tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/digital-classroom-4551/articlesdigital classroom – The Conversation2022-08-01T11:27:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1802742022-08-01T11:27:01Z2022-08-01T11:27:01ZHow some children prospered in pandemic online learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472611/original/file-20220705-14-hnv4ez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2064%2C1198&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One child constructed a city out of cardboard boxes from his recent move to Canada. He shared this with classmates, free from the language barrier that made in-person school a struggle. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For parents, children and teachers, one of the most striking memories of the pandemic will be the sudden transition to online learning. </p>
<p>Many educators, parents and children struggled with online education <a href="https://theconversation.com/kindergarten-educators-with-children-at-home-struggled-during-the-pandemic-mental-health-supports-are-needed-175210">when schools were closed</a>, and were relieved when classroom instruction resumed. </p>
<p>While media often seemed to report <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/26/health/cdc-remote-learning-kids-mental-health-wellness/index.html">on negative</a> <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/covid-19-pandemic-disrupted-schooling-impact/">aspects of online schooling</a>, this was not a universal experience.</p>
<p>In my education research with international colleagues about <a href="https://www.teachered-network.com/projects/advost">socially innovative interventions to foster and advance young children’s inclusion and agency in society</a> during the pandemic, we worked with teachers as they implemented research insights <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X19875767">about teaching practices that support listening to children’s voices</a>.</p>
<p>In our study, we saw that through the pandemic, for some children, the online environment was an extension of how teaching practices like dedicated dialogue circles presented ways children’s opinions and thoughts could be shared. For these children, enforced online schooling overall was a positive experience and not a struggle. </p>
<p>In Canada, our research took place during almost the entirety of the pandemic in diverse and economically challenged Eastern Canadian schools. </p>
<h2>Some students preferred online learning</h2>
<p>Classrooms can be intimidating social spaces, and when they suddenly became <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2021/07/07/children-during-covid">virtual, some students found the digital space</a> better suited their needs. </p>
<p>Xavier was a newly arrived Canadian who had just entered Grade 4 <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-covid-school-announcement-jan-13-1.6312653">when the lockdown began</a> in the spring of 2020. We learned that the online classroom gave him catch-up time, within a welcoming space, in which he could build English language skills. </p>
<p>Developing friendships, relationships and furthering educational goals all came easier to him when the confusion of a new language was eased, and he was able to learn at his own pace. The adaptability of the digital space was important. The stability, quietness and the possibility for students to go at their own pace — and some benefits of this — all became more transparent with the pivot to online classrooms. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2IGaLrmAlzg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Webinar about socially innovative interventions to foster and advance young children’s inclusion and agency in society.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>A break from language barriers</h2>
<p>Online learning gave some children autonomy, and a break from the business of curriculum for children to work independently on projects. </p>
<p>In one home-based project shared online, Xavier constructed an entire city out of cardboard boxes left over from his recent move to Canada. He was delighted to share this with his classmates, free from the language barrier that made his in-school days a struggle. </p>
<p>When asked why it was easier to talk to each other on camera, a new Canadian student, Abdul, who sometimes struggled with English, said “because no one could interrupt me.” </p>
<p>Some new Canadian parents were able to learn English together in the virtual classroom. One teacher has an email from a parent to thank her for the wonderful picture books and reading time she shared daily.</p>
<h2>Families reunited</h2>
<p>For the many out-of-province workers who reside in Alberta but call Newfoundland and Labrador home other days of the year, online schooling brought family reunification. </p>
<p>One student, Roxy, talked about how less stressful life was while in Alberta with both her mother and father: “Mom went to work in Newfoundland online and I went to school,” she said. She was also able to assist an aunt with a newly arrived baby while residing in Alberta.</p>
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<img alt="A mother seen at a laptop with a child." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472627/original/file-20220705-27-57n64i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Online schooling allowed some families with parents working in other provinces to be geographically reunited.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Parents played larger role</h2>
<p>We found in our study that parents also <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/schools-closed-effects-nl-1.6306510">played a larger role</a> in daily education, both learning from and assisting in teaching their children. </p>
<p>Children like Liv, whose mother helped her perform a song during her classroom’s “show and share,” integrated their parents and home lives into the virtual learning. Although some children struggled to find quiet spaces, even these scenarios had positive effects as parents, (reluctant or not), entered into discussions about their children’s school lives.</p>
<p>One mother, Tammy, pointed out that her children’s online classes gave her a unique window into a part of her children’s lives that she had previously known little about. She said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It was amazing to see how the teacher interacted with the children … My daughter was much more animated than she is at home, she shared a lot more … She’s not always eager to go to school, but she could not wait to log onto the google class.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Free from disruptions</h2>
<p>Some children enjoyed an environment free from the distractions found in classrooms, such as school announcements or classmates’ challenging behaviours. Children were also exposed to each other’s home settings, which encouraged mutual empathy. </p>
<p>“Everyone’s home lives went on around them,” remembered one teacher. “Pets and younger siblings came and went, phones rang, people ate, doorbells rang — we all just got used to it.”</p>
<p>Some students were quick to point out the extra time earned from not having to go to after school programming and childcare. </p>
<p>In our focus group interviews with teachers, they noted that some children who were behaviourally challenged in the classroom did much better online. “Perhaps it made the learning environment a little less overwhelming,” explained one teacher, “and so the focus was more on academics.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bullying-racism-and-being-different-why-some-families-are-opting-for-remote-learning-regardless-of-covid-19-165063">Bullying, racism and being 'different': Why some families are opting for remote learning regardless of COVID-19</a>
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<h2>More sharing</h2>
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<img alt="A child at a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472629/original/file-20220705-5022-zyewyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students shared on a more private level when participating in breakout rooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>One of the best things about online learning for teachers in our study was that all their students were able to share on a more private level. Breakout rooms allowed children to connect with the teachers and their friends in a disruption-free way.</p>
<p>Over time, parents and teachers also discovered aspects of the experience they found positive. </p>
<p>In the past two decades <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12230">integrating digital devices into education</a> has often been an awkward process, often with more effort going into limiting their use and distractions, rather than embracing their benefits.</p>
<p>As educators, we need to rethink how children and technology can interact in the classroom <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429259630-14/theorising-spaces-places-skills-tools-voice-work-early-childhood-caralyn-blaisdell">and various ways children’s voices can be supported</a> in different spaces.</p>
<p><em>Erin Power, a teacher in St. John’s, N.L, and a researcher with the “Socially Innovative Interventions to Foster and to Advance Young Children’s Inclusion and Agency in Society through Voice and Story” project, co-authored this story.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Burke is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>Researchers studying ways to foster children’s inclusion in society worked with teachers to adapt classroom practices, like dedicated dialogue circles, to online learning.Anne Burke, Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533392016-02-10T04:37:47Z2016-02-10T04:37:47ZTechnology will make lecturers redundant – but only if they let it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110586/original/image-20160208-2637-8blvwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It may look like science fiction, but this is the new reality of technology-driven learning. Lecturers must keep up.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yuriko Nakao/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A teacher walks into a classroom and begins a lesson. As she speaks, the <a href="http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2014/05/27/microsoft-demos-breakthrough-in-real-time-translated-conversations/">audio is translated in real time</a> into a variety of languages that students have pre-selected, so each can hear the lecturer’s voice in their own language. It can even be <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/29/tech/innovation/bone-conduction-get-used/">delivered directly into their auditory canal</a> so that it does not disturb other students. The lecturer’s voice is also transcribed in real-time, appearing in a display that <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/21/augmented-reality-glasses-for-the-masses-for-2750.html">presents digital content</a> over the students’ visual field.</p>
<p>As the lesson progresses, students identify concepts they feel need further clarification. They submit highly individual queries to search engines that use <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-26/google-turning-its-lucrative-web-search-over-to-ai-machines">artificial intelligence algorithms</a> to filter and synthesise results from a variety of sources. This information is presented in their augmented reality system, along with the sources used, and additional detail in the form of images and animations.</p>
<p>All of the additional information gathered by students is collated into a single set of notes for the lesson, along with video and audio recordings of the interactions. It’s then published to the <a href="http://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/9/a-personal-cyberinfrastructure">class server</a>.</p>
<p>This isn’t science fiction. All of the technology described here currently exists. Over time it will become more automated, economical and accurate.</p>
<p>What does a scenario like the one described here mean for lecturers who think that “teaching” means selecting and packaging information for students? There are many <a href="http://www.lonestar.edu/multimedia/SevenPrinciples.pdf">excellent theoretical reasons</a> for why simply covering the content or “getting through the syllabus” has no place in higher education. But for the purposes of this article I’ll focus on the powerful <em>practical</em> reasons that lecturers who merely cover the content are on a guaranteed path to redundancy.</p>
<h2>The future isn’t coming - it’s here</h2>
<p>The technology described above may sound outlandish and seem totally out of most students’ reach. But consider the humble - and ubiquitous - smartphone. A decade ago, the iPhone didn’t exist. Five years ago most students in my classes at a South African university didn’t have smartphones. Today, <a href="http://memeburn.com/2014/08/16-graphs-that-shed-new-light-on-the-south-african-smartphone-space/">most do</a>. Research shows that this growth is <a href="http://qz.com/451844/africas-smartphone-market-is-on-the-rise-as-affordable-handsets-spur-growth/">mirrored across Africa</a>. The first cellphones were prohibitively expensive, but now smartphones and tablets are handed out to people opening a bank account. The technology on these phones is also becoming <a href="http://www.mooreslaw.org/">increasingly powerful</a>, and will continue to advance so that what is cutting edge today will be mainstream in about five years’ time.</p>
<p>This educational technology can change the way that university students learn. But ultimately, machines can’t replace teachers. Unless, that is, teachers are just selecting and packaging content with a view to “getting through the syllabus”. As demonstrated above, computers and algorithms are becoming increasingly adept at the filtering and synthesis of specialised information. Teachers who focus on the real role of universities - teaching students how to think <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED338557">deeply and critically</a> - and who have an open mind, needn’t fear this technology.</p>
<h2>Crucial role of universities</h2>
<p>In a society where <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-big-data-can-transform-society-for-the-better/">machines</a> are taking over more and more of our decision-making, we must acknowledge that the value of a university is not the academics who see their work as controlling access to specialised knowledge. </p>
<p>Rather, it’s that higher education institutions constitute spaces that encourage in-depth investigation into the nature of the world. The best university teachers don’t just focus on content because doing so would reduce their roles to information filters who simply make decisions about what content is important to cover. </p>
<p>Digital tools are quickly getting to the point where algorithms will outperform experts, not only in filtering content but also in synthesising it. Teachers should embrace technology by encouraging their students to build knowledge through digital networks both within and outside the academy. That way they will never become redundant. And they’ll ensure that their graduates are critical thinkers, not just technological gurus.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53339/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Rowe receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Educational technology is not science fiction. Lecturers need to ensure that they adapt to a future which has already arrived.Michael Rowe, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510562015-12-02T04:15:37Z2015-12-02T04:15:37ZWhy ‘binge watching’ is to blame for kids not learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102824/original/image-20151123-18267-121nbao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Merely consuming digital content doesn't do much for kids. But digital tools can introduce them to new ways of creating.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Collins English Dictionary unveiled a thoroughly modern concept as its word of the year for 2015: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34723515">binge watching</a>. It usually refers to consuming endless hours of movies or series on Netflix, one after the other. But binge watching is about the more fundamental issue of the world’s obsession with content consumption. </p>
<p>A recent report on media use reveals that teens are now spending more hours consuming media <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens">than sleeping</a>. The average American teenager is spending about nine hours a day on entertainment media alone. Is this really the huge problem it’s made out to be? Partly, yes - because while they are engaging with a lot of information during those nine hours, they are creating barely any content of their own in this time. </p>
<p>This passivity is being replicated in classrooms. What will it take to replace these with engaged, active classrooms?</p>
<h2>Consuming - but not creating</h2>
<p>All too often, parents see their children on devices and say: “You’re wasting your time.”</p>
<p>There may be times when this is true. But today’s devices are not like the single function radios and televisions their parents grew up with. In the past if a child was spending lots of time in front of the TV it was obvious they were doing only one thing - watching TV. Modern devices allow for a wide range of activities from consumption to conversation to creation. Even sitting in front of a TV a child today could be doing anything from having a conversation, playing a game, watching a movie or creating a world in <a href="https://minecraft.net/">Minecraft</a>.</p>
<p>The problem arises when children aren’t doing any of these things during their nine hours of entertainment media. The research shows that on average, kids are spending about 40% of this time on “passive consumption” compared with just 3% of their time on content creation.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102819/original/image-20151123-18267-1srnzcg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Children barely spend any of their time online actively creating content.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/census">Common Sense Media</a></span>
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<p>It would be easy to dismiss this if it only happened at home, in children’s own time. But there ought to be concern when this trend is picked up and implemented in classrooms. This is unfortunately exactly what’s happening.</p>
<h2>New tech, old methods</h2>
<p>Schools are making a headlong rush to <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/education-technology-spend-reaches-13-billion-2014-06-11">digitise the classroom</a>. The media is awash with stories about tablets being rolled <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2015/07/20/Over-300-Gauteng-public-schools-to-get-tablets">out</a>, <a href="http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?id=144795">smartboards</a> being installed or <a href="https://theconversation.com/youtube-a-valuable-educational-tool-not-just-cat-videos-34863">YouTubed</a> classrooms. All of these technologies have great potential - yet at their core they are all about consumption. They do little to move the learner from a passive consumer to someone who is actively engaged.</p>
<p>The result is fuelling our students’ “binge watching”, passive consumption diet. It is also leading to more and more <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34174796">studies</a> suggesting that technology is not working in the classroom.</p>
<p>However, maybe it’s not the technology that isn’t working, but the <em>way</em> we’re using it. There is no doubt that our education system needs a revolution. That doesn’t mean doing what we have always done and just <a href="https://theconversation.com/outdated-teaching-methods-will-blunt-technologys-power-40503">silicon coating it</a>. A revolution needs new approaches to teaching and learning. It must be based on activity, not passivity.</p>
<h2>Active classrooms are possible</h2>
<p>What is exciting is that the seeds for an activated classroom approach are already found in children’s current media habits. All that teachers and parents need to do is harness them. Another way to look at Common Sense Media’s <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens">research</a> is in terms of the active things children are doing with media. </p>
<p>While they may be spending 40% of their time on passive consumption, they are spending 3% of their time creating content, 25% on “interactive consumption” and 26% communicating. That means they’re spending more than half their time actively engaging with media. It is these activities that hold promise for the future of classrooms. </p>
<p>Teachers must encourage a move away from passive content consumption towards active engagement with media in their classrooms. For example, rather than providing students with prepackaged course content, students can source and curate their own content using tools like <a href="http://www.flipboard.com">Flipboard</a>. Rather than passively watching videos, students can be actively involved in creating their own videos about the content. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Students create a video to learn about chemistry.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Rather than simply reading content through books or ebooks, students can rather engage in conversations around the content, with tools like Google Hangouts.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Using Google Hangouts for conversations.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Towards an activated classroom</h2>
<p>While the binge watching trend may signal a worrying focus on consumption, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2004.tb00809.x/abstract">research</a> shows that active teaching and learning approaches are good for students. The future of our classrooms relies on teachers harnessing this energy, combining it with the benefits of technology - then activating learning in the classroom. By moving students from passive readers and hearers to active curators and creators, teachers can significantly impact both students’ enthusiasm in the classroom and how much they learn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Blewett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teenagers spend more time consuming media than they do sleeping. Most of this consumption is passive - a habit that’s creeping into classrooms, too.Craig Blewett, Senior Lecturer in Education & Technology, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/391582015-04-08T13:52:52Z2015-04-08T13:52:52ZShould all university lectures be automatically recorded?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76171/original/image-20150326-8713-dlkgp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What will become of the lecture?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Video camera via Vereshchagin Dmitry/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities across the world are considering whether to start automatically recording lectures. Some <a href="http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/itservices/about/events/it-focus-week/whats-on/contribute/lecture-capture-debate-summary">students are voting for it</a>. And the IT industry has created <a href="http://echo360.com/">some seductive products</a> to record lectures, a process also known as “lecture capture”. Some onlookers expect a hesitant response from the higher education sector, which is often <a href="http://redarchive.nmc.org/publications/2014-horizon-report-higher-ed">portrayed as cautious</a> about taking up educational technologies. </p>
<p>Yet lobbing new resources into complex settings deserves caution. Our universities are rich human ecosystems and, as such, they can prove fragile in the face of interventions. A new technology such as the automatic recording of lectures does not just add something good to the learning context – it re-configures it, but in uncertain ways. Perhaps to inspire, perhaps to disrupt but, most likely, to create new dynamics with both positive and negative effects.</p>
<p>The positives are pretty easy to imagine. For instance, some lectures are challenging (or obscure) and so need to be heard more than once. Recordings might free the student to fully engage at the live event while taking more measured notes on the second viewing. Those without English as their first language may be particular beneficiaries. Meanwhile, lecturers can review students’ use of their presentations – perhaps noting sections that attract frequent re-visiting and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131514000591">so identify points </a> where repair or elaboration might be useful. </p>
<p>But we have a responsibility to ensure that, on balance, any disturbance enriches rather than disrupts the vitality of the teaching and learning ecosystem. The potential downsides of lecture capture gather around three themes: changes to student experience, changes in teacher practices, and the re-shaping of institutional strategy.</p>
<p>Making recordings of lectures freely available to students could lead to a fall-off in attendance of the live lectures themselves. There is scarce research on whether it does and, besides, in order to know the answer to this we’d need this experiment in recording lectures to become properly established. </p>
<p>But <a href="http://top.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/12/04/0098628313514172.abstract">if attendance did drop</a>, it would risk further de-personalising learning. A live lecture cultivates students’ capacity for sustained attention to a narrative unfolding in real time, and also reinforces habits of prompt and effective note-taking.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76172/original/image-20150326-8689-1o46t3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just in time for the lecture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Man laptop via Rock and Wasp/www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether or not attendance is disrupted the organised recording of lectures by universities – versus the <a href="http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/pages/docdetail/docs/case-studies/university-of-dundee-guidelines-for-students-on-the-audio-recording-of-lectures">under-the-desk recording</a> by students – risks putting too much importance on the lecture in the learning experience. This could be counter-productive for staff wishing to stimulate a wide range of study practices. This danger is that the lecture may increasingly be interpreted by students as being “the main thing”, prompting them to anxiously reproduce its contents in assignments. Similarly, ready access to replays may encourage procrastination and then episodes of “binge studying” around the time of examinations. Such study habits are <a href="http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/11/spaced-education-boosts-learning">known to be unhelpful</a> and so we can do without further temptations towards them. </p>
<h2>Performance anxiety</h2>
<p>Another anxiety concerns the <a href="https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-358536336/lights-camera-action-coaching-instructors-for-on-camera">physical presence</a> of the lecturer in front of his or her students: their gestures, movements, facial expressions, and eye contact. Students using recordings will miss much of this, while lecturers may need to inhibit action to accommodate fixed cameras. </p>
<p>More controversially, lecturing may morph into performing: with modes of presentation that play up to the camera (or microphone). Perhaps most worrying would be if lecturers start avoiding controversy and taking risks in both the content they use and their presentation. Content, because a recording is unforgiving in its permanence and vulnerable to uncontrolled circulation beyond its intended audience. Presentation, because lecturers may become more cautious about interactive formats: if students show uneasiness about being recorded taking part (or, indeed, demanding consent to be recorded doing so).</p>
<p>Educational technologists speak of “re-usable learning objects” – and recorded lectures could fall into this category. Suppose a lecturer was asked to speak at a conference but it awkwardly clashed with a lecturing commitment – it might be tempting to grab last year’s <a href="http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/16928">recording and simply re-cycle it</a>. </p>
<p>But a recorded lecture may not always serve the lecturer so generously. Metrics on how many students view these recordings may soon become part of a “big data” story – integrated with <a href="https://theconversation.com/tick-box-surveys-arent-the-only-way-to-measure-student-satisfaction-28780">metrics of course evaluation</a> and workload as a contested part of an academic’s personal development planning or a university’s audit. </p>
<h2>Who’s watching?</h2>
<p>Perhaps the biggest institutional concern will arise around how all this appears from outside. With study resources migrating to virtual learning environments and now classroom activity migrating to join them, we risk an apparent “MOOC-ification” of teaching – where all lectures could be viewed as part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/massive-open-online-courses">massive open online course</a>. This could leave parents, among others, asking difficult questions about the content and value for money of higher education.</p>
<p>Personally, I am in favour of lecture capture: at least, a version in which audio is presented along with any slides. But I am more concerned that the occasion for its use should be entrusted to individual academics and not imposed upon them: in short, it <a href="http://www.city.ac.uk/about/education/lead/sle/learning-technologies/lecture-capture">should be opt-in</a>. And I am most concerned with the need to highlight the responsibility that this creates: lecturers must reflect on their practice and articulate clearly to their students why or why not to capture what happens in the classroom. I believe students will value, understand and respect their reasoning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Crook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If all lectures are caught on camera, it will be a step change for higher education.Charles Crook, Professor of Education, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/387402015-03-31T06:13:13Z2015-03-31T06:13:13ZDo mobile devices in the classroom really improve learning outcomes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76386/original/image-20150329-16135-18q9tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tablets and smartphones in the classroom are new enough that there's not a clear consensus on their usefulness.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bibliotecascoruna/11437919093">Bibliotecas Municipais da Coruña</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/part-ii-teachers-own-use-of-the-internet-and-mobile-tools/">58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones</a> — 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0828/An-iPad-for-every-student-What-Los-Angeles-school-district-is-thinking">iPad for every student</a>. In 2013, an estimated <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/08/07/views-shift-on-cell-phones-in-schools/2607381/">25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies</a> in place and it’s reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years.</p>
<p>What do these mobile devices really add, though? Is there more to this tech trend than just grabbing the attention of students? Is mobile technology boosting classroom instruction, or is it all just a flashy way to accomplish the same things as analog instruction?</p>
<h2>Research finds benefits of mobile technology</h2>
<p>That same Pew Research Center survey asked a group of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers about the educational impact of Internet technology in the classroom. Here’s what those teachers had to say about mobile technology specifically:</p>
<ul>
<li>73% of the teachers reported using mobile technology in their classrooms, either through their own instruction or by allowing students to use it to complete assignments</li>
<li>English teachers are more likely to use mobile technology in the classroom than math teachers</li>
<li>47% of teachers strongly agreed, and an additional 44% somewhat agreed, that students need digital literacy courses to be successful academically and beyond.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even little pupils use tablets in some lesson plans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/colegioabg/16347855445">abg_colegio</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As far back as 2010, reports were surfacing that mobile apps are not only engaging, but educational, for children as young as preschool. PBS Kids, in partnership with the US Department of Education, found that the vocabulary of kids ages three to seven who played its Martha Speaks mobile app <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/theres-an-app-for-that-pbs-kids-study-finds-mobile-apps-are-new-source-of-learning-94819794.html">improved up to 31%</a>. Abilene Christian University conducted research around the same time that found math students who used the iOS app “Statistics 1” saw <a href="http://gylo.com/WhitePaper_03302010_Stats1.pdf">improvement in their final grades</a>. They were also more motivated to finish lessons on mobile devices than through traditional textbooks and workbooks. </p>
<p>More recently, two studies that separately followed fifth and eighth graders who used tablets for learning in class and at home found that learning experiences <a href="http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/11/20/mobile-study-tablets-make-a-difference-in-teaching-and-learning.aspx">improved across the board</a>. 35% of the 8th graders said that they were more interested in their teachers’ lessons or activities when they used their tablet, and the students exceeded teachers’ academic expectations when using the devices. When self-reporting, 54% of students say they <a href="http://www.securedgenetworks.com/strategy-blog/Study-Shows-How-Students-are-Using-Technology-in-the-Classroom">get more involved</a> in classes that use technology and 55% say they wish instructors used more educational games or simulations to teach lessons. </p>
<p>My own college students report back from student teaching in P-12 classrooms and say kids do seem to respond well to the stimulus of mobile devices. They stay on task, they correct mistakes in real-time and, most importantly, they get excited about learning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The teacher’s at the front of the room – is anyone listening?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/99107397@N00/15062161857">technolibrary</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mobile devices also bring challenges</h2>
<p>Alongside the benefits, mobile devices certainly come with their share of complications. Teacher authority, for example, is one area that can easily be undermined when mobile technology is allowed in classrooms. One of the often-mentioned benefits of mobile devices in classrooms is that they allow simultaneous work to take place — but does that undercut the master lesson plan? </p>
<p>There is also the question of cost. Of course there’s a price associated with schools purchasing the technology (and bringing teachers up to speed). But even having kids bring their own devices can be an issue. Bring-your-own-device policies may draw attention to situations where some students are more privileged than others, and there is always the potential for theft.</p>
<p>Tech policies are also more difficult to implement on personal electronics than on school-owned ones. A tablet that is owned by a particular school district, for example, can come pre-installed with the right programs and apps and not allow for any outside play. A device that goes home with a student, however, can’t have the same rules. </p>
<p>There are privacy issues to consider, too, especially now that tracking cookies are so prevalent on personal mobile devices. Do we really want third parties following our students on their learning paths? And should teachers have access to what students do on their mobile devices when outside the classroom?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76389/original/image-20150329-16105-dxcnqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where they engage, mobile devices can help.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waagsociety/9152659340">Waag Society</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mobile tech in classrooms: what works?</h2>
<p>Simply using mobile technology in the classroom does not guarantee a rise in comprehension or even the attention of students. So what types of mobile technology use make the most sense for classrooms?</p>
<p>• <strong>E-readers</strong>. Part of the issue with traditional textbooks is that they’re so quickly outdated, both regarding subject matter and which formats best reach readers. E-readers eliminate that issue and allow real-time updates that are useful to students and teachers immediately, not the next school year when the new textbook is released.</p>
<p>• <strong>Individual mobile modules</strong>. Within educational apps and games are options for individual student logins. This gives students the chance to work at their own pace, taking extra time in the areas where they need it most. </p>
<p>• <strong>Text-response programs</strong>. Websites that allow teachers to send homework or test questions to students via text, and then ask for responses, do result in a more interactive approach to learning. Most of the programs that facilitate this technology allow for real-time feedback on the answers, allowing students to learn from mistakes and put it all in context in the moment. Pew Research found that American teens send an <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/03/19/teens-smartphones-texting/">average of 60 text messages per day</a>, making this an effective way to reach students in a medium that is close to universally used. The OneVille Project has tracked teachers and their experiences with texting high school students and has found that students become <a href="http://wiki.oneville.org/main/The_OneVille_Project">more motivated to come to school and to complete work</a> on time when they have text message access to teachers.</p>
<p>• <strong>Seamless cloud learning</strong>. Using mobile technology that is connected to the cloud means that students can transition from working in the classroom to working at home — or anywhere else — easily, as long as they have access to a phone, tablet or computer. This saves time and improves organizational skills for students.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When it’s good, it can be very, very good….</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/99107397@N00/15248282922">technolibrary</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mobile learning can and does make a positive difference in how students learn, and it’s not just because of the “cool” factor. When used the right way, mobile technology has the potential to help students learn more and comprehend that knowledge.</p>
<p>In an ideal world, every student would have his or her own mobile device that syncs information between school and home, those devices would stay on task and the students would see significant gains in their academic achievement. Real-life classrooms are never picture perfect, though, not for any learning initiative.</p>
<p>Mobile devices are not a silver bullet. In 1995, Steve Jobs famously said that the problems facing education <a href="http://www.joannejacobs.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-computers-wont-fix-schools/">need more than technology to be fixed</a>. Competent, engaged teachers are more necessary than ever in the Information Age, and balancing mobile educational advantages with healthy teaching interaction is the key to maximizing the worth of both.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Lynch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As technology becomes more prevalent in classrooms from preschool to grad school, the concern is that it’s all flash, no substance.Matthew Lynch, Dean, Syphax School of Education, Psychology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Union UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/376112015-02-19T13:50:51Z2015-02-19T13:50:51ZExplainer: what is the hybrid classroom and is it the future of education?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72478/original/image-20150219-28209-ym3d88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mixing it up. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Children in class via racorn/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When artists blend styles into a Latin reggae or manufacturers mix tablets with laptops to create a phablet, the idea is to create a superior product or a new artistic experience. Often seen in <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/11208340/Hybrid-animals-Artist-creates-new-species-using-Photoshop.html">art and business</a>, hybrid solutions are gaining increased attention in education. In the classroom, the blend of traditional and new teaching methods, and the mix of online and face-to-face learning – known as the “hybrid classroom” – is posing profound questions about the lessons of the future. </p>
<p>Yet much of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30814302">focus</a> so far on the future of classrooms has been on technologies that disrupt rather than merge new and traditional teaching methods. Central to this thinking are the models of “personalised learning” and the “flipped classrooms”.</p>
<p>Personalised learning focuses on each individual’s active contribution to the learning process. The idea dates back to the 19th century and American educator Helen Parkhurst’s <a href="http://www.dalton.org/philosophy/dalton_plan">Dalton Plan</a>, but there is no doubt that portable personal technologies such as tablets and smartphones can revolutionise the way personalised learning occurs in schools today. Several technology companies, such as Apple, <a href="http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2391598/apple-touts-technology-as-core-to-education-shake-up">actively advocate</a> for personalised learning to change, not just facilitate, traditional ways of teaching. </p>
<h2>Flip it rather than merge it</h2>
<p>One model inspired by personalised learning is the popular “flipped classroom” model. The idea <a href="http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/">originated</a> with two US teachers in 2007 and since then, has spread in many classrooms in the US, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/mar/30/flipped-learning-benefits-challenges-best-practice-live-chat">UK</a> and <a href="http://www.uq.edu.au/tediteach/flipped-classroom/case-studies.html">Australia</a>. </p>
<p>While definitions vary, the essential idea is that the traditional classroom is flipped on its head. The original idea was to teach students new content at home – predominantly online by watching video lectures – and do homework in class. Since then, <a href="www.khanacademy.org">The Khan Academy</a>, a non-profit operating according to the flipped classroom model, has popularised the concept, with more than 235m lessons viewed online. </p>
<p>The effects of the model on children’s learning and skills are gradually being analysed. In the UK, <a href="http://www.nesta.org.uk/project/digital-education/flipped-learning">Nesta</a> and the National Foundation for Educational Research are currently working to explore the impact of such reverse teaching models in several secondary school maths departments across the country. </p>
<p>Research funded by the <a href="http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/flipped-learning-shireland-collegiate-academy">Education Endowment Foundation</a> is investigating a model of flipped learning with Shirelands Academy in the West Midlands. Meanwhile, the US government has <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2014/07/khan_academy_to_be_subject_of_.html">invested $3m</a> to test the effectiveness of Khan Academy. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30814302">Proponents</a> of the flipped learning model suggest that it can maximise the time that teachers have available for each student in the classroom and enable teachers to act more as guides rather than instructors. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-pro-and-con-mary-beth-hertz">Critics</a> argue that the flipped classroom is merely the first step towards a change. To enable all students to benefit from flipped learning, there needs to be more attention paid to students who come from educational backgrounds where access and use of technology at home is difficult. This could put up barriers where some, more well-off students with devices at home, are able to benefit more than others. Some teachers have set out why they’re not going to be <a href="https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-306757880/five-reasons-i-m-not-flipping-over-the-flipped-classroom">rushing to “flip”</a> their classrooms because of this and other reasons. </p>
<p>While the jury is still out, what the flipped classroom and personalised learning models highlight is a strong turn towards classrooms centred around technology. This can often translate into a debate about whether we need teachers in classroom at all. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra">Some experiments</a> from developing countries show that children can learn without the need for teachers. But while this may work in some circumstances, most <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/bf02504683#page-1">current research clearly states</a> that the role of teachers is fundamental and that their beliefs about the way they teach are central to the effective integration of technology into the classroom. The principal task before us is therefore to refocus the debate to find a hybrid model which combines powerful technology with powerful teaching.</p>
<h2>Impact of the hybrid classroom</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72475/original/image-20150219-28215-gszvio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It ain’t easy being a zonkey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarpuss4ever/407938980/sizes/o/">Leogirly4life</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For hybridisation to work in education, we need to begin to ask more ambitious questions about what we lose and gain by combining old with new – and the joint impact for different groups of children, for different subjects and different contexts. So far, we know little about these combinations.</p>
<p>In evaluating hybrid learning models, we also mustn’t lose sight of the fact that hybrid models produce hybridised outcomes. Last year’s results <a href="http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/12/18/hybrid-classes-outlearn-traditional-classes.aspx">from a comparative study</a> by the <a href="http://www.pahli.org/about/methods/">Hybrid Learning Institute</a> – which aims to balance digital and traditional instruction – found that students in nine out of ten schools using hybrid learning had <a href="http://www.pahli.org/results/reports/">higher academic performance on standardised tests</a> compared to traditional classrooms.</p>
<p>This is encouraging, but tells us little about the added value of the combination, and what extra skills the students learnt in the process. As the coalition <a href="http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework">Partnership for 21st-Century Skills</a> advocates, 21st-century classrooms need to support <a href="http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/blog/6405_backing_soft_skills_campaign_launched">new soft skills</a> such as communication, team work and time management, as well as traditional skills in core subject areas.</p>
<p>Hybrids are, by definition, complex – and it’s clear we can’t reinvigorate children’s education overnight. Technology can jump-start the process but we cannot leapfrog over traditional infrastructure models in schools. The future of our classrooms is bright if we can carefully blend innovation with sound principles of education, rather than let one replace the other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalia Kucirkova is affiliated with The Open University.</span></em></p>A blend of online and face-to-face teaching is changing the nature of the classroom.Natalia Kucirkova, Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/372112015-02-12T05:00:46Z2015-02-12T05:00:46ZThe pen is mightier than the sword, but the computer is mightier than both<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71804/original/image-20150212-16609-jfaf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The way we teach our children must accommodate the radical changes in technology that have occurred over the past couple of decades.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>It’s official. In 2015, the keyboard has began to genuinely challenge the pen for dominance in the classroom. </p>
<p>With Finland having decided that it will no longer teach <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-03/finland-scraps-cursive-writing-lessons-in-schools/6066826">cursive handwriting</a> in primary school, replacing it with typing lessons for students, and with pen manufacturer BIC fighting to “<a href="http://www.bicfightforyourwrite.com.au">save handwriting</a>” in Australia, it could be argued that the humble pen might finally be singing its swan song. </p>
<p>But what does this mean for the Australian classroom, now that <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-the-back-to-the-future-we-imagined-23440">smartphones are ubiquitous</a> and gadgets are invading <a href="https://theconversation.com/smaller-is-smarter-at-the-2015-consumer-electronics-show-35897">every part of our lives</a>?</p>
<h2>The relationship between education and technology</h2>
<p>Education has always embraced technology. From the humble <a href="http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-ohp">overhead projector</a>, to the TV with VCR that was pushed into the classroom on a trolley, to the computer labs full of <a href="http://oldcomputers.net/c64.html">Commodore 64s</a>, new technology in the consumer space has always found its way into the classroom. What’s changing, though, is the availability of that technology.</p>
<p>As a middle-class student growing up on the North Shore of Sydney in the 1980s, I remember clearly how computer time worked. The classroom I sat in every day had no computers, but once a week we would all queue up and march down to the computer room to spend an hour using them. </p>
<p>You would find a disk, boot the computer and spend a blissful hour playing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Sandiego">Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?</a> or <a href="http://www.mobygames.com/game/treasure-island_">Treasure Island</a> and learning how the computers worked. Even in my later years in high school, the computer labs were always a separate activity, reserved for special classes on “Business Technology” or “Computers in Schools”.</p>
<p>Now, 30 years later, my son is attending prep at a school that boasts a <a href="http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/working-digitally/1-to-1-learning.html">1-to-1 computer policy</a>. Every student in the school is expected to have a computer, and in later classes every student is equipped with an Apple iPad. </p>
<p>The teacher uses a television screen for learning connected to a Macbook Pro and builds lessons around the technology that the students have access to. As he grows up, I’m sure my son will request a smartphone of his own, and I hope that the school he goes to will encourage him to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/04/12/3475860.htm">use it for learning</a> as well. </p>
<p>No longer is technology relegated to just the computer. Rather, it’s built into every facet of the students lives. This has the potential to change classrooms in ways that have never been seen before.</p>
<h2>The digital native, active learning, digital resident student</h2>
<p>Back in 2001, Marc Prensky coined the term “<a href="http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf">digital native</a>” to describe a different type of individual, one who doesn’t know a world without technology in it. </p>
<p>I personally learnt the term around five years ago, and since then have noticed a certain amount of controversy about it’s use, especially amongst those that Prensky considered “digital immigrants”: individuals who grew up in a world before technology was commonplace. </p>
<p>Among the immigrants, the notion that there is a divide between those who know technology and those who don’t is difficult to come to terms with. Many counterpoints to Prensky’s work have been written, as well as other terms proposed like David White’s “<a href="http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/vandr.html">Digital Resident/Digital Visitor</a>”, or the “<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_feb.pdf">Active Learner</a>” to describe the change in learning. </p>
<p>For some reason though, the term “digital native” persists, perhaps because, despite its flaws, it acknowledges a change the in the way that we interact with the world, regardless of our generational differences.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71815/original/image-20150212-16638-53kdwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Technology is integral to the lives of digital natives, but is our education system catching up?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/7691519996/in/photolist-4uHRPi-9yRaR4-dN2e2a-7M6Jvx-djaFhx-b9wRSx-cHF3VJ-6tfQ8E-bGos8e-7Hw1EN-EMg4o-gufHEo-b9wxaT-fDhtzy-iMs3J2-7Gug3x-7JxyWy-7LPQek-pPMX-6YcvH5-b9wDTX-kcD6wy-aFhXnY-4pZDCW-c1BPPu-7cDpST-oiSHkf-b9wo4v-9ySC2Q-iGHvyV-eh63K9-6LKvVD-iGHvWP-p7qzMq-8pCyv5-4KmgiK-mCXGKq-hfe6Ti-9Y5821-ixzak-mCWE3T-66SG2X-2qip4-3iytPY-dYPgWE-iGGgF6-5CPPpE-5Y1U3j-q2auU3-czXoSC">Michael Coghlan/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The best example I can give is from my own experience. When I was a student, a pen was an important implement to take to lectures and tutorials. It allowed me to not only make notes but also write down other pieces of information, like the lecturer’s contact details or the submission time for an assignment. </p>
<p>Now, I notice that students no longer take pens to class, and when they want to take notes, they instead use their mobile phone’s inbuilt camera.</p>
<p>As a “digital immigrant”, I found myself totally floored the first time that a student submitted an assignment via the online Learning Management System in front of me, and when I suggested that they print the confirmation page, they instead took out their phone and took a photo of the screen! </p>
<p>Add that to the ubiquity of students using their phones to check words you say in class, Google a quick question you ask, or even record your lectures for later listening, and you can understand the persistence of the term “digital native”.</p>
<h2>The last gasp for the mighty pen</h2>
<p>Of course, this transition is not without its challenges. Technology moves quickly, and as soon as one piece of technology becomes popular, it gets replaced with another.</p>
<p>This presents a <a href="http://www.cqu.edu.au/cquninews/stories/general-category/dont-worry-if-students-use-or-abuse-technology-in-class,-just-find-best-use-for-learning">challenge in the classroom</a>, where lesson plans and pedagogy often takes longer to bed down than the life of the average mobile phone. </p>
<p>Add in new technology like the <a href="http://www.oculusvr.com/">Oculus Rift</a> headset and the raft of new <a href="http://www.theinternetofthings.eu">Internet of Things</a> devices and you discover new pedagogical challenges for the 21st Century student.</p>
<p>A good example of this is the use of technology in exams. We often use exams to make sure that students understand the material in a controlled environment, free of opportunities to “phone a friend” or look items up on the internet. </p>
<p>But how does this work for the digital native, who expects to always be connected? How do we conduct exams with these students, without resorting (as many universities do), to forcing students to write the exam with pen and paper, possibly asking them to put ink on the page for the first time in the semester? </p>
<p>I am currently working on a project to bring <a href="http://www.transformingexams.com/">electronic exams to more classrooms</a>, but even this presents challenges, as computers need to be locked down and student access to a global world of information controlled. </p>
<p>And don’t even get me started on how Internet of Things devices fit into the mix. Students are now able to use devices such as <a href="http://www.android.com/wear/">Android Wear</a> and the upcoming <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/watch/">Apple Watch</a> to bring the connected world into the exam room, even when we don’t want them to. </p>
<p>An exam invigilator recently confessed to me that this check has now been added to their list: checking water bottles, erasers and then also what watch a student is wearing! Quite a challenge for the digital immigrant, isn’t it?</p>
<p>But even these challenges are surmountable. The evidence suggests that 2015 might be the year where we finally start making these changes, acknowledging that even if we aren’t sure if we should call them “digital natives”, the way that modern students learn has changed, and the tools we use in the classroom have to change along with it. </p>
<p>Just like the humble Commodore 64 and the TV on a trolley before it, perhaps it’s time for the pen to say it’s farewells for regular use in the classroom, replaced by the smartphone and relegated to “writing time”, just like we used to have “computer time” back when I was a kid.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Cowling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s official. In 2015, the keyboard has began to genuinely challenge the pen for dominance in the classroom. With Finland having decided that it will no longer teach cursive handwriting in primary school…Michael Cowling, Senior Lecturer & Discipline Leader, Mobile Computing & Applications, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/345922014-12-04T19:31:52Z2014-12-04T19:31:52ZRemember this: you can still think deeply in the digital age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66272/original/image-20141204-3636-kmvun3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Take note: how does a typing on a laptop stack up to handwriting?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/5157436685/in/photostream/">Ed Yourdon/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two people walk into a seminar: one takes photos, video and an audio recording of the presentation, while the other takes hand-written notes. Which person do you think will better recall the information?</p>
<p>The former can use their digital notes to create something new that builds on the topic, the latter – not so easy. </p>
<p>Yet we still keep reading reports, such as one recently in <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429930.500-goodbye-paper-what-we-miss-when-we-read-on-screen.html">New Scientist</a>, which suggest that writing notes on paper gives a person a definite advantage in terms of remembering content. That report was based in part on an article in <a href="http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/05/21/0956797614524581">Psychological Science</a> on the advantages written notes have over those typed on laptops.</p>
<p>The argument has been around for many years and is usually based on the idea that handwriting is slow and deliberate which allows the reader a deeper understanding of ideas and information, and therefore a better ability to remember it.</p>
<p>That, so the argument goes, is at odds with digitally recording ideas which typically is a quick, haphazard action that limits understanding and therefore recall.</p>
<p>Similar arguments are made over our ability to remember things that we read from a screen, such as a smartphone, tablet or e-reader, as opposed to a paper-printed form.</p>
<p>My question, though, is should memorising information still be a priority? </p>
<h2>Remember back when …</h2>
<p>Time shapes knowledge and how we work with it. If it didn’t, we’d still be waiting on those handwritten books produced at the monastery. Important changes have emerged regarding the ideas and information available to us, and the ways we can engage with them that are worth considering. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65929/original/image-20141201-20594-1fhohrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Writing things down was once considered a bad move that would lead to poorer memories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/medmss/5568303472">Flickr/Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We now have more information available to us than ever. There’s almost an infinite number of ideas and resources available at the tip of our keyboard, and the information is not just presented in writing. </p>
<p>Digital technology allows a range of visual, audio and word based information and ideas. On a daily basis we can access podcasts, vlogs, videos, audio recordings and animations to name just a few. </p>
<p>In addition, the interactive aspect of screen-based content means that we can do more with the information and ideas than just read them. We are reading more than ever (<a href="http://hmi.ucsd.edu/howmuchinfo_research_report_consum.php">three times more</a> since the 1980s) but interactive components allow us to work with and develop information in many different ways.</p>
<p>It’s common for children today to be able to create a multimodal presentation for a school project which has writing, images, video, sound, animation features and hyperlinks to websites. The days of photocopying information for a project and gluing it to cardboard are long gone. </p>
<p>Against this backdrop, the question of whether we should be expected to, or even need to remember large amounts of information to develop knowledge becomes more complex. </p>
<h2>Deciding what we need to remember</h2>
<p>There are of course times when we need to remember information but there are many more times when we do not – our smartphone usually helps us with whatever we need. Both standpoints have their value depending on the circumstance.</p>
<p>We need to remember things such as mum’s birthday, things that are beneficial to our health and well being and those things that can cause us harm such as certain poisonous things, or how to get from home to work (although in all cases we can let technology remind us). At times we also need to understand some ideas deeply and have a very good memory of them, such as, knowing how to drive a car or how to do our job. Most professions expect you know and remember what to do.</p>
<p>On the other hand there are many more times we need to use pieces of information for only a while – we don’t need to remember them but they help us to learn at the time: details of an event, how to cook a recipe or finding out the breadth of changes in a recent government policy change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65930/original/image-20141201-20585-12dq9f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today’s pupils are very tech-savvy and comfortable working with screens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonydilaura/11672517244">Flickr/Anthony DiLaura</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today’s school curriculum focuses on 21st century skills which are about processes of applying information, problem solving and collaborating.</p>
<p>A key skill in our current era is the ability to draw on lots of different types of information and bring them together to work out a solution, to gain a new perspective on a situation or to develop our knowledge of something.</p>
<p>Is it important to remember all the research you did for your trip to Hawaii? Probably not. As long as you can access, organise and use the information while you’re there is what most people would need. </p>
<p>We also all have different learning styles. The availability of a range of platforms to create information and from which we can access information is important for all. Handwriting and reading text doesn’t necessarily suit everyone.</p>
<h2>Deep thought</h2>
<p>If remembering and understanding are linked to deliberate action then editing some footage or composing a script for a YouTube clip needs to be well thought through. It’s not about if it was written on paper first but just that deep thought has been given to it. </p>
<p>Also if the argument for turning back to books is about not being distracted by online ads or checking our social media or email accounts, then it’s important that we learn to work well in our e-society. Technology is not going away.</p>
<p>The shift away from pen on paper has been driven by:</p>
<ul>
<li>convenience – our devices are always close by</li>
<li>cost, as cloud-based content eliminates expensive printing costs</li>
<li>the thrill of the latest innovation. </li>
</ul>
<p>These are important factors and suggest screens will become an even greater part of our lives in the future. </p>
<p>Some may suggest that we are losing opportunities to learn because of our love affair with our screens but our era today is about understanding and managing information and then developing knowledge from that. A turn back to focusing on remembering information is simply not important now.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: Joanne will answer questions between 9 and 10am AEDT on Monday December 8. Ask your questions about digital vs traditional learning in the comments below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Orlando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two people walk into a seminar: one takes photos, video and an audio recording of the presentation, while the other takes hand-written notes. Which person do you think will better recall the information…Joanne Orlando, Senior lecturer, Educational Technology, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/236362014-02-26T14:40:36Z2014-02-26T14:40:36ZSnooping professor or friendly don? The ethics of university learning analytics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42479/original/bc7z87tf-1393343743.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is my professor watching every click?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/5tein/2348649408/sizes/l/"> Mr_Stein</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities have been recording data digitally about their students for decades. No one would seriously question the necessity of collecting facts for administrative purposes, such as a student’s name and address, module choices and exam results. </p>
<p>But as teaching and learning <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-9-000-students-expect-their-classes-to-go-digital-22775">increasingly migrate to the internet</a>, huge amounts of data about individuals’ activities online are being accumulated. These include everything from postings on forums, to participation in video conferences, to every click on every university-hosted website. </p>
<p>Most of the records gather virtual dust in log files, never to be analysed by any computer system let alone viewed by a human. Universities have only recently started to realise the huge potential of using this data to help students succeed in their learning, or to improve the educational experience for others.</p>
<h2>Privacy concerns</h2>
<p>With these possibilities come dangers that the data could be used in ways undesirable to students. These include invading their privacy, exploiting them commercially by selling their data to third parties or targeted marketing of further educational products. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, well-intentioned pedagogical innovations which access the data may have unforeseen negative consequences, such as demotivating students who are told they are at risk of failure.</p>
<p>Institutions have clear legal responsibilities to comply with data protection legislation, restricting information from access by third parties and allowing students to view the data held about them when requested. </p>
<p>Universities are commercial organisations, but are also motivated by altruistic concerns such as enhancing the life chances of individuals through education. The multinational technology corporations which we unquestioningly allow to collect vast amounts of data about us have altogether different motivations. </p>
<p>For them, your data is of immense commercial value, enabling products to be targeted at you with increasing relevance. Most educational institutions need to act differently from for-profit organisations when dealing with users’ data.</p>
<h2>What’s being done with the data?</h2>
<p>Predictive modelling enables institutions to build a profile of a student. This can include information they have disclosed about themselves in advance of study, such as prior qualifications, age or postcode. This can then be mapped onto records of their online activity and assessment performance. </p>
<p>Predictions can then be made as to the likelihood of a student dropping out or what grade they can be expected to achieve. <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/34939/">The Open University is developing models</a> to target interventions at students thought to be at risk.</p>
<p>For example, a student who has no prior qualifications and has not participated in a key activity or assessment may be flagged for a telephone call by a tutor. Experience has shown that such a call may be what is required to motivate the student or help them overcome an issue which is preventing them studying. </p>
<p>Various ethical issues emerge here. If we establish early on that a student is highly likely to fail, should we advise them to withdraw or to re-enrol on a lower level course? </p>
<p>But what if we are limiting their opportunities by taking such an intervention? They might have continued successfully had we not intervened. Meanwhile, for those students thought not to be at risk, we are potentially denying them the possibility of beneficial additional contact with a tutor.</p>
<h2>Opt out option</h2>
<p>If the primary purpose of learning analytics is to benefit learners, then should a student be able to opt out of their data being collected? </p>
<p>There are two problems with this. We may be neglecting our responsibilities as education experts by allowing some students to opt out. This could deny them the assistance we can provide in enhancing their chances of success. The data collected can also be used to benefit other students, and every individual opting out potentially diminishes the usefulness of the dataset. </p>
<p>One environment where a student might reasonably assume they are free from data being collected about them is while accessing an e-book offline on a personal device such as an iPad or a Kindle. </p>
<p>Some US institutions are already providing students with <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/now-e-textbooks-can-report-back-on-students-reading-habits/40928">e-reader software which captures data such as clicks and dwell times</a>, storing them on the device and uploading it to a server for analysis. But unless users are made aware that this is happening, universities run the risk of being accused of unjustified snooping.</p>
<p>It is unclear to what extent the constant collection of data on online activity inhibits learning or even worries students. Do students care any more about what universities do with data on their educational activities than they do about the data collected by Google or Facebook on their personal interests, relationships and purchasing habits?</p>
<p>But the trust given to universities by students elevates the importance of caretaking their data and establishing clear policies for what we do with it. </p>
<p>Transparency about the data we collect, and how and why we are using it, will help to avoid a backlash from learners worried about potential misuse. Institutions need to develop clear policies arguing why the collection and analysis of data on students and their learning is in their interest. This is a necessary step before being able to exploit the full potential of learning analytics to enhance the student experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niall Sclater does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Universities have been recording data digitally about their students for decades. No one would seriously question the necessity of collecting facts for administrative purposes, such as a student’s name…Niall Sclater, Director of Learning and Teaching, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115672013-01-16T03:33:52Z2013-01-16T03:33:52ZCoursera to fight online cheating – but do biometrics even work?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19246/original/hhk4dq8p-1358295384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can you really identify a person based on the way they type?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">e y e / s e e /flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are two elephants in the digital classroom. Or, to be more specific, two big questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/massive-open-online-courses">Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)</a> economically sustainable, a function of the interaction between market demand and delivery costs?</li>
<li>Are the students that get credit for completing a MOOC unit the same people who “did” the unit?</li>
</ul>
<p>It was thus interesting to see Coursera’s <a href="http://theconversation.com/online-course-host-coursera-to-id-students-using-typing-style-11562">announcement</a> late last week that it will be using a mix of webcams and “keyboard dynamics” or <a href="http://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ecii/publications/articles/B49F9C4A-0362-765C-6A235CB8ABDFACFF.pdf">stylometrics</a> – the supposedly unique way people hit a <a href="http://www.cs.jhu.edu/%7Efabian/papers/fgcs.pdf">keyboard</a> or <a href="http://www2.it.lut.fi/kurssit/03-04/010970000/seminars/Kalenova.pdf">wield a pen</a> – to deal with online cheating.</p>
<p>The announcement made for a nice <a href="http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/coursera-universities-offer-verified-certificates-extend-credential-options-students-1743670.htm">media release</a> but unfortunately it won’t make the elephant go away. It is the latest in a history of over-enthusiastic announcements about how stylometrics and other <a href="http://www.biometrics.org/introduction.php">biometrics</a> technologies will vanquish identity theft, academic cheating and other problems.</p>
<p>In essence, Coursera and its Australian fans are asking the wrong questions.</p>
<p>The past 30 years have seen waves of enthusiasm for biometrics, followed by waves of disillusionment among investors and academic grant providers. The aim of biometrics is to provide <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/academic/cave/publications/econobiometrics.pdf">low-cost</a> and authoritative (i.e. accurate and forgery-resistant) identification of individuals based on innate and stable physical characteristics.</p>
<p>That identification typically involves comparison of a “sample” or “test” with previously registered information that is assumed to be authentic. Biometrics is concerned with what people “are”, rather than with what they know (e.g. a password) or what they hold (e.g. a card).</p>
<p>We have grown comfortable with DNA and with the fingerprint biometric in widespread use for forensic purposes since the 1920s. We are increasingly encountering digital palm scans, retina scans and iris scans for perimeter control in businesses, government offices and research institutions.</p>
<p>Access to some pathology labs, for example, is dependent on your “print” matching a previous print in the digital register maintained by the lab. Matching is networked, meaning it might operate 24/7 and that there is no need for a security guard – sleepy, corrupt or otherwise – to check the often blurry photo ID cards used by people who want to get through the doorway. </p>
<p>We are less familiar with the more cutting-edge, or simply silly biometric technologies that appear in academic literature or in pitches to venture capitalists.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/19243/original/88snwr5d-1358294513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fingerprints never lie, right?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Concentrated Passion/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of those technologies are a solution in search of a problem. Others are not cost effective and are unlikely to become competitive in future. Researchers have promoted the idea of a <a href="http://www.biometrics.gov/Documents/speakerrec.pdf">voice biometric</a> (identifying people on the basis of <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/au/nab-touts-voice-as-superior-biometrics-over-fingerprints-7000007637/">how they speak</a>), a <a href="http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/260101/1/nixon_eusipco04.pdf">gait</a> biometric (how they walk), <a href="https://theconversation.com/face-in-the-crowd-biometrics-heres-looking-secretly-at-you-831">facial architecture</a> (the shape of an ear or the ratios between eye, chin, nose and ear), knuckle creases, <a href="http://www2.it.lut.fi/kurssit/03-04/010970000/seminars/Shipilova.pdf">lip</a> or <a href="http://www.technewsdaily.com/8272-eye-movements-could-be-next-pc-password.html">eye</a> movement, fingernail scans, skull resonance and even <a href="http://www2.it.lut.fi/kurssit/03-04/010970000/seminars/Korotkaya.pdf">smell</a>.</p>
<p>Governments use face recognition in passports. Banks have trialled and abandoned identification using electronic pens or “keyboard signatures”. <a href="http://support.authentec.com/KnowledgeBase/KBview/tabid/843/ArticleId/504/Laptop-Fingerprint-Sensor-Reader.aspx">Thumbprint access control for personal laptops</a> or mobile phones is recurrently hyped - particularly in the slow news season - and then dies.</p>
<p>All biometric identification can be subverted. Much has not migrated from the lab to the market. The smell biometric seems to fail if individuals have had too much spicy food, irrespective of being scanned with a vacuum cleaner to the armpit. Voice biometrics start to get fuzzy if people have a cold or sore throat.</p>
<p>Digital fingerprint recognition has been subverted by using illicitly acquired “copies” of genuine prints, such as the “latex thumb” or even a <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/sweet-bypass-for-student-finger-scanner-1339306878/">gelatine lolly</a>. In the sci-fi film <a href="http://www.scififilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=gattaca">Gattaca</a> Ethan Hawke reminded us that people can gift associates with hair, urine and other matter.</p>
<p>Registers can of course be compromised with, for example, a “fake” identity being undetected because it is an exact match to a corresponding “fake” identity that appears in the register (courtesy of a bribe, relative or friend, say).</p>
<p>So what does this mean for Coursera, and by extension for Australian universities with visions of simultaneously boosting student numbers and cutting costs through virtual delivery of courses to offshore students?</p>
<p>Publicly funded universities are unlikely to provide MOOCs unless they can see the money. Employers and potential students are unlikely to regard MOOCs and Specialised Open Online Courses (SOOCs) as more than free entertainment unless any academic assessment is credible – that is, not readily subverted. </p>
<p>Preventing subversion costs money and requires a real engagement with student behaviour. Students in some overseas markets have a real incentive to cheat and will do so. Misbehaviour may be facilitated by service providers in their countries. Enterprises that already assist students with the <a href="http://www.ielts.org/">International English Language Testing System (IELTS)</a> – that entry ticket to Australia – will move upmarket.</p>
<p>Coursera’s authentication regime is readily subverted. We can be sure that someone is online. But we can’t be sure that the person online is the person being awarded the certificate, that the same person has been online throughout the unit or isn’t being cued by an associate.</p>
<p>There’s no indication that Coursera and partners will invest in authentication by continuous surveillance but one thing’s clear: stylometrics are not a credible fix. </p>
<p>Beware, Vice-Chancellors, of a trip down the biometrics rabbit hole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Arnold is writing a book on Biometrics And The Law.</span></em></p>There are two elephants in the digital classroom. Or, to be more specific, two big questions: Are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) economically sustainable, a function of the interaction between market…Bruce Baer Arnold, Assistant Professor, School of Law, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.