1.
Are We Amusing
Ourselves to Death?
With a tip of the cap to
Neil Postman

2.
Barry Dahl dot com

3.
Excellence in e-Education
• Webinars
• On-site workshops
• Speaking engagements
• Consulting
• E-Quality Initiatives
• Conference Comes to You
http://xlents.com

4.
Clicker Time
• Grab your clicker
• Courtesy of Turning
Technologies
• First, some
demographics.

5.
Your Job at a College/University
1.Faculty 54%
2.Staff or 35%
Administrator
12%
3.Not at a college
ty
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6.
Gender & Life Experience
50%
1. Female, < 40 yrs.
2. Female, 40 + yrs.
22%
3. Male, < 40 yrs. 15%
14%
4. Male, 40 + yrs.
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7.
Self-evaluation: Tech Savviness
1. Technophobe/ 52%
46%
Newbie
2. Perfectly normal
3. Propeller-head/
Gadget-geek 2%
. ..
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8.
Faculty Perspective
• For the next two clicker statements –
• Put on your faculty hat, regardless of
whether you actually have one

9.
Entertaining Students is
NOT my Job
33% 1. Fact
67%
2. Whack

10.
Engaging Students is
NOT my Job
6% 1. Fact
94%
2. Whack

11.
Not this kind of entertainment

12.
More like a Bridge Party

13.
Who said this?
“Anyone who tries to make a
distinction between
education & entertainment
doesn't know the first thing
about either.”

14.
and now this …….

15.
Which of the following do you do?
79% 1. File income taxes online (e-file)
93% 2. Use online banking services
73% 3. Check email on 3 or more diff. accts
44% 4. Have an avatar in Second Life
16% 5. Were born in 1980 or AFTER
4% 6. None of the above

16.
Choose each true statement
64% 1. You own an iPhone, Droid, Blackberry
59% 2. Prefer online news over newspapers
82% 3. You consider yourself to be creative
41% 4. You have more than 5 cloud documents
72% 5. You can define the term “Web 2.0”
2% 6. None of the above are true

17.
What is Web 2.0?

18.
Select each site where you
have an account.
86% 1. Facebook
56% 2. Twitter
73% 3. LinkedIn
22% 4. MySpace
60% 5. YouTube
8%
6. None of the above

19.
The most wired are
224 Male, < 40 yrs.
212.8 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
207.27
Team Scores
Staff or Administrator
178.67 Female, < 40 yrs.
176.81 Male, 40 + yrs.
170.83 Female, 40 + yrs.
154.84 Faculty
152.19 Perfectly normal
140.73 Not at a college
140 Technophobe/ Newbie

20.
and now this …….

21.
Currently Connected?
72% 1. Yes, of course
28%
2. No
Are you connected to the
Internet right now?

22.
Who said this?
“I don't necessarily
agree with
everything I say.”

23.
and now this …….

24.
Speaking of
Twitter …….

25.
Twitter is Stupid!!!
48% 1. Twue
52%
2. False

26.
Twue Enough
100 Technophobe/ Newbie
68.75 Faculty
63.64
Team Scores
Not at a college
56.52 Male, 40 + yrs.
50 Female, < 40 yrs.
48 Female, 40 + yrs.
47.06 Perfectly normal
42.86 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
33.33 Male, < 40 yrs.
32.08 Staff or Administrator

27.
If you can tweet right now
• Send a message similar to this one (NOW!!)
• I have ____ followers on Twitter.
#elcc2011
• Just approximate the number

28.
Twitter makes me like people I’ve never met and Facebook
makes me hate people I know in real life. @shaylamaddox

29.
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

30.
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)

31.
and now this …….

32.
Some people are great multi-taskers

33.
The Human Brain can Multi-Task
48% 1. True
52% 2. False

34.
The Brainiest about Brains
62.5 Male, 40 + yrs.
58.33 Faculty Team Scores
56.25 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
53.33 Female, < 40 yrs.
53.33 Male, < 40 yrs.
51.85 Staff or Administrator
50 Perfectly normal
46 Female, 40 + yrs.
40 Not at a college

35.
Multi-tasking is a Myth
• Great Book
• Brain Rules,
by Dr. John
Medina

36.
More Brain Rules
87% 1. Male & female brains work differently
62% 2. A memory can be “made” very quickly
44% 3. Brain works better w/the body at rest
64% 4. You learn while you sleep
4% 5. None of the above are true

37.
The Brainiest about Brains
173.53 Faculty
161.7 Team Scores
Female, 40 + yrs.
150 Male, 40 + yrs.
150 Technophobe/ Newbie
150 Perfectly normal
147.83 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
142.31 Staff or Administrator
135.71 Male, < 40 yrs.
126.67 Female, < 40 yrs.
100 Not at a college

38.
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?

39.
Chocolate Break
• Lindt Truffle • Hershey Kiss

40.
Which candy would you buy?
56% 1. Lindt Truffle = 15¢
44% 2. Hershey Kiss = 1¢

41.
Who Wants a Kiss?
100 Technophobe/ Newbie
72.73 Team Scores
Male, < 40 yrs.
65 Male, 40 + yrs.
58.33 Female, < 40 yrs.
50 Not at a college
47.73 Staff or Administrator
44.19 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
43.75 Faculty
41.67 Perfectly normal
27.66 Female, 40 + yrs.

42.
The Power of Free
15¢ Truffles, 1¢ Kisses 14¢ Truffles, Free Kisses
27% 69%
31%
73%

43.
Bundling of Services
Why do cable companies
bundle their services?

44.
Bundling of Services
Because it works

45.
Bundling of Services
Why don’t colleges
bundle their services?

46.
Bundling of Services
Because it would
work?
But, we prefer to

47.
Who said this?
“I wouldn't have seen
it if I hadn't believed
it.”

48.
and now this …….

49.
Neil Postman
• Public Discourse
in the Age of
Show Business
• Published 1985

50.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
• Many of the
remarks he made
about television
can be made
today about
computers and
social networking

51.
Graphics by Stuart McMillen

52.
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.

53.
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.

54.
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)?

55.
Hey Barry, what’s the
significance of ↓
and now this …….

56.
Who said this?
“All media exist to invest
our lives with artificial
perceptions and
arbitrary values.”

57.
and now this …….

58.
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.

59.
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.

60.
Hyperlinked Text
38% 1. is a sea of distraction
62% 2. strengthens critical thinking

61.
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.”

62.
Hard Questions
• What is happening to
deep reading?
• How do we develop the
proper discipline on the
net to not be so easily
distracted?

63.
and now this …….

64.
Is this Innovation or Insanity?
Culture, Gender, and Identity – taught with World of Warcraft
CC Flickr photo by
glenn.batuyong

65.
Is this Innovation or Insanity?
History of Rock-n-Roll Music course – taught with Guitar Hero
CC Flickr photo
By 5th Ape

66.
Take your pick
79% 1.Innovation
21% 2.Insanity

67.
Who said insanity?
100 Technophobe/ Newbie
27.27 Team Scores
Male, < 40 yrs.
27.27 Male, 40 + yrs.
26.47 Faculty
24.49 Perfectly normal
22.22 Not at a college
18.75 Female, 40 + yrs.
15.22 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
14.89 Staff or Administrator
14.29 Female, < 40 yrs.

68.
How amusing is
that?

69.
Who said this?
“We shape our tools
and afterwards our
tools shape us.”

70.
and now this …….

71.
DIY U
• Anya Kamenetz
• Edupunks,
Edupreneurs, and
the Coming
Transformation of
Higher Education

72.
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?)

73.
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.

74.
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.

75.
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)

76.
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)

77.
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

78.
Higher ed needs to change
significantly to remain relevant?
82% 1. Agree
18% 2. Disagree

79.
Who Agrees?
92.86 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek
90.91 Team Scores
Male, 40 + yrs.
90 Male, < 40 yrs.
87.23 Staff or Administrator
82.98 Female, 40 + yrs.
77.78 Not at a college
74.51 Perfectly normal
71.88 Faculty
64.29 Female, < 40 yrs.
50 Technophobe/ Newbie

80.
Who said this?
“We look at the present
through a rear-view
mirror. We march
backwards into the
future.”

81.
Who said this?
“The medium is
the message”

82.
Marshall McLuhan

83.
and now this …….

84.
Linchpins
Don’t Need
(no stinkin’)
Résumés

85.
What is a linchpin?

86.
An artist

87.
What is an artist?

88.
Anyone who does
“emotional work”

89.
Work that matters

90.
Heart and soul

91.
Everyone’s an
artist now
(or could be)

92.
It’s not
what you do

93.
It’s how
you do it

94.
Make the leap

95.
Be an artist

96.
Do emotional work

97.
It’s a choice

98.
Choose it

99.
Are We Amusing
Ourselves to Death?
And other book learnin’

100.
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

101.
Congress should act to stop the
abuses of the for-profit universities.
79% 1. Agree
21% 2. Disagree
(Back)

102.
Higher Ed Moves Slowly