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Slide 1: Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death? With a tip of the cap to Neil Postman
Slide 2: Barry Dahl dot com
Slide 4: Excellence in e-Education • • • • • • Webinars On-site workshops Speaking engagements Consulting E-Quality Initiatives Conference Comes to You http://xlents.com
Slide 6: Clicker Time • Grab your clicker • Courtesy of Turning Technologies • First, some demographics.
Slide 7: Your Job at a College/University 1.Faculty 2.Staff or Administrator 3.Not at a college Fa c 54% 35% 12% ul ty in .. . rA dm ff o St a No t at a co l le ...
Slide 8: Gender & Life Experience 1. Female, < 40 yrs. 2. Female, 40 + yrs. 3. Male, < 40 yrs. 4. Male, 40 + yrs. 40 e, < al Fe m 50% 22% 14% 15% y. .. ... e, 40 40 yr s. . . al ale Fe m M M ale ,4 0 ,< + yr s. . . +y
Slide 9: Self-evaluation: Tech Savviness 1. Technophobe/ Newbie 2. Perfectly normal 3. Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek ho be /N Te ch no p 52% 46% 2% rm . .. ... Pr op el le r -h ea d ... Pe rfe ct ly no
Slide 10: Faculty Perspective • For the next two clicker statements – • Put on your faculty hat, regardless of whether you actually have one
Slide 11: Entertaining Students is NOT my Job 33% 67% 1. Fact 2. Whack
Slide 12: Engaging Students is NOT my Job 6% 94% 1. Fact 2. Whack
Slide 13: Not this kind of entertainment
Slide 14: More like a Bridge Party
Slide 15: Who said this? “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education & entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.”
Slide 16: and now this …….
Slide 17: Which of the following do you do? 79% 93% 73% 44% 16% 4% 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. File income taxes online (e-file) Use online banking services Check email on 3 or more diff. accts Have an avatar in Second Life Were born in 1980 or AFTER None of the above
Slide 18: Choose each true statement 64% 59% 82% 41% 72% 2% 1. You own an iPhone, Droid, Blackberry 2. Prefer online news over newspapers 3. You consider yourself to be creative 4. You have more than 5 cloud documents 5. You can define the term “Web 2.0” 6. None of the above are true
Slide 19: What is Web 2.0?
Slide 20: Select each site where you have an account. 86% 56% 73% 22% 60% 8% 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MySpace YouTube None of the above
Slide 21: The most wired are 224 212.8 207.27 178.67 176.81 170.83 154.84 152.19 140.73 140 Male, < 40 yrs. Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Team Scores Staff or Administrator Female, < 40 yrs. Male, 40 + yrs. Female, 40 + yrs. Faculty Perfectly normal Not at a college Technophobe/ Newbie
Slide 22: and now this …….
Slide 23: Currently Connected? 72% 28% 1. Yes, of course 2. No Are you connected to the Internet right now?
Slide 25: Who said this? “I don't necessarily agree with everything I say.”
Slide 26: and now this …….
Slide 27: Speaking of Twitter …….
Slide 28: Twitter is Stupid!!! 48% 52% 1. Twue 2. False
Slide 29: Twue Enough 100 Technophobe/ Newbie 68.75 63.64 56.52 50 48 47.06 42.86 33.33 32.08 Faculty Not at a college Male, 40 + yrs. Female, < 40 yrs. Female, 40 + yrs. Perfectly normal Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Male, < 40 yrs. Staff or Administrator Team Scores
Slide 30: If you can tweet right now • Send a message similar to this one (NOW!!) • I have ____ followers on Twitter. #elcc2011 • Just approximate the number
Slide 31: Twitter makes me like people I’ve never met and Facebook makes me hate people I know in real life. @shaylamaddox
Slide 32: 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
Slide 33: 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)
Slide 34: and now this …….
Slide 35: Some people are great multi-taskers
Slide 36: The Human Brain can Multi-Task 48% 52% 1. True 2. False
Slide 37: The Brainiest about Brains 62.5 58.33 56.25 Male, 40 + yrs. Faculty Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Team Scores 53.33 53.33 51.85 50 46 40 Female, < 40 yrs. Male, < 40 yrs. Staff or Administrator Perfectly normal Female, 40 + yrs. Not at a college
Slide 38: Multi-tasking is a Myth • Great Book • Brain Rules, by Dr. John Medina
Slide 39: More Brain Rules 87% 62% 44% 64% 4% 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Male & female brains work differently A memory can be “made” very quickly Brain works better w/the body at rest You learn while you sleep None of the above are true
Slide 40: The Brainiest about Brains 173.53 161.7 150 Faculty Female, 40 + yrs. Male, 40 + yrs. Team Scores 150 150 147.83 142.31 135.71 126.67 100 Technophobe/ Newbie Perfectly normal Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Staff or Administrator Male, < 40 yrs. Female, < 40 yrs. Not at a college
Slide 41: 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?
Slide 42: Chocolate Break • Lindt Truffle • Hershey Kiss
Slide 43: Which candy would you buy? 56% 44% 1. Lindt Truffle = 15¢ 2. Hershey Kiss = 1¢
Slide 44: Who Wants a Kiss? 100 72.73 65 Technophobe/ Newbie Male, < 40 yrs. Male, 40 + yrs. Team Scores 58.33 50 47.73 44.19 43.75 41.67 27.66 Female, < 40 yrs. Not at a college Staff or Administrator Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Faculty Perfectly normal Female, 40 + yrs.
Slide 45: The Power of Free 15¢ Truffles, 1¢ Kisses 14¢ Truffles, Free Kisses 27% 69% 73% 31%
Slide 46: Bundling of Services Why do cable companies bundle their services?
Slide 47: Bundling of Services Because it works
Slide 48: Bundling of Services Why don’t colleges bundle their services?
Slide 49: Bundling of Services Because it would work? But, we prefer to
Slide 50: Who said this? “I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't believed it.”
Slide 51: and now this …….
Slide 52: Neil Postman • Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business • Published 1985
Slide 53: Amusing Ourselves to Death • Many of the remarks he made about television can be made today about computers and social networking
Slide 54: Graphics by Stuart McMillen
Slide 67: 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.
Slide 68: 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.
Slide 69: 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)?
Slide 70: Hey Barry, what’s the significance of ↓ and now this …….
Slide 71: Who said this? “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.”
Slide 72: and now this …….
Slide 73: 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.
Slide 74: 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.
Slide 75: Hyperlinked Text 38% 62% 1. is a sea of distraction 2. strengthens critical thinking
Slide 76: 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.”
Slide 77: Hard Questions • What is happening to deep reading? • How do we develop the proper discipline on the net to not be so easily distracted?
Slide 78: and now this …….
Slide 79: Is this Innovation or Insanity? Culture, Gender, and Identity – taught with World of Warcraft CC Flickr photo by glenn.batuyong
Slide 80: Is this Innovation or Insanity? History of Rock-n-Roll Music course – taught with Guitar Hero CC Flickr photo By 5th Ape
Slide 81: Take your pick 79% 21% 1.Innovation 2.Insanity
Slide 82: Who said insanity? 100 27.27 27.27 Technophobe/ Newbie Male, < 40 yrs. Male, 40 + yrs. Team Scores 26.47 24.49 22.22 18.75 15.22 14.89 14.29 Faculty Perfectly normal Not at a college Female, 40 + yrs. Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Staff or Administrator Female, < 40 yrs.
Slide 83: How amusing is that?
Slide 84: Who said this? “We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.”
Slide 85: and now this …….
Slide 86: DIY U • Anya Kamenetz • Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education
Slide 87: 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?)
Slide 88: 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.
Slide 89: 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.
Slide 90: 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)
Slide 91: 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)
Slide 92: 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
Slide 93: Higher ed needs to change significantly to remain relevant? 82% 18% 1. Agree 2. Disagree
Slide 94: Who Agrees? 92.86 90.91 90 Propeller-head/ Gadget-geek Male, 40 + yrs. Male, < 40 yrs. Team Scores 87.23 82.98 77.78 74.51 71.88 Staff or Administrator Female, 40 + yrs. Not at a college Perfectly normal Faculty 64.29 50 Female, < 40 yrs. Technophobe/ Newbie
Slide 95: Who said this? “We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.”
Slide 96: Who said this? “The medium is the message”
Slide 97: Marshall McLuhan
Slide 98: and now this …….
Slide 99: Linchpins Don’t Need (no stinkin’) Résumés
Slide 100: What is a linchpin?
Slide 101: An artist
Slide 102: What is an artist?
Slide 103: Anyone who does “emotional work”
Slide 104: Work that matters
Slide 105: Heart and soul
Slide 106: Everyone’s an artist now (or could be)
Slide 107: It’s not what you do
Slide 108: It’s how you do it
Slide 109: Make the leap
Slide 110: Be an artist
Slide 111: Do emotional work
Slide 112: It’s a choice
Slide 113: Choose it
Slide 114: Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death? And other book learnin’
Slide 115: 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
Slide 116: Congress should act to stop the abuses of the for-profit universities. 79% 21% 1. Agree 2. Disagree (Back)
Slide 117: Higher Ed Moves Slowly