.86% 1. Facebook56% 2. Twitter73% 3. LinkedIn22% 4. MySpace60% 5. YouTube8% 6. None of the above

The most wired are224 Male, < 40 yrs.212.8 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek207.27 Team Scores Staff or Administrator178.67 Female, < 40 yrs.176.81 Male, 40 + yrs.170.83 Female, 40 + yrs.154.84 Faculty152.19 Perfectly normal140.73 Not at a college140 Technophobe/ Newbie

Currently Connected?72% 1. Yes, of course28% 2. No Are you connected to the Internet right now?

Who said this?“I dont necessarily agree with everything I say.”

Speaking ofTwitter …….

Twitter is Stupid!!!48% 1. Twue52% 2. False

Twue Enough100 Technophobe/ Newbie68.75 Faculty63.64 Team Scores Not at a college56.52 Male, 40 + yrs.50 Female, < 40 yrs.48 Female, 40 + yrs.47.06 Perfectly normal42.86 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek33.33 Male, < 40 yrs.32.08 Staff or Administrator

If you can tweet right now• Send a message similar to this one (NOW!!)• I have ____ followers on Twitter. #elcc2011• Just approximate the number

Twitter makes me like people I’ve never met and Facebookmakes me hate people I know in real life. @shaylamaddox

PowerPoint Twitter Feedback Slide Use Presentation Mode to view, Click this header to give mouse control back to PowerPoint, change slide, etc. Check the “alternate format” to see more tweets!© SAP 2009 / Page 32

Networked Learning• Don’t Buy the Book!• Absorb the concept.• I learn more every day from my Twitter network than I ever did in school.• (Blasphemy, I know)

Some people are great multi-taskers

The Human Brain can Multi-Task48% 1. True52% 2. False

The Brainiest about Brains62.5 Male, 40 + yrs.58.33 Faculty Team Scores56.25 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek53.33 Female, < 40 yrs.53.33 Male, < 40 yrs.51.85 Staff or Administrator50 Perfectly normal46 Female, 40 + yrs.40 Not at a college

Multi-tasking is a Myth• Great Book• Brain Rules, by Dr. John Medina

More Brain Rules87% 1. Male & female brains work differently62% 2. A memory can be “made” very quickly44% 3. Brain works better w/the body at rest64% 4. You learn while you sleep4% 5. None of the above are true

The Brainiest about Brains173.53 Faculty161.7 Team Scores Female, 40 + yrs.150 Male, 40 + yrs.150 Technophobe/ Newbie150 Perfectly normal147.83 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek142.31 Staff or Administrator135.71 Male, < 40 yrs.126.67 Female, < 40 yrs.100 Not at a college

Predictably Irrational • Why do we splurge on a lavish meal and cut coupons to save 25 cents on a can of soup? • What is behavioral economics and where all of these free lunches?

Chocolate Break• Lindt Truffle • Hershey Kiss

Which candy would you buy?56% 1. Lindt Truffle = 15¢44% 2. Hershey Kiss = 1¢

Who Wants a Kiss?100 Technophobe/ Newbie72.73 Team Scores Male, < 40 yrs.65 Male, 40 + yrs.58.33 Female, < 40 yrs.50 Not at a college47.73 Staff or Administrator44.19 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek43.75 Faculty41.67 Perfectly normal27.66 Female, 40 + yrs.

The Power of Free15¢ Truffles, 1¢ Kisses 14¢ Truffles, Free Kisses 27% 69% 31%73%

Bundling of ServicesWhy do cable companies bundle their services?

Bundling of ServicesBecause it works

Bundling of Services Why don’t collegesbundle their services?

Bundling of ServicesBecause it would work? But, we prefer to

Who said this?“I wouldnt have seen it if I hadnt believed it.”

Neil Postman• Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business• Published 1985

Amusing Ourselves to Death• Many of the remarks he made about television can be made today about computers and social networking

Graphics by Stuart McMillen

Graphics by Stuart McMillen• All words from “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business” by Neil Postman … a book about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.

My Take on Postman• Web 1.0 was just another one-way distraction device, very TV-like.• However, Web 2.0 goes beyond amusement by bringing people together and encouraging creativity.

Legit Questions• Is online learning a serious endeavor, or just a dumbing down of education?• Is the use of emerging technologies just an attempt to be cool?• Where’s the beef (or pedagogy)?

Hey Barry, what’s the significance of ↓ and now this …….

Who said this?“All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.”

Speaking of Online Reading• Much of the text that is available online is heavily sprinkled with hyperlinks.• This is a bad thing. – Hyperlinks are a sea of distractions, resulting in people comprehending less of what they read – As we spend more time surfing, and skimming, and scanning ... We become more adept at that mode of thinking, but less adept at deep reading and prolonged concentration.

Speaking of Online Reading• Much of the text that is available online is heavily sprinkled with hyperlinks.• This is a good thing. – They strengthen critical thinking by allowing for various points of view and deeper dives into the material. – Some cognitive skills are strengthened by our use of computers/Net; such as hand-eye coordination, reflex response, and the processing of visual cues.

Hyperlinked Text38% 1. is a sea of distraction62% 2. strengthens critical thinking

Hard Questions• Shortly after Postman’s death, Web 2.0 started to develop and began feeding what Huxley called “man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.”

Hard Questions• What is happening to deep reading?• How do we develop the proper discipline on the net to not be so easily distracted?

Is this Innovation or Insanity?Culture, Gender, and Identity – taught with World of Warcraft CC Flickr photo by glenn.batuyong

Is this Innovation or Insanity?History of Rock-n-Roll Music course – taught with Guitar Hero CC Flickr photo By 5th Ape

Take your pick79% 1.Innovation21% 2.Insanity

Who said insanity?100 Technophobe/ Newbie27.27 Team Scores Male, < 40 yrs.27.27 Male, 40 + yrs.26.47 Faculty24.49 Perfectly normal22.22 Not at a college18.75 Female, 40 + yrs.15.22 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek14.89 Staff or Administrator14.29 Female, < 40 yrs.

How amusing is that?

Who said this?“We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.”

DIY U• Anya Kamenetz• Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education

DIY U – Ch. 1 - History• Single biggest recipient benefactor of federal financial aid is ______________• University of Phoenix• Does it seem odd that a “private” for-profit university gets the most public funds? (More?)

DIY U – Ch. 2 - Sociology• Suggestion: “Allocate Funds for Access”• “Colleges that serve rich students get more federal and state money than colleges that serve poor students.”• This needs to be reversed.

DIY U – Ch. 3 - Economics• Idea: Restore the concept of “free.”• Have you heard of Hard Work U?• Part of the “Work College Consortium.”• Min. 15 hours per week per student.

Ch. 4 – Computer Science• “If universities can’t find the will to innovate and adapt to changes in the world around them, universities will be irrelevant by the year 2020.”• David Wiley (as quoted in DIYU)

Ch. 5 – Independent Study• “Students should not play life, or study it merely, while the community supports them at this expensive game, but earnestly live it from beginning to end ...”• Thoreau (as quoted in DIYU)

Ch. 6 - Commencement• “Forget about giving the guy a fish, or teaching him how to fish, either. Teach him how to teach himself, and he’ll always be able to acquire the skills he needs to find food, skills you haven’t even thought of yet for things you didn’t know you could eat.”• Anya Kamenetz

Higher ed needs to change significantly to remain relevant?82% 1. Agree18% 2. Disagree

Who Agrees?92.86 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek90.91 Team Scores Male, 40 + yrs.90 Male, < 40 yrs.87.23 Staff or Administrator82.98 Female, 40 + yrs.77.78 Not at a college74.51 Perfectly normal71.88 Faculty64.29 Female, < 40 yrs.50 Technophobe/ Newbie

Who said this?“We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.”

Who said this?“The medium isthe message”

Marshall McLuhan

LinchpinsDon’t Need(no stinkin’) Résumés

What is a linchpin?

An artist

What is an artist?

Anyone who does“emotional work”

Work that matters

Heart and soul

Everyone’s an artist now(or could be)

It’s notwhat you do

It’s howyou do it

Make the leap

Be an artist

Do emotional work

It’s a choice

Choose it

Are We AmusingOurselves to Death?And other book learnin’

Do You Know About Bridgepoint Education?• From the Senate hearings on Thur. 3/1/2011• Grew from 300 students to 78,000 students in just four years.• $600 million in federal financial aid annually• 2010: 86.5% of their revenue came from Federal Government• 65% owned by investment firm Warburg Pincus

Congress should act to stop theabuses of the for-profit universities.79% 1. Agree21% 2. Disagree (Back)

Higher Ed Moves Slowly

Amusing Ourselves at eLCC2011

by Barry Dahl

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