Digital *Lazy Natives

Today’s Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required) features David Robinson (associate director of Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy) review of Mark Bauerlein’s The Dumbest Generation.

Citing NAEP test data, Mr. Bauerlein puts forth the theory that although access to information has never been more cost effective and pervasive, knowledge and test scores do not seem to be rising commensurately. Today’s student, according to Bauerlein, has not limited their TV viewing only supplemented it with text messaging, You Tube videos and MySpace. Thousands of LOLs, ROFLs and short sentences ending in ellipses have denigrated the quality of writing in grade level students leading to a diminished ability to articulate in a professional setting, not to mention diminished interest in scholastics.

While this may be true, sadly, I think administrators will relexively seek to distance themselves from technology in the classroom and keep students further disengaged from instruction that still involves a chalkboard (whiteboard, if you are lucky) and four-colored textbooks.

It Is The Skills, Stupid.

David Brooks, of the New York Times, has an interesting piece today on the dirty little secret that is skills-based outsourcing in a global economy.   Building upon the tenets of Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat,” Brooks argues that although the brute muscle that comprised our economy during the Industrial Age was is vital today, that component of today’s American economy has been largely outsourced offshore.

Today’s cognitive revolution, the increasing use of brain power to achieve workforce ends, will undoubtedly follow the same route if American education does not keep pace.  Currently, American students severely lag in the Sciences and Mathematics which are the sort of cognitive fields needed in an increasingly global, tech-oriented economy.

Higher Education Act In Flux — For Now

Effective April 30, 2008, the Higher Education Act has expired without reauthorization.  HEA is the vehicle by which loans for students attending college receive grants and loans as well as the authorizing legislation for a myriad of rules and regulations relative to college.  The Senate approved, by unanimous consent, an extension this week but, without House approval, the legislation remains in flux.

Jamaica Adds E-Learning

It is unclear why the United States is objecting this project – at least from this article – but the reassuring news is that Jamaican education authorities are adopting e-learning in the classroom.

Freedom From French Fries

Isn’t this a bit dramatic?

I never understood how banning fatty foods from the cafeteria served the intended purpose of dissuading a kid from eating them in their car, at recess or after school.  If the school cafeteria is indeed their first exposure to fattening foods, one would assume they have made it rather far in life abstaining and would continue the practice based upon rational choice, inertia or dislike of the taste.  Doesn’t adding potato chips to list of forbidden fruit more interesting?

Mobile Learning, Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard (and others of course..)

This trend will only increase in intensity as chips become less expensive and the hardware wrapped around them drops in price with it.  Tomorrow’s classroom will likely look like a present day computer lab with plush recliners and Starbucks brewing in the background.   With  inexpensive laptops like these and the movement to mobile devices as supplementary curriculum aides, this is already occurring.  Good stuff!

Wisconsin Governor Keeps Online Charter Schools

This is a significant development:

MADISON — Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law Monday a bill that will keep online public charter schools open.

The deal was reached by the Legislature and passed last month.

Changes were required after an appeals court ruled last year that the virtual schools were violating state laws on charter schools, teacher licensing and open enrollment.

Speak Up 2007. What Do Students Think?

Project Tomorrow released the results of their annual Speak Up student survey today. The results confirm what many advocates of technology in education have claimed for years: students want more of it.

What did teachers have to say about education technology in the 2007 Speak Up survey?

• 33% identified themselves as technology experts, with 56 percent claiming to be average technology users.
• Technologies most used by teachers: e-mail and IM (93%), PowerPoint (59%), listening to podcasts or watching online video (35%).
• Most common use of education technology: homework and practice (51%).
• Three most important skills for students to learn: communication (80%), effective use of technology (73%), complex problem solving (63%).

This study confirms teachers should not fear technology in the classroom.