What Technologies Are They Using?

Another TLT session I wanted to mention briefly was one presented by Karen Smith-Gratto, Barbra Mosley, and Alecia Jones of North Carolina A & T. They were reporting on a study that asked students about what technologies (hardware and Web-based applications) they actually use. They were interested in finding out whether A&T students' technology use is similar to that described in national studies of college students' technology use or whether there are significant differences. (Unfortunately, I came in just late enough to miss the citation for the national study.) Among their findings were these:

• About 40% of A&T students (as opposed to 20% in the national study) use instant messaging.


• Whereas Boomers almost never use text messaging, the current generation uses it daily in overwhelming numbers. (Gen X also uses it.) You can tell I'm a Boomer--I'm sitting here wondering whether text messaging and IMing are the same thing!


• Students didn't report much use of social networking sites, but the investigators suspect that they didn't understand what the question was asking about.


• Overall, students may be less advanced and use fewer technologies than we think--but it is also possible that they are using some technolgies socially and do not want us invading their space! This reminded me of the looks of alarm I see on my students' faces when I mention that I have a Facebook page.

This struck me as a study it would be very interesting to replicate here. It would be particularly useful to know whether our students are really as technologically sophisticated as we sometimes think they are, and it would also be useful to have a clearer idea of how much their knowledge of technology varies. I suspect it varies a great deal--even some of the young students seem unfamiliar with word processing, while every class seems to include (thank goodness) at least one student who can help us get our technological tools to work.

21st Century Learning: a challenge to WSSU faculty and students

I had the opportunity to attend to the Advancing Online Learning Conference II / AOLC II, a conference hosted by the Virtual High School—VHS (Nashua, NH, April 9-11). 21^st Century Learning was the central topic of the conference. The framework of the conference was secondary education. However I felt that all the ideas mentioned were very relevant in the frame of UNC Tomorrow, since WSSU is required to assume a significant role preparing professionals for 21^st century learning.

The kick-off conference by Dr. Mark David Milliron shared ideas about the new generation of learners ( see power point). He commented on the needs and opportunities that diverse generations and new technologies bring into education, and the challenge to create sustainable learning environments. He explored interesting topics such as blending, mobile technologies, gaming, social networking, Internet 2 and high engagement technologies, and the human touch that is needed to really benefit from these opportunities

There was a keynote panel to discuss how online learning specifically provides opportunities for 21^st century learning. The panel discussed results from Learning in the 21^st Century: A National Report of Online Learning (see report and power point), based on surveys completed by 232,781 K-12 students, 21,272 teachers, and 15,316 parents as part of Speak Up, a national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow. Based on report findings panelists highlighted that using the power of technology, decision makers and teachers have an opportunity to engage students, prepare teachers, and connect with parents in a personal and individualized way. It was also underscored that both technology and curriculum and instruction departments must be on board with online learning to achieve success. They emphasized that technology reliability is as essential as teacher preparation and support.

I was enthusiastically surprised that, at the state level, there are initiatives that promote that all high school graduates ought to have taken at least one online course, several blended courses (online and onsite) and participated in global projects supported with technology. This is Michigan’s case, presented by Robert Currie (see power point).

What about us? What can we do to at WSSU to prepare our students to become 21^st century learners, and our faculty, to become 21^st century learning facilitators? I invite to discuss this, press COMMENT to share your ideas.

Alvaro H Galvis