On Stupidity, Part 2 - Chronicle.com

Michel Roland's personal annotations on this page

Bibliothecaire bookmarked on 2008-09-30 education digital_natives pratiques_informationnelles learning chronicle.com

Essentially I see students having difficulty following or making extended analytical arguments. In particular, they tend to use easily obtained, superficial, and unreliable online sources as a way of satisfying minimal requirements for citations rather than seeking more authoritative sources in the library and online. Without much evidence at their disposal, they tend to fall back on their feelings, which are personal and, they think, beyond questioning.

In that context, professors are seen as peevish bureaucrats from whom students need to extract high grades on the road to a career in which problems with writing and critical analysis will somehow not matter.
One of the purposes of teaching, as I see it, is to negotiate the differences, real and imagined, between generations. At the moment, that means meeting the "digital natives" where they are, but it also means expecting them to meet the "digital immigrants" — the people who were not raised in front of personal computers — where we are.
For example, I have continued to lecture in many of my courses, but I have gradually learned to make lectures more stimulating and interactive by weaving together multiple threads of analysis using images, video, audio, artifacts, and readings — and asking the students to perform those readings. The lectures are designed to make a sustained argument, but they also have multiple points of entry, so that students are not lost after a momentary lapse of attention. Added to that are intervals of rest — in which concentration can slacken for a few minutes, as concepts are considered and discussed — before the harder analysis is resumed.
I know there are educators who strongly oppose the use of the lecture. "Chalk and talk," they call it, and insist upon group work. And I respect that view, particularly since it has nearly banished the dry, droning professor, reading from yellowed notes. But the taboo against lecturing sometimes impairs the freedom of teachers to experiment with a traditional method in a way that can both respond to the skills of the "digital natives" — such as interconnectivity and intuition — while training them in the use of evidence and rational argumentation.
If digital technologies are a cause of "stupidity," it is because we have spent freely on computers — among other things — without also giving comparable support to college teachers. The students have been left to negotiate a cultural paradigm shift, comparable to the print and industrial revolutions, with inadequate support from the institutions created to help them.

And that strikes me as unambiguously stupid.

This link has been bookmarked by 10 people . It was first bookmarked on 07 Sep 2008, by Daisy PhD.

08 Feb 09

gregoryda
General
30 Sep 08

Maximillian Kaizen
future skills brain learning innovation attention
Michel Roland
education digital_natives pratiques_informationnelles learning chronicle.com
- Essentially I see students having difficulty following or making extended analytical arguments. In particular, they tend to use easily obtained, superficial, and unreliable online sources as a way of satisfying minimal requirements for citations rather than seeking more authoritative sources in the library and online. Without much evidence at their disposal, they tend to fall back on their feelings, which are personal and, they think, beyond questioning.
  
  In that context, professors are seen as peevish bureaucrats from whom students need to extract high grades on the road to a career in which problems with writing and critical analysis will somehow not matter.
- One of the purposes of teaching, as I see it, is to negotiate the differences, real and imagined, between generations. At the moment, that means meeting the "digital natives" where they are, but it also means expecting them to meet the "digital immigrants" — the people who were not raised in front of personal computers — where we are.
- 3 more annotations...
- - For example, I have continued to lecture in many of my courses, but I have gradually learned to make lectures more stimulating and interactive by weaving together multiple threads of analysis using images, video, audio, artifacts, and readings — and asking the students to perform those readings. The lectures are designed to make a sustained argument, but they also have multiple points of entry, so that students are not lost after a momentary lapse of attention. Added to that are intervals of rest — in which concentration can slacken for a few minutes, as concepts are considered and discussed — before the harder analysis is resumed.
  - I know there are educators who strongly oppose the use of the lecture. "Chalk and talk," they call it, and insist upon group work. And I respect that view, particularly since it has nearly banished the dry, droning professor, reading from yellowed notes. But the taboo against lecturing sometimes impairs the freedom of teachers to experiment with a traditional method in a way that can both respond to the skills of the "digital natives" — such as interconnectivity and intuition — while training them in the use of evidence and rational argumentation.
  - If digital technologies are a cause of "stupidity," it is because we have spent freely on computers — among other things — without also giving comparable support to college teachers. The students have been left to negotiate a cultural paradigm shift, comparable to the print and industrial revolutions, with inadequate support from the institutions created to help them.
    
    And that strikes me as unambiguously stupid.
15 Sep 08

Dave Duarte
A teacher looks at how technology affects the way he teaches, and the way his students learn

chronicle.com stupidity attention ebm postmodern relativism
09 Sep 08

Peter Klausner
- If digital technologies are a cause of "stupidity," it is because we have spent freely on computers â€” among other things â€” without also giving comparable support to college teachers. The students have been left to negotiate a cultural paradigm shift, comparable to the print and industrial revolutions, with inadequate support from the institutions created to help them.
  
  And that strikes me as unambiguously stupid.
John Allen
Has points about using Web 2.0. Use for NCTE.

Web 2.0
- One of the purposes of teaching, as I see it, is to negotiate the differences, real and imagined, between generations. At the moment, that means meeting the "digital natives" where they are, but it also means expecting them to meet the "digital immigrants" — the people who were not raised in front of personal computers — where we are.
- That doesn't mean we should stop teaching the traditional essay and research paper, but it does mean we need to teach students to work in other genres, such as writing for blogs and wikis, creating podcasts and PowerPoint presentations, and participating in social-networking sites. They need to be comfortable in a variety of online environments, understand Web etiquette, know how to protect their privacy and respect the privacy of others, and learn how to evaluate various sources of information.
  
  But such teaching requires a lot of time. It means being constantly available, developing intricate presentations, coming to class early to set things up, and staying afterward for conversations. It requires giving students careful feedback on writing assignments and rarely using multiple-choice and short-answer exams. And it requires looking for new ways to enhance learning rather than relying exclusively on what we already know.
Kevin Painting
culture
- Exactly how should we teach the 'digital natives'?
08 Sep 08

treyf 22
- Exactly how should we teach the 'digital natives'?
robertawd
Books education
07 Sep 08

Daisy PhD
"digital natives"

literacy youth teaching