Belmont University

April 28, 2004

For Faculty, is Technology Yet Another Dragon to Slay?

In a post from March, I vented my frustrations over higher ed administrators whose lack of understanding of technology (perhaps a generational thing) combined with the low rate of return that electronic delivery systems have demonstrated in the past have made many of us look 'less than inteligent' (stupid is the word I used, with regrets). To say that we (administrators, faculty, staff, and students) still have 'issues' is an understatement. Faculty support is a matter of contention at many universities, as a fellow blogger at Teaching Online in Higher Education describes in a recent post, "
Faculty Support - or Lack Thereof"...including a review of Getting Faculty and Management Support is Greatest Challenge of Distance Learning. Read the article and commentary and see if you agree with the assessment.

Posted by admin at 04:47 AM |

April 25, 2004

Digital Divide Defines and Widen Gaps in Global ICT

There is some interesting research on the digital divide from Bridges.org, an international non-profit organization that "promotes the effective use of ICT in the developing world to reduce poverty and improve people's lives." Much of the data on the bridges.org site is quantitative information that describes the gap between developed and undeveloped nations... I was stunned to see that the 14 million phone lines in Manhattan total more than the entire African continent. Of greater interest in the study of technology gaps is what happens once a country gains access (see Bridges.org for their definition of real access) and personal mastery of ICT, particularly computer access to the Internet. In the most general terms, class divisions become more clearly defined and at an exponential rate. The difference in class between the haves and the have nots is relatively easy to understand when a person reads the statistics on levels of available infrastructure from one country to another. What is unseen, particularly by the have nots, is the distance/separation and explosion of advancement in class that those with access experience, in effect, creating a 'super haves' class... leaving the have nots in the proverbial dust.

Posted by admin at 05:46 AM |

April 24, 2004

Does Ethiopia's Technology Dragon Have a Familiar Face?

Yesterday's article in allAfrica.com, Technology Park in Ethiopia: Business of Out-Sourcing and Reversing the Brain Drain has haunted me over night. Woldeloul Kassa, the writer of the article, succinctly defines Ethiopia's technology plight and opens a plan for a technology park for discussion. One subject that he touched upon has a familiar ring:
"The new high tech and information revolution is moving in a warp speed where a life span of a product is being measured in terms of dog years. As technology and products move faster than ever in a global market without boundary, the gap widens between countries that embrace the digital paradigm and that do not."
Perhaps it is the frustration of the week, but I saw reflections of higher education and senior leaders facing similar struggles (granted, on a much smaller scale), that the country and leadership of Ethiopia face. Monetary resources are in short supply, tons of technological solutions are being thrown at you every day, you are fighting a constant battle to gain ground in a faster paced world, and the technical know-how/understanding needed at the top levels of leadership may have departed for more fertile grounds. There is a pattern here that need further study... where is Christopher Alexander when you need him *grin*.

Posted by admin at 12:10 PM |

April 22, 2004

Africa - Entering the Chase Late in the Game

From allafrica.com comes a story by Emeka Aginam, Hi-Tech :- Africa Accounts for 1% of Global Internet Users that speaks to Africa's position in the digital divide and what is needed to bridge that gap as quickly as possible. Recent statistics by the Economic Commission for Africa, ECA, have indicated that African countries account for only 1% of the global internet users. While Africa's internet growth stagnates, Internet is at geometric proportion in the developed economies of the world.

According to H. E Alhaji Aliu Mahama,Vice
President of Republic of Ghana, "systematic approaches to policy making aimed at internet accessibility to the rural areas through the construction of the
rural tele-centres in Africa is considered laudable." "He contended that one important factor which has impact on
development is the use of the internet adding that this is linked to
quality of the broadband telephone service. The Ghanian Vice President noted that it is important for developing
countries to realize that IT can only serve as a tool for economic
development if it is treated as an investment good rather than a
consumption good."
Barriers identified for bridging the digital divide in this instance are notable:
  • infrastructure inadequacy
  • human capacity inadequacy
  • government policies
  • educational handicap
  • image
  • insecurity
  • institutional inadequacies

    Posted by admin at 03:01 PM |

    • April 20, 2004

    BLP - Coming to a Power Line Near You

    A recent Triangle TechJournal article by Daniel Pearson, Research Triangle Park Startup Taps Power Lines to Bridge Digital Divide, outines the revival of the technology to deliver high speed Internet services to rural areas using the existing electric power grid. The article quotes Ted Paczek, vice president of sales and marketing for Copper Road (incorporated March 2002), the company proposing to deliver Internet via the power grid:
    "The Internet is no longer a luxury item. It is a must have service for economic development and education in rural areas. Small towns will continue to suffer without access to high spee Internet connectivity, and BLP (Broadband over Power Lines) is (the most convenient and efficient method) of delivering that service."
    The positive implications of this for education include the following:
  • a wireless source that can integrate with systems within the school system, the classroom, and facilities
  • New management options for the power grid itself
  • Possibility of partnership between a public utility and the schools for afordable Internet service The downside possibilities include some new areas of debate:
  • The technology itself has not been widely tested
  • Creates a proxy relationship between an ISP (Media provider) and a utility company, implying the possiblity of a monopoly
  • Security of both data systems and power systems when the two are essentially merged The global implications are huge. Can you hear the scrambling going on in the board rooms of AOL, MSN, and Comcast to to squelch this monster? Film at 11...

    Posted by admin at 02:38 PM |

    • April 19, 2004

    A Generation with the Tools to Publish Their Emotions

    Something generally motivates an individual to blog or publish something whether that is an academic assignment, a soapbox issue, an area of expertise, or just an exercise to reflect on one's thoughts. There is a generational analogy that I'd like to pursue along with that supposition. Older generations traditionally wrote diaries or journals in some sort of hard copy form... and privacy of that information may have included a small lock on the actual cover or container. Some of those same generations grew up with the telephone booth...a place to go when it was necessary to carry on a phone conversation in a public area. Now, public conversations with the ubiquitous cell phone are hardly private and are growing in acceptance across generational lines. The cell phone generation, however, grew up with an expanded tool set to accomplish their journaling needs and may feel as comfortable in expressing their thoughts online as easily as carrying on a private cell phone conversation in a public venue. The generational technology gap, in this case, may include different motivations as well as the zeitgeist of a new generation's view of privacy and socialization. The Kansas City Star published a story by Nahal Toosi (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) today: Weblogs Creating Whole New Campus Culture.

    Posted by admin at 10:44 AM |

    April 16, 2004

    PDA, the New Crown of Middle School Geekdom

    I still have the slide rule with leather case that I dangled from my belt in George Phillip's advanced math class, my daughter still has the graphic TI calculator that she used at Meigs Magnet School, and my son carries a small camphone in his shirt pocket loaded with more RAM than an Apollo mission landing craft. Those appliances improved the quality of life for my familily members and generally meant an expenditure of less than $100. PDA with dockable keyboardSo, what is the icon of the current generation of school children? Recent articles seem to point to the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Small, powerful, and around $200. An April 16, 2004 story in the Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes Middle Students Using PDA's in the cCassroom talks about a relatively low investment amount, training for teachers, and a host of benefits:
    "The most exciting possibility with the hand-held computers is the student's ability to immediately transmit questions to their teacher's laptop and receive instant feedback." Seventh-grade student Morgan Harris said, "They are really cool and allow you to take notes on them as well as beam questions and answers to the teacher. I think those hand-held computers would be a wonderful experience for all students." "The benefits for teachers include generating reports on student progress, planning, developing and implementing lesson plans, correcting student papers on site, and communicating effectively with students and their parents. Another benefit of using hand-held computers is that they tend to improve students motivation to write."

    Posted by admin at 11:00 AM |

    April 14, 2004

    Learning Community - Meet Paul's Blog (but beware of the Dragon)

    For anyone reading this outside of Belmont University, this post may seem a bit strange, but I promised to introduce Chasing the Dragon's Tale to a class of graduate students (my immediate learning community family) who are currently studying ways to sustain leaning communities. So, here goes: First of all... what is the Dragon? In my first post to this blog back in early March 2004, I explored the Dragon's 'tail' vs 'tale' question. Basically the metaphor is that of a rapidly changing world of technology that includes people who need/want to be aware of what is going on technologically, and with every step toward gaining personal mastery of computers, the technology seems to have already moved one (or several) step ahead... the pace of that movement means that many of us are either left behind or constantly chasing after an ever faster moving target, the technology dragon. In another post, I looked at what generational gaps mean to higher education... this is an area that affects my personal work and may be the seed of a thesis concept. Let me introduce you to a couple of other bloggers who I consider part of my 'learning community of bloggers':
  • Dr. Lawley at Rochester Institute of Technology publishes regularly at momamusings
  • James Farmer is an educational technologist in Melbourne, Australia who writes Incorporated Subversion
  • The generally anonymous author of the University of Texas Pan Am's Teaching Online in Higher Education
  • CogDogBlog (CDB) is Alan Levine's fenced-in area to bark about instructional technology projects at the Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction (mcli), at the Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona
  • For tips on using MovableType (the free software for creating this blog) there is Learning Movable Type, a blog on the technical stuff to make your blog do all sorts of things For my Belmont friends who are new to this blog 'thing', there is much more beneath the surface mechanically/technologically that makes this venture interesting. Posting a comment here is much like adding a discussion post on WebCT...only these posts can be read by any visitors to the site (i.e. they are NOT private). Feel free to post a comment, click on links within the text, or visit other blogs in the list on my blogroll (right hand side of this page).

    Posted by admin at 11:09 AM |

    • April 12, 2004

    High School in the Chase for a Mascot

    Utah's Electric High School has seen a jump to over 19,000 students. The My High School Journalism story, Utah's EHS Feels Power Surge tells of the successes and challenges of offering high school courses online for credit.
    "EHS is a good resource for students who need to make-up credit without having to go to night school or for students such as myself that are sick of classrooms and wish to graduate early. In my opinion the best part about this school, is that even though you never meet your teacher you still get a one-on-one that is rarely seen in a traditional school. The only problem that I have seen so far is the school spirit. EHS needs a mascot to cheer on the football team (we also need that), and what about the school rings?"
    In a related story, the Toledo Blade reports: Schools Offer Online Classes to Stem Exodus of Students. Maybe the technology Dragon will make it to the side of a football helmet in logo form some day...then it may be said in earnest that opposing teams may be Chasing the Dragon's Tailback... (humor me, on this one... I know that it's a stretch).

    Posted by admin at 02:20 PM |

    April 11, 2004

    Is there a Dragon in Your Camp?

    What vision comes to mind when you think of the word 'camp' ? For our older generations, it may conjure up visions of migrant camps from the depression years, military encampments of the war era, southern style religious/revival camp meetings, recreational ventures to a rustic cabin in the woods, or something involving a backpack and a wide open natural area somewhere. Sending today's generation to 'camp' or 'day camp' expands the generational definition...making it appealing to both the older and younger generations. Let's not hint to the younger generation that going to camp may be an effort to conceal an educational experience in a recreational setting (heaven forbid that a child might actually enjoy himself/herself while learning something technical..gasp). Look at the offerings in these two articles:
    Philip Augustine's story, Opening Windows to IT, in the Star Online ; and,
    Yesterday's Macon Telegraph and News: "The Telegraph's 2004 guide to summer camps that entertain and enlighten". For the most part camp in these two stories involves some combination of learning computer skills and enjoying the fresh air. Wow, what a concept (and no, it is not new)! Which raises the question in the generational technology gap discussion: Are we sending the right generation to camp? St. Andrews State Park 2004My family's definition of camping is off the charts. Historically, for me, that meant a sleeping bag under the stars somewhere on the Appalachian Trail. My wife's definition includes the comforts of an RV, and camping is like opening the windows in a Holiday Inn...OK, I embrace that definition, no problem. If you have seen the pictures in earlier posts, however..now, my hammock has become a classroom tool...the place where I can dig into a textbook (or a laptop), still enjoy natural surroundings, and construct my own learning. Send me to 'camp' or send me to 'school'... which would the child in you prefer?

    Posted by admin at 11:23 AM |

    April 09, 2004

    Boomers Closing the Digital Divide - Senior Divide Challenges

    From the April 8, 2004 - cbsnews.com Boomers Closing the Digital Divide reviews a late March Pew Internet and American Life Project. The full report in PDF is here: Pew Internet and American Life Project .
    Notable reasons for the older generation's lack of Internet use:
  • Lack of computer experience
  • Little knowledge of the Internet
  • Age associated disabilities (particularly failing vision) From the Pew Internet and American Life Project :

    "In 1996, just 2% of Americans age 65 or older went online. By the year 2000, that percent had increased to 15% of seniors. In a February 2004 survey, 22% of Americans age 65 or older reported having access to the Internet. This represents a 47% increase between 2000 and 2004. Eight million seniors now go online. By contrast, 58% of Americans age 50-64, 75% of 30-49 year-olds, and 77% of 18-29 year-olds go online as of February 2004. If they do not go online, seniors are the least likely group to live with someone who does. Just 13% of non-users age 65 or older live in a household with Internet access, compared to 35% of non-users age 50-64 years old. "

    Posted by admin at 02:59 PM |

    • The Dragon Leaves Tracks - Good News about Trackback

    The ever growing community of bloggers is incredibly helpful to one another... particularly to those who express genuine interest in learning the in's and out's of blogging tools. Many thanks to Lee Lefever at Common Craft for his TrackBack Described in Plain English. In the last few months, my discovery of a loosely defined subculture and learning community of educational bloggers has been an incredible journey. Using the trackback feature in blogging software is in part a way to say thank you and to give proper credit to the efforts of others. Let me encourage you to include trackback as part of your chase of the Dragon... quoting a recent student's comment. "It's easy enough...even a parent can do it"

    Posted by admin at 12:50 PM |

    April 08, 2004

    Instant Messaging - Paradigm or Curse - Blame the Dragon!

    For a writing instructor, I can just imagine the horror and red ink that is spawned from the sight of IM (Instant Messaging) shorthand on a writing assignment. From the goal of leading students into the world of communicating intelligently, IM looks something like a plague attacking all that is academically acceptable and proper. From a parent's perspective, there are a plethora of issues. From the perspective of encouraging students to think, to be creative, and to increase keyboard skills IM looks more like constructivist learning with a big smiley, :), permanently attached. Good Read by Robert Farmer, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada : Instant Messaging ? Collaborative Tool or Educator?s nightmare! I asked a college administrator recently what he thought about Instant Messaging...and he responded that email is a fact of life and that he was not sure that describing it as instant was applicable.

    Posted by admin at 04:28 PM |

    April 07, 2004

    Plagiarism Dragon will Bite Some Students in the...uh, 'Class'

    Yesterday's Detroit Free Press (freep.com) article, New Software Detects Plagiarized Passages, graphically illustrates the magnitude of Internet use by students and a significantly lower level of sophistication by university faculty members:
    "Clearly, plagiarism is a growing problem. In a survey of 30,000 undergraduates at 34 colleges, 37 percent admitted committing cut-and-paste plagiarism using the Internet, up from 10 percent in 1999. Only 20 percent of their professors use plagiarism-detection tools, according to the survey by Rutgers University professor Don McCabe, founder of the Center for Academic Integrity. Plagiarism detectors can be relatively cheap insurance against intellectual property sins, but many businesses and even educators remain reluctant to use them. Some fear lawsuits if they accuse someone of cheating. And deciding what amounts to actual plagiarism remains a judgment call that humans must make, creators of the software say."
    Few universities want to adopt a big brother posture...but this (Internet plagiarism) Dragon has serious implications for academia as well as industry. Gaining ground on the Dragon may or may not be a priority for many institutions... and it would be a shame if the first efforts at grabbing the Dragon's tail have such negative implications.

    Posted by admin at 03:05 PM |

    April 05, 2004

    Who is the 'Zwangtta'? Koreans Note Internet Benefits and Liabilities

    The Korea Herald reports this morning:
    Elderly, Poor and Lower Educated Have Less Access to Information, Services. Somehow, that doesn't sound like surprising news...one might expect that older generations might be reluctant to embrace a technology that is unfamiliar. The article describes many of the benefits that Koreans enjoy from a govenmental effort to make broadband access available to the entire populace, however, it also identifies who is the 'Ζwangtta' (Korean for loser) in this explosion of access.

    Posted by admin at 02:15 PM |

    April 04, 2004

    Disecting the Dragon - Removing the Fear of Technology

    Have you even taken the cover off of your desktop computer? If you did, were you surprised at how much of the interior was dedicated to 'air space'? Did you notice that just about everything inside 'plugs in' rather than being soldered? It was a shock to me a few years ago when I ventured into the depths of 'the box', my personal Dragon, and made those observations... I dismissed the simplicity of the inner workings, still a bit overwhelmed by the mechanisms, and rationalized that in order to get the kind of price that computer manufactures ask, the box needs to look ominous in size and complexity. Dell TechKnow StudentsYesterday's Business Wire, www.businesswire.com, includes a story of a partnership between Dell and a New Orleans middle school: 'New Orleans Middle School Students Showcase Computer Skills, Training Provided by Dell; New Program Involving School District, Mayor and Dell Closes Technology Gap'.
    "Students learn how to take apart and rebuild the computer, install software; upgrade, diagnose and fix basic hardware problems; and how to use the word processing and educational software. In addition, students must meet certain program requirements such as attending school, demonstrating good citizenship and sustaining or improving their grades. Upon completion of the course, students earn a refurbished Dell desktop computer, operating system and software to take home and one year of free Internet access."

    (To access the full report, you need to register with an email address and a password...but registration does not (yet) generate spam.) There are several elements of this story that are significant to the digital divide:
  • The age group of partcipants (middle school students)
  • A partnership with a corporate leader (Dell)
  • Collaboration with local high school science and math teachers
  • The hands-on approach to learning/de-mystifying the technology
  • A common goal of bridging a generational as well as socio-economic divide
  • A level of shared responsibility of all involved for the learning
    Elements of learning communities are apparent in the approach and upon appraisal/reflection will likely be part of the program's success. The Dell TechKnow has been around for nearly four years and should be the subject of research on the subject of reducing the digital divide.

    Posted by admin at 02:45 PM |

    • April 01, 2004

    Kids Graduate from High School and Fall Into the Gap

    Senior Editor, Joseph Garcia, of the Tucson Citizen offers his intuitive view on the generational gap in technology: Kids need to jump on, ride technology's wave to future and that does not mean conquering PlayStation, surfing the Internet, or programming a VCR so that the clock isn't flashing 12:00. From Garcia's article:
    "I believe the term 'technology' scared the kids away like beets on a dinner plate. ...We must first educate the educators. They can't teach what they don't know. Teachers need more training."

    Posted by admin at 09:36 PM | | Comments (2)

    Sir Paul - Knighted for Destroying the Technology Dragon

    Sir Paul :)For his diligence in conquering the Technology Dragon, Paul received his knighthood in the wee hours of today...Knight Exemplar of the XML Order, keeper of the sacred techno-documentaria, and defender of sociodigitally challenged academia. The honor, bestowed upon Sir Paul, was accomplished via a virtual ceremony during which laptops in the royal palace successfully installed Instant Messaging and conferred the honors electronically. Only Key Board members were present to witness the event. Elements of the TOD (Tops of Desk) were not present due to previous sleep mode engagements. ...and the Dragon smiled.
    (Happy April Fools Day!)

    Posted by admin at 11:14 AM |

    Library Inadvertently Defines Generational Digital Divide - For One Dollar

    The idea of a public library charging for internet access is not news. Many libraries charge non-residents a nominal hourly fee for using their computers to access the Internet. That can be genuine service for someone traveling and not wanting to invest in all of the paraphenalia (and respective charges) to hook up a cell phone to a laptop (or some other means of personal access). The story in today's The Star Ledger (NJ), Information, Free No More, is largely about criticism that the library received for creating an economic hardship on lower income, local resident users who wish to use the Internet. From the Dragon's perspective, the Bloomfield (Essex County - "working-class community with a growing immigrant population" ) library gives us a new definition of a generational gap that is age and geographically specific:

    "The library's new policy (to charge one dollar per hour for Internet access) began Feb. 9. Bloomfield residents 19 years old and younger and college students with a Bloomfield library card are exempt. "

    Likely, the assumption that working folks wouldn't be hurt by a one dollar charge, unfortunately, communicates that generationally if you are younger, you need access to do constructive/academic work...if you are older, your access is just for recreation/email...and besides that, you are older..so you can afford it! In their defense, the library is attempting to recover expenses and be fiscally responsible...'A' for effort. The unintended consequence, in addition to a lot of flack from the American Library Association et ux, is that the library is perceived as denying access to people with lower economic means. It is amazing that the AARP has not (yet) joined the fray to say that this is discrimination against senior citizens. When that happens, the generational definition is validated. Final Score: Dragon 1, Library 0

    Posted by admin at 11:03 AM |