The document summarizes a presentation about meeting the needs of new college students. It finds that while students are highly engaged with social media and technology, they often lack skills in critical thinking and digital citizenship. It recommends that colleges understand how students truly use technologies rather than making assumptions, and help students apply these tools to learning by having conversations about their appropriate and effective use in educational contexts.

1. Meeting New College Students Where They ArePresentation at the Annual DETCHE Conference, December 2, 2009 John B. Nash, PhD Iowa State University Associate Professor Educational Leadership and Policy Studies • Human Computer Interaction Associate Director Center for Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE)

2. Do today’s graduating high school seniors have what it takes to succeed between now and the next half century? Image CC Flickr user GlobalGameJam

3. The Challenge for all students

4. Percentile change in importance of task type in U.S. economy Abstract Routine Manual Autor, D., Levy, F., & Murnane, R. J. (2003). [updated, D. Autor, 2008]. As shown in McLeod (2009).

7. they’re probably going to need some help Credits (all Flickr CC) nics_events

8. CSU Early Assessment of Readiness for College - 2009 Students tested:366,949 http://eap2009.ets.org “…a heads-up as to whether they’re learning what the university expects.” --USA Today Quoted on http://www.calstate.edu/eap/

9. CAHSEE Results July 2008for Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) for All Grades http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov/ExitProg1.asp?cLevel=State&cYear=2008-09&cChoice=ExitProg1&cAdmin=S&tDate=07/29/08&TestType=E&cGrade=AG&Pageno=1

10. Proficiency of First-time Freshmen Who Were Regularly AdmittedCalifornia State University Fall 2008, Systemwidehttp://www.asd.calstate.edu/proficiency/2008/Prof_Sys_fall2008.htm

11. Freshmen Who Need RemediationCalifornia State University Fall 2008, Systemwide http://www.asd.calstate.edu/remediation/08/Rem_Sys_fall2008.htm

12. A high school diploma means students have learned the basics PAF Reality Check (2002) in Wagner (2009)

13. what do college instructors say?

14. 300 College Instructors of First Year Students Achieve, 2007

16. they’re not prepared

17. they arrive confused

19. “These kids can do amazing things when you build the learning around what interests them.” Denis Littky (quoted in Wagner, 2008, p. 170).

20. “digital natives” Call them what you will. Their skill set and online proclivities have implications (Wagner 2008; Boyd, 2009; Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2009)

21. they’ve been growing up digital Image CC Flickr user sd

22. Students have very little prior practice or experience acting as responsible, successful digital citizens upon exiting high school

23. The public high school ed tech creed: In filter we trust Fryer, 2009

24. teens and social media It’s important to understand teen social media use in order to address issues in other areas of technology (boyd, 2009).

25. b4 college Not excited about their lessons Not excited about adults they have a network, but they are not networking Look at their friends list. That’s who they think they are speaking to. They just want to hang out. 30-40 close friends >100 are connecting with everyone >1000 is rare (purview of adults and politicians) they are NOT on Twitter (average age on Twitter is 31) Not using del.ico.us “just because you have adopted a form of social media doesn't meant that young people do or ever will” (boyd, 2009).

26. Class divisions among teens and social media MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers. Boyd, 2007 The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other "good" kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college…They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities….Most teens who exclusively use Facebook are familiar with and have an opinion about MySpace. These teens are very aware of MySpace and they often have a negative opinion about it. They see it as gaudy, immature, and "so middle school.” Boyd 2007

27. Implications for colleges Just because they are using it, doesn’t mean it fits in the classroom. Instructors, professors need to figure out how a tool works in real life, then do it in the classroom. Search and sharing Help them understand these tools Few know how Wikipedia works, the history, how it works, etc. (except that it’s bad(as they were told inhigh school)) Wikipedia has probably never been framed as an amazing, collective knowledge production event. No critical thinking about remiss, even though they are the remixers People think the digital natives are wiser than all of us. Not true. They are just using it in ways different from adults. We project assumptions on them. Your new students are still teenagers. We, as adults, have critical thinking abilities that they don’t’ have. Drawn from boyd, 2009

28. Going forward Don’t reject what they're doing…but don’t put it on a pedestal either. Ask them to show them the uses Have a conversation with them on how the tools they are using could be used for learning. “(It) makes us rethink our position of power as adults.” (boyd, 2009)

29. John Nash jnash@iastate.edu Cell: 650.799.6703 Twitter: @jnash http://edventureso.me

30. References Achieve (2005). Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? available online at http://www.achieve.org/files/pollreport.pdf Autor, D., Levy, F., & Murnane, R. J. (2003). The skill content of recent technological change: An empirical exploration. Quarterly Journal of Economics 188, 4. [updated, D. Autor, 2008]. boyd, d. (2009). Teenagers who are Living and Learning with Social Media. 2009 Penn State Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology. Retrieved October 31, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmoc9F6fceQ boyd, d. 2007. "Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace ." Apophenia Blog Essay. June 24 . http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html California Department of Education (2009). California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Resultsfor Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) by Program (July 2008) for (All Grades) State Report. California High School Exit Exam Results. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov/ExitProg1.asp?cLevel=State&cYear=2008-09&cChoice=ExitProg1&cAdmin=S&tDate=07/29/08&TestType=E&cGrade=AG&Pageno=1 Fryer, W. (2009). CIPA. In Unmasking the Digital Truth. RetrievedDecember 2, 2009 from http://unmaskdigitaltruth.pbworks.com/cipa McLeod, S. (2009). Preconference Session on School Technology Leadership. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the School Administrators of Iowa, Des Moines, IA, August, 2009. http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/sai2009.html The California State University (2009). Fall 2008 Final Regularly Admitted First-time Freshmen Remediation Systemwide. Proficiency Reports of Students Entering the CSU System. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from http://www.asd.calstate.edu/remediation/08/Rem_Sys_fall2008.htm The California State University (2009). Fall 2008 Final Regularly Admitted First-time Freshmen Proficiency Systemwide. Proficiency Reports of Students Entering the CSU System. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from http://www.asd.calstate.edu/proficiency/2008/Prof_Sys_fall2008.htm Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap : why even our best schools don't teach the new survival skills our children need--and what we can do about it. New York: Basic Books.