Posts Tagged ‘education’

Is broadband Internet access a public utility?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

water faucet

Is not having broadband like not having water?

Broadband Internet access in this country is a problem, and as many of you probably know, the FCC is currently drafting a plan to change that. In findings released yesterday by the Department of Commerce, 40% of Americans do not have broadband access, and 38.9% of people who don’t have Internet access at home cite high costs as the reason. The federal government has taken on the task of increasing broadband access in part because it expects that increased access will improve the economy, as well as provide more opportunities for health care and education–all of which are cornerstones of the Obama Administration’s agenda for change. As I watch the development of the broadband debate, one question springs to mind: Has broadband access to the Internet become a public utility?

A public utility can be defined as “a business that furnishes an everyday necessity to the public at large.”  Gas, electricity and water are all considered public utilities, as is telephone service. In strictly legal terms, there is also a regulatory component in the public utility definition, but here I am concerned with the “everyday necessity” portion. One of my college professors spoke about a problem he was having with his neighbor, who wanted cable television. At the time, the only way the  neighbor could get cable service was by running a cable under my professor’s lawn (at least this is what he was told). When my professor arrived home to find his lawn in ruins, the neighbor claimed that cable television was a public utility, and so he had a right to dig up personal property in order to receive cable TV. My professor disagreed, took the neighbor to court for damaging private property, and the judge determined that cable was not an “everyday necessity.” Thus, the neighbor was denied what he believed was his right to HBO via my professor’s lawn.

I agree with the judge that cable television is not an every day necessity. It is a luxury. However, just as the Internet is a major source of information, so is cable television; the difference, I believe, is interactivity. A lack of cable TV does not make it more difficult for someone to search for a job or apply to school, and I would count both employment and education as necessities. You may be able to learn about general health-related issues on TV, but with so many health care plans and resources now being diverted almost exclusively online, it will soon be very difficult to manage your personal health needs.

I don’t recall an argument ever being made by the government that people not having cable is an issue for real concern, but this seems to be the case with the Internet. Equally important as having Internet access is learning media literacy; otherwise we’re in a world of trouble. One thing I frequently hear is that people already know how to use the Internet, so what can media literacy do for them? My response is usually something along the lines of, “They may know how to put the key in the ignition, but that doesn’t mean they should be on the road.” It’s easy for those of us living in a big city like New York to assume that everyone has access to the Internet, and everyone knows what they’re doing. After all, you can’t get on a subway here without seeing smartphones, mp3 players and handheld video games. But the truth is that not everyone has access, whether you’re talking about New York City or the entire United States, and this is a problem because the Internet is quickly becoming essential to daily life. It may have been ridiculous to say this ten years ago, but I do believe broadband Internet access is a public utility; as websites continue to get more sophisticated, low-speed access is less and less useful . My hope is that, together with building the infrastructure to strengthen this utility, adequate attention is paid to the media literacy education which must accompany this growth.

–Emily Long

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Cell-ing in the Classroom

Friday, July 10th, 2009

There certainly seems to be a lot of flutter recently about whether it makes sense to use cell phones in the classroom as part of the learning environment for students of various cell-phone-using ages (that would be lots of kids aged 12 or 13 and up, I guess).  A recent article by Bob Longo  in  TechNews World discusses some of the issues that come up around adopting cell phones in the classroom, and I tend to agree with what Bob has to say about it.  

I think it’s most useful to take the long view here when thinking about how to adopt any kind of new technology into education.  There can be good and bad applications of any form of communication in learning, even face-to-face communication.  The standard lecture format really stinks in many instances because it can be so darn boring, even for us analog types who really enjoy listening to a good speaker.  Not everyone learns well that way, and sometimes that method actually inhibits learning.  Likewise, the use of television in the classroom can be good, if used the right way.  Courses taught remotely via television have, for years, been beneficial to those who are geographically (or otherwise logistically) separated from a place of learning (remember “Sunrise Semester”?).   A recent U.S. Dept. of Education study on on-line learning shows that students who take on-line courses often do much better than those who sit in a large classroom for the same course, and that those who take a hybrid course using both online and face-t0-face communication do best.  Using the Internet for formal educating seems to be gaining acceptance, despite years of negative opinions on the matter (even by me, I must admit).  These things take time.  It’s hard to break old modes of learning, especially by educators like me who like to do it the way we’re used to doing it.

Let’s be realistic, though.  We have to recognize that our communication technologies and styles have been changing for centuries.  These technologies change so much of who we are, and how we see the world, and we don’t keep up well in all areas of our  social/civic lives.  In particular, our education methods are far behind our modes of communication a lot of the time.  It’s not entirely the fault of educators.  They’ve been trained to use certain models of learning that keep them in tight communicative control of the learning situation, even with differentiation for learning styles (a hats off to special education teachers here).  The revolutionary digital era that we’re enmeshed in is changing us very quickly and it’s hard to think about having  everything change with it.

But not everything has to change, and not that quickly.  However,  cell phone technology ought to be seriously considered as one of many communicative tools that could be used in some education settings some of the time.  Note that I’m not suggesting it replace anything else being used right now.  I think that, as a mode of communication, cell phones are very engaging for students of many ages who take to it like ducks to water.  Texting, twittering and surfing the net are ways in which youth and many adults engage with the world.  Let’s not ban it altogether in their learning, but try to embrace it somehow where it makes sense, or at least try to experiment with it a bit.  That will mean we have to give up some of our dyed in the wool ideas about what learning settings are to look like.  And I don’t mean just learning settings where we’re teaching about technology.  I mean all learning settings, from mathematics, to ELA, to history, to even home economics (is that still taught?).  

I challenge you to stop some of your short-term fluster for a bit and put some deep thought into what a different paradigm of learning might look like.  For a short time, try not to worry about which cell phones will be used in the classroom, who will pay for the service, how will we get the DOE of wherever to change their policies, how will we keep control of the kids when they can’t pay attention to us because they’re so attached to their hand-held devices, etc., etc.  

I challenge you to think about changing your habits as educators, parents and even students.  Maybe there’s a hybrid method of learning we can consider where different types of communication can be used for different learning purposes.  We’re going to try it at LAMPcamp next week when we get to work with middle-school aged kids from Brooklyn who are attending a YMCA camp that we’ve been invited to.  Instead of having the campers check their cell phones at the door, we’re going to welcome their sidekicks and phones into the room, and we’re going to have the kids text us, and, most importantly, we’re going to try to have them really talk to us about their communication lives.  We’re psyched.  We have no idea how it’s going to go, but we’ll definitely keep you posted.   

–Katherine G. Fry

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Mega-City Hero

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Last night, Executive Director D.C. Vito and I attended the demonstration of an exciting new video game, Mega-City Hero, created by a nonprofit organization called The Ten Project. Aimed for kids who are roughly ten years old, the game was created on the premise that today’s youth will be building tomorrow’s cities, and that the innate creativity and imagination of young people can be harnessed for urban planning solutions. Each player chooses one “mega-city” in which to play; a few choices are New York City, Lagos, Jakarta, Shanghai and Mumbai.  Once the city is selected, that player is sent on a mission, which is decided upon by a real-life expert in architectural or urban planning.

One example of a mission was, “How can fisherman only catch the kind of fish that they can sell?” The player on this mission would then work to solve the problem, perhaps by designing a new kind of fishing net, or by going out to talk to fishermen about the obstacles that keep them being more profitable while also sustainable. The player would then create a design using the game’s platform, and that design would be shared with the expert, who could potentially put the ideas into practice. Players earn points for missions, and can also work in “tribes” to collaborate on a mission–for example, a player who has chosen to play in Mexico City but who actually lives in India might do well to partner with someone with someone in Mexico. As players gain more points, they move up on the leadership board, and have the opportunity to win sponsor prizes. The difficulty also increases with the more missions players accept.

The director of The Ten Project is John Tattersall, who also administered the demo. He has filmed 16 seasons of “Survivor,” been nominated seven times for an Emmy in cinematography, worked with various philanthropic organizations throughout the world, having visited 90 countries and lived in 18.  He certainly has a great idea with Mega-City Hero, and hopes that it will be an after-school program in urban and rural schools all over the world. I personally love the empowerment it brings to young people to have an impact on their world, and the interaction between players and professionals who can use some of that creativity to work on problems in their city. I love that the kid in India and the kid in Mexico can work together and share ideas about how urban problems are solved or viewed differently in each of their countries. When we at The LAMP talk about working with teachers to integrate and explore new media in their classrooms, this is the sort of thing we’re talking about.

My concern is the territory of need that may prove an obstacle to the game being a success. In particular, I wonder about access. The teacher sitting next to me was saying how she loved the game but wasn’t sure if her students would be able to participate, because the game is Web-based and her school doesn’t have a decent Internet connection. In addition to needing the Internet connection, players also benefit from having access to things like digital cameras that they can use to present and share their ideas, and interact with each other across the globe. There is also the issue of how media literate the children and teachers are in a certain area. Low-income schools and communities may be able to get computers with government grants or philanthropic support, but the machines are useless if they are not also provided with the media literacy that is necessary for them to be productive, responsible citizens of the digital world. In his presentation, Mr. Tattersall spoke about wanting to engage squatter communities and slums with the game, but I’m not sure yet about how they would be able to do that without expensive equipment.

To be fair, Mega-City Hero is not going to solve all the problems of the world, nor does it intend to–I don’t think it was created to address or solve the issue of access or poverty. In order to have the greatest impact with the broadest spectrum of players worldwide, Mega-City Hero will need to incorporate organizations like The LAMP, One Laptop Per Child, Kiva and many, many more doing similar work in their countries. Truly, this is a project of gigantic proportions, and I think it is an incredible opportunity for young people to make a positive change and consider the impact they have on the world around them.  Because it is so large, it will move in baby steps at first in relation to the scope of the vision Mr. Tattersall described for us last night. Yet they will nonetheless be giant steps to a world of empowerment, creativity, understanding and growth.

–Emily Long

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Twitter in the classroom

Friday, April 10th, 2009

As the April 8, 2009 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education reported, an instructor at Penn State is encouraging his students to tweet in the classroom — during class.  That’s right.  He wants his students to use twitter to converse with each other and him during his class period.  How shocking!  How disruptive!  How nuts must he be?  Any sensible professor wants control in the classroom, which means students listen carefully, raise their hands one at a time when they have a thoughtful question or comment, and everyone remains calm and studious.  The professor is the one who gets to do most of the talking.  It’s a nice top-down arrangement that’s worked for hundreds of years of formal education.  What is this guy thinking?

What Cole W. Camplese, the instructor of a group of Penn State graduate students,  is thinking is that students need to engage.  We’re all trying to figure out what the onslaught of digital communication, and social networking in particular, means for our everyday living.  Those of us who spend many classroom hours with young adults know that digital media are changing our students who use them all the time.  We can’t expect to reach them the same way we did even a decade ago.   Clearly, the old education models aren’t always working, and inevitably are changing because of digital media.  I give credit to professors on the forefront of experimentation in the classroom with the tools of discourse that  students are engaging in outside the classroom.  

True, it’s hard to imagine how a focused discussion or imparting of information can take place when everyone in the class is sending quick bursts of thought in short text messages via their phones or laptops.  Obviously, what Professor  Camplese wants is for students to comment on the materials being covered, not writing about things personal or irrelevant to the class topic at hand.   But the technicalities of making the running stream of tweets available on screen for all to see, and analyze, throughout the class period bring difficulties: in setting up and in managing the stream throughout a fixed period of time.  How can so many things happen at once?  Will students actually be learning anything worthwhile?

Though this seems odd and certainly unprecedented, I admire Camplese’s approach.  After all, engaged students are happier, more attentive and more apt to learn. And those in the classroom who are too shy to speak might not be too shy to tweet.  Imagine if all of the students were building on each other’s ideas and comments–then had a recorded stream of their comments to look back on in subsequent class periods?  This could be a new model for classroom engagement.  Or it could be a huge bust.  Regardless, it’s worth a try.

Last Friday, April 3, I gave a workshop at the day-long Northeast Media Literacy Conference at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.  Near the end of our workshop, which I called “Media Literacy is Medium Literacy,” participants and I engaged in a discussion about the gap between generations when it comes to using digital media for social networking.  They, like I, grumbled loudly about Twitter.   Yet despite my personal feelings about tweeting, I told them, I can appreciate it as a form of communication highly valued by some.  I can be personally uninterested, even somewhat annoyed, but professionally interested in the means and uses of this form of contact.  We agreed, by the end of our discussion, that it’s best to try to understand technologies and services like Twitter because there’s no going back.  And the ways in which digital communication will (and has already) change learning and education requires new ways for teachers to think about their role in the whole educational process.  That is something I find very interesting.

It’s a time of experimentation, of open-mindedness, and of skepticism.  Ask any professor — it’s always a good time for skepticism.  But we shouldn’t let it get in the way of our open-mindedness.

If I get my technical act together I may try it in the classroom next fall.  But don’t–ever– expect me to tweet about my mundane personal stuff.  Not even I care about some of it.  

–Katherine G. Fry

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E-Learning

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

In a recent post, Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times writes about a new website called DreamBox Learning that helps teach children math through a series of interactive games. Using technology inspired by Amazon.com’s feature that generates suggestions based on a user’s previous purchase and searches, DreamBox tailors the lessons to each individual student’s skills and progress.

While the program itself is certainly worthy of note and discussion, Miller also makes another really interesting point that addresses the overall idea of “e-learning.” “Education,” she writes, “is one area that Internet has not yet transformed.”

The Internet has some amazing capabilities as a learning tool, but many educators have largely ignored its potential. In fact, schools tend to go in the opposite direction, limiting students’ access to computers or imposing time constraints. Certainly schools are justified in some of these restrictions that promote healthy online experiences, but the resistance educators have to employ new and innovative educational online programs and tools in the classroom indicates that they are not eager to explore this new terrain.

However, by refocusing our approach to the Internet in schools, we might find, as DreamBox has, that e-learning creates both a thus-far untapped market for developers and a new, interactive method of teaching our students.

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Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package and Media Literacy

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Maybe all of our elementary and secondary public schools will finally make it into the 21st Century.

In a recent issue of Education Week, an online newsletter published for K-12 educators, included an article about Obama’s emphasis on technology and K-12 education as a key component of his economic stimulus plan.

Great, I guess.

Of course it’s great that Obama understands the importance of improving access to broadband technology and sufficient computers in all schools so that students can use the Internet in the classroom. And of course that is where education is headed globally. The United States must absolutely improve its education model to incorporate in a significant way the new ‘dominant tool of our cultural conversation’ (to borrow from Neil Postman, who used that term decades ago to describe television).

The use of media technology such as the Internet, when used the right way, can revolutionize education, making it work for everyone, not just for those in schools and school districts with economic means. Obama is right that our hopes of future economic strenghth begins in excellent education for all young people right now.

What I want to know is how, specifically, do Obama and his administration envision the use of technology such as the Internet in classrooms? My hope is that a good chunk of education using media technology incorporates critically understanding how media technologies work, how media differ from each other, how message are produced, and how all tools of conversation can be analyzed and critically examined. In short, I hope that media literacy is part of the package. It’s one thing to make it available; It’s another thing entirely to make it useful.

The Education Week article did mention the need for lots of professional development for educators as part of the plan. Yes, absolutely! There are many media scholars and media literacy organizations, including non-profit organizations such as the LAMP, that truly understand how to use media and also how to examine media within larger contexts such as education, social interaction, and even politics and the economy.

It’s time to get the word out to the new administration. If you’re serious about media technology in schools, we’re here to help deliver it the right way.

–Katherine G. Fry, PhD

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2009 Toy of the Year Nominations

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

The Toy Industry Association has announced the nominees for 2009 Toy of the Year.  And since it’s the holidays, we thought we’d look at the toys in the Educational and Electronic toy categories to help you make smart gift choices this year–and of course we wanted to see which ones are incorporating media!  You can view the entire list of nominees here.

EDUCATIONAL TOY OF THE YEAR

Computer Cool School by Fisher Price: This kid-friendly keyboard attaches to your home computer, and includes a CD-ROM which needs to be installed (one time only) before the games begin.  Kids can use the special keyboard to navigate the program and do activities related to math, science, reading, art, vocabulary and more–all while learning the basics of using a computer.

Idbids Eco-Friendly Starter Kit by Idbids: The Idbid characters consist of Scott the Cloud, Lola the Flower or Waverly the Water Drop.  Each kit uses one of the characters to teach kids about the environment, including a storybook, Field Guide of small things kids can do to make a difference, and an online rewards program where kids get a certificate for completing their Field Guide mission.

TAG Reading System by Leapfrog: This pen-like device is used concurrently with a selection of over 20 books.  As the pen touches the page, it “reads” the words on the page, providing audio as they learn to read.  The pen has different settings which can be used for different reading levels.

Zillions Touchscreen ATM by Summit Products: This fancy piggy bank replicates an actual ATM to help kids learn about withdrawing money, saving money and how to count money.

V-Motion Active Learning System by Vtech: A wireless gaming console that works with your television for your kids to play learning and developmental games with characters like Scooby-Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine, WALL-E and others.

Discovery Kids Smart Animals Scanopedia by Jakks Pacific: A wand scans a barcode on Smart Animal figures to give more information about the animal, like what sound they make, what they eat, etc.  The wand can also be used with the provided poster for more activities.

EyeClops Bionicam by Jakks: This is essentially a microscope.  Kids look at specimens with the camera, save them to the camera’s flash drive, and can look at them more closely on the computer or share with friends online.

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT TOY OF THE YEAR

Ultimate WALL-E Programmable Remote Control Robot by Disney: Based on the movie, this robot interacts with you to play music, dance and talk to you, all by using a remote control.

Imaginext Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur by Fisher-Price: Use a remote control to make Spike walk, stand, blink and more.

Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin’ Pup by Hasbro: Looks like a dog, and responds to your voice to perform tricks and play.

U-Dance by Tiger Electronics: This is a wireless mat-free dancing game.  Players have motion-sensor detectors, and use their movements to control the game.  Kids dance to songs, or simulate running on a treadmill for a workout.

KidiJamz Studio by Vtech: The keyboard acts a mixing station, allowing kids to record and create their own songs.  Kids can use their voice, preprogrammed songs and sound effects as well.

RS Tri-bot by WowWee: A robot friend who dances, runs, tells jokes and stories.

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Yet another wake-up call

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

A study was released by the MacArthur Foundation which reports what most young people already know: Digital media are good for you.  Some of the major findings include the assertion that youth use online media and networks to extend friendships and interests, and that youth engage in self-directed, peer-based learning online.  The report also calls for educational institutions to modernize their systems, and that adults have a responsibility to facilitate the relationship their youth have with new media.

Bingo! This is what we here at the LAMP have said many times before in our workshops and materials: Media needs to be a family affair.  It’s not enough to set up filters; you have to actually talk to your kids about it and learn how to use it yourself.  Too often, I run into adults who look down on new technology as trivial or beyond their ability to understand, and the simple response is that it is not.  I think that we will look back on ourselves years from now, and wonder why we didn’t act sooner.  Schools also have to take the step towards utilizing new media in their lessons, and in tandem with this, administrators and federal funders need to make this possible by allocating money.  Stringent rules (like blocking YouTube from all NYC public school computers) are not the answer–an attempt to standardize something so complex as the Internet does not benefit anyone.

In my view, much of the antagonism adults feel towards new media has been created by sectors of the media itself.  It’s true that online predators exist, and that hateful and inappropriate material floats around in cyberspace.  What’s also true is that these stories are generally reported with more frequency than the positive things that happen with the Internet.  Unfortunately, however, fear of the unknown has prevailed, enabling big media to own the way we view things and turn our heads.  My hope is that the MacArthur report will reach educators and adults who are are paralyzed and overwhelmed by new media, and help them wake up to change and new responsibility.  If you have children, you’re already at an advantage to learn–have them teach you.  You might be surprised.

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Press Release: Financial Crisis May be Tied to Lack of Media Education

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

For Immediate Release

Contact: Emily Long, Communications Director
The LAMP
718-789-8170

http://www.thelampnyc.org

Financial Crisis May Be Tied To Lack of Media Education

“Deceptive” advertising misled consumers

New York, New York: The collapse of the subprime mortgage market may have been enabled by a media illiterate public, according to D.C. Vito, Executive Director of the LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project).

“Without a strong presence of media education in our schools and communities, consumers are easily lured by misleading advertisements,” says Mr. Vito. “When people are not thinking about the media around them, they don’t read the fine print and ask questions. The current situation is one example of how media education, consumer education and financial literacy are all linked.”

Michael Calhoun, director of the Center for Responsible Lending, has denounced ads from online mortgage lenders like lowermybills.com as “the classic definition of a deceptive ad.” However, the ads appear to persist; according to reports from Nielsen Online, the Financial Services industry maintained its position in Q2 2008 as the highest spender in online advertising. Online lending services also appear to remain popular, with current web traffic to eloan.com alone stabilized at around 250,000 unique visitors per month.

“We don’t expect companies to stop advertising,” continued Mr. Vito, “but we do believe in a media environment where consumers are making informed choices. Media literacy is crucial in helping people learn not to take everything they see at face value.”

Efforts by the LAMP to provide media education include workshops in which students break down an ad and then create one of their own, and others where they learn how to recognize persuasion techniques. All of the workshops are provided free of charge to participants, and reached over 130 students last year alone.

About The LAMP:
The Learning About Multimedia Project (The LAMP) is a non-profit organization which strives to provide critical media literacy skills to the inter-related groups of youths, their parents and educators throughout New York City. Free media education workshops and events offered by the LAMP demystify the constant flow of media these three groups encounter, bridge the digital divide, and provide workforce development skills for future generations. The LAMP is incubated by the Fund for the City of New York.

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Blogs in the classroom

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Here at the LAMP, we love when we learn about ways that teachers are integrating multimedia into their classrooms.  We’re strong believers in teachers, students (and parents) exploring the unlimited possibilities presented with new media and media education, so it was with great pleasure that saw a post in the New York Times’ Lesson Plans blog by an Alaskan schoolteacher, Doug Noon.  Mr. Noon is a middle school teacher, and for the last three years his students have been sharing their writings on a blog called Tell the Raven.  The posts are about a wide range of topics–sometimes students write about something that happened in class one day (like dissecting a moose heart) or something a little more personal (like their cat).    The blog also has its own wiki, photo gallery, and sections with bookmarks to different subjects being covered in class.

As Mr. Noon notes in his post on the New York Times blog, Tell the Raven is still a work in progress.  He hoped that the blog would help connect his students with other schools in Alaska, but so far that hasn’t happened–although they have been connecting with students in Australia.  I admire that the students are encouraged to write and share their thoughts, and that they have an adult mentor like Mr. Noon to review their posts and help them consider how they want to present themselves to their classmates and to the world.  The students get to learn about everything the Web has to offer, and have a guide to show them how to have a positive experience online.  For Mr. Noon, he gets to learn more about what his students are doing and what interests them in class, and of course parents get learn more about their children.  Everybody wins.

If you’re a teacher using multimedia in the classroom, tell us about it and share your ideas!

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