Access

Ones socioeconomic status affects their access to the internet and social media for sure. By the numbers it shows higher numbers of use and access as you climb the economic scale by household income. Also among Latino and African Americans the numbers are lower, as well. I believe their are many explanations for this other than just being in the low income bracket or divided on racial lines based on low income. Income does play a role no matter what color your skin is, however, I feel that it depends on your independent circumstances and what your family and social norms are for each household. If your from a traditional cultural background, a family who does not put a large emphasis on education, the inner city, rural, single parent, living with extending family and on and on; this can all contribute to whether you are accessing the internet or social media. (at least in the US) I am not a big fan of statistics based on broad generalizations and generic stereotypes. Statistics can be completely misused and misinterpreted based on who's point of view and what they are trying to get at. If everything is stated that these are simple, broad figures merely looking for trends and not taking into account the minutia of everyone's individual situations I can live with that, but we far to often lump people together or pit groups against groups rather than solve problems or look at our own side of the street no matter what income level we are at for the time-being. Enough with the diatribe, there is definite evidence about age and ethnicity when it comes to who's using what internet tools and social sites. These differences I feel are less important than getting parents, families and children access to the internet (especially for school and resources) if they so desire. A lot of people just won't do much for their children no matter what you "give" them or do to help, unfortunately. I do dig the campaign to give computers to resource deprived or underdeveloped countries, give them the slightest chance and you'll see children and families taking advantage of this opportunity with appreciation and learn like gangbusters. Maybe that's my subtle beef, we have so little appreciation in our country for the small things we are blessed with; let alone the big...

more in a bit...

Participatory Culture and the Networked Student

I couldn't really find any of the anything missing from what that student had going on with regards to his Psych course and the definitions and terms of the Participatory Culture or a "networked student". A couple of things that stand out two me are that the interactions between the student and actual live (face to face) people seems to be left out of the whole thing. The amount of material and information flow you as someone must keep up with was dizzying for me (in the "Networked Student"). Maybe its because they were just focusing on the one class and not his whole life but the extreme amount of imformation for me seems like it would take over his entire life! For one class? I could list all the terms and fake like I have a good grip on it all by taking each term from the readings , using the definition and apply it to what I experienced watching the video clips.

I'd like to do something a little different in the blog and elaborate on a few things that stand out to me. The definition of the paticipatory culture itself is warm and fuzzy which I actually like. Being able to create and contribute instead of just being a consumer is refreshing, if you have the time, to say the least. In my lesson plan this week, not knowing it, I did have my students search for information they were going to use in a project (how to do...) and post that info on the wiki. I also had them find a learning resource for extra credit to post up on the wiki as well and then had them have a web gallery to share photo's of what they created. It was my intent for them to learn the material and at the same time I thought they would feel it was kind of cool to leave a legacy of photo's and resources for the classes coming behind them in the years to come. Shoot, maybe even some might stumble upon the wiki site and hit the mother load of grade appropiate information on cells, function and structures of cells and how to make a 3-D cell model. Even stated to build a bigger since of community in my plan as well, a connection if you will. I inadvertantley did a little bit of what the definition of paticipatory culture talks about. "haring one’s creations,and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices. A participatory culture is also one in which members believe their contributions matter,and feel some degree of social connection with one another".

Next thing I' d like to speak on is the networked student, and while he met the criteria for the definition of a paticipatory culture I think that definition and all the stuff he had going on don't quite match. All the terms of the new skills in the article he was doing like a champ. He was engaged and immersed in the virtual world up to his eye balls. But I'm getting the impression that their is going to be a complete disconnect from each other in a real sense because of the amount of time and sheer volume of information to keep up with, work with, sift through, make your own, draw conclusions and learn about, collaborate only online and through blogs and stuff! I feel there will come a tipping point that people can only multi-task and take on so much time and information before it all just becomes a constant mess of randomness that now one really gets to any point? Or learning objective? Maybe i'm wrong?

As for this being how things would be now or in my class..We a far from this because of economic factors for people of all races and ethnicities. Not every has internet access, 24/7 if at all, not everyone has a laptop or iPod. I hope that one day in a class I teach that everyone has access to atleast the internet and a computer if they choose. But until the educational structure is changed into something that has different pathways than just your typical high school or diploma. Such as trade, prep, etc. none of this can come to be. You'll never have everyone wanting to be the networked student, and maybe everyone should have the oppurtunity too but also to go a different route. Forced schooling for a diploma worthless in some peoples eyes and only having these one size fits all high schools really stinks and stigmatizes everyone. I hope that made since. Some people may just want to drive a Semi or work on the computers not be infront of them. Maybe i'm off on an insane rant? Its a scary day to me when real social interaction is secondary to computers and brain craming. Atleast that's what the "social networked" student seemed to me. But using this stuff a another tool and not something to kill students with by giving them more and more and more information that you drive them out of their minds and out of school would not be the point for me.

All in all i think all this "social networking and paticipatory culture" is a good thing if kept in context. We could really help a lot of our societies wo's by imporing everybody who wants it the same data as a harvard kid may get, it could really unleash a collective wave of brainstorming learning and issues and problem solving that could change things for the better. I know there is a lot of untapped brain power out there young, old and coming up that be great for the world and equal a lot of playing fields. But like the economic and political divides, lets don't leave those in the dust "like me" who don't have a great handle on the interwoveness of the new technology or the time to keep up with every little change, or those with little resources behind who want to come along. I do, but damn, you new aged internet people, (i was one on the cutting edge of the net once) slow down for us. Maybe there is time though because almost no one at UofF teaches for students to learn and transfer as they all should be this day in age, we actually pay for someone to throw up a ton of information we have to memorize and then can't even retrieve that information we payed so dearly for two weeks after class.

Sorry for the rant cds-just some thoughts i've be throughing around in my crazy brain....

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

First Step:

Let me preface this Learning Journal entry by saying I used Bloom’s “Revised” Taxonomy. I felt it was explained in greater detail on the webpage.

The student will write a compound sentence using conjunctions.

• Remembering: The student will be able to recognize a compound sentence and list the conjunctions with in the sentence.
• Understanding: The student shall compare multiple sentences presented and decide which ones are compounds and interpret whether conjunctions are present in each sentence.
• Applying: The student shall write a compound sentence using conjunctions.
• Evaluating: The student will structure three compound sentences and integrate more than one conjunction into each sentence.
• Evaluating: The student will read two paragraphs and detect any and all compound sentences and identify the conjunctions within each compound sentence.
• Creating: The student shall plan and construct a coherent paragraph using at least 2 compound sentences with conjunctions on the topic of their choosing.

Second Step:

I do not believe the students were less capable than he assumed. There was obviously a problem with his teaching methods and lessons, if he actually did anything other than lecture. This is based on the fact that the “majority” of his students still didn’t grasp what he wanted them to.

They may not have been paying attention, but if they were he did not teach the students the critical thinking skills

necessary to grasp the circular nature of orbit and the tilting of the earths’ axis because they could not associate those two simple facts with the concept of the changing of the seasons.

They definitely had trouble visualizing, analyzing and interpreting what was taught to them because they could not express it in words. This was a complete failure, unfortunately, on his part to instill the basic knowledge base and plan lessons or activities that stretched the students in any way. If he had moved them passed just basic knowledge and made them create something or use that basic knowledge in a high ordered thinking process the results would have been dramatically different. Sorry, Paul! This sticks out like a soar thumb because the whole class can not be below grade level big guy!

I would suggest laying a foundation of the basic knowledge, as he might have. However, plan activities or lessons that actual make the students apply that knowledge and through assessment or along the way he will see who is not getting it. The students can collaborate or work individually but the plan has to be to ensure that they don’t merely get each fact but they can use their brains and connect the dots between those facts as well as apply them in different situations or settings. Such as making or drawing models, or to a TEST!