Personality 2: digital technology critic

The promise of digital technology is impresssive, however, some believe their are limits and others believe humans need to set limits. For example, nanotechnology proponents claim that if researchers could design and build structures at the scale of single molecules, the world of possibilities would be metaphorically huge: drug factories the size of pinheads, computers in the brain to aid memory, robots moving through the bloodstream to repair internal injury or disease. One opponent stated; "It would change what it means to be human,"
Can you name this critic?,
Do you agree with the critic's view?

References:

The Khan Academy: Try It, You Might Like It!

Free online learning sites are a great idea - at least I think so. But I've never run into one with as much "wow" impact as Khan Academy, which claims to be the fastest-growing, open-course project on the Web. Having watched and been involved in the production of online classes and webinars in higher education, I'm truly impressed by this relatively new site. Instead of elaborate productions that seek to reproduce the formal lecture or class experience with a few interactive modifications (so radical at the time!) , the Khan Academy feel like a friendly tutoring experience - which, in essence, it is.

Sal Khan, who is from New Orleans, began the Khan Academy by tutoring his cousins long-distance. The tutoring eventually evolved into more than 2,100 short YouTube videos, all free and easy to access. Most of the videos are in challenging subjects such as basic mathematics, calculus, organic chemistry, physics, statistics, etc. There are also "softer topic" videos in plate tectonics, banking and money, brain teasers, the French revolution, etc. What's great about them is they are all sequenced - you start at the beginning and progress bit-by-bit in a logical fashion.

Sal Khan jokes he is "the founder and faculty of Khan Academy." His philosophy is, 'No one is a genuis, or everybody can be a genuis.' He has been featured on national TV, and has received $2 million from Google's Project 10 and more recent support from Bill and Melinda Gates. You can see various presentations and interviews with Sal for yourself on the Khan Academy site. I watched a presentation he made to the MIT Club of Northern California. Here are some highlights:

• Sal claims he is getting more than 70,000 views a day, more than MIT's 30,000-40,000 views for its open-course videos.
• Sal is anti grades. "Grades are ridiculous... everyone should be forced to be an A student."
• Everyone has gaps in their knowledge. Even A students who got 95% correct on a test got 5% wrong.
• K-12 schools are "huge filtering systems... the fundamental model is bizarre." The K-12 model should be reversed - homework should be done in school, and lectures watched at home.
• Continual assessment through digital data collection is key, along with differentiated learning (i.e., inductive versus deductive approaches, etc.).
• The Khan Academic doesn't currently offer videos in different learning styles, but Sal sees opportunity.
• Ditto for incorporating bio-feedback.
• People like informality - they like to see when he makes mistakes.
• Sal breaks his information into nuggets (i.e., not more than 10-minutes videos) but makes sure the information is part of a comprehensive picture.
• Sal thinks some K-12 teachers will be able to scale up in the future, but the majority will become human mediators.
• Sal thinks 80 to 90 percent of students would not have discipline problems in the Khan Academy - in other words, he believes the site is not limited to a small, self-selecting group of students.
• Everyone should start with "one plus one" - most people have superficial understandings of academic topics, and teachers are products of the same failed system.
• Sal thinks his model can eventually tackle complex questions - such as the impact of slavery - through meta data analysis and collection.
• Others are welcome to potentially collaborate and contribute videos - although in his experience it's hard to get people to put themselves publicly "out there" and make a sequence of around 50 videos.

I'm not sure I agree with everything. But I'm going to start self-experimenting. I'll report on my Khan Academy experiences as they occur. I've got my eye on statistics. The one-plus-one lesson sounds good too, if I can find it. Let me know if you try out any of the videos, and what you think of them.

Personality 1: Not enough energy critic

The energy required for digital technology has caused concerns from the beginning and future projections of energy consumptions have force many to suggest aborting digital technology development. For example, a opponent has stated; "It's a mistake to extrapolate exponential trends indefinitely, since they inevitably run out of resources to maintain the exponential growth. Moreover, we won't have enough energy to power the extraordinarily dense computational platforms forecast, and even if we did they would be as hot as the sun."
Can you identify the critic that made this statement?
Do you accept this energy limit perspective?


References:

Convergence of human beings and machines

If both Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil, are correct with their future predications that there will come a time when the world will be unpredicable to humans due to an inability of humans to imagine the intentions or capabilities of superintelligent entities, then the included recommendations are critical digital literacy. These entities will roam the earth because of digital technologies that renders the necessary superintelligence. To further explore the possiblities, I recommend reviewing the following;

An 8th grader's digital literacy requirement

Did you know there is an 8th-grade digital technology requirement to use digital technology to demonstrate achievement in analytic, production and communication skills? Teachers and administrators can use an online tool to gauge their students’ progress towards the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 8th-grade technology-literacy requirement. The assessment includes 30‐minute activities. Students are expected to use a variety of Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Access and Expression Web to complete real-world tasks such as writing a business-oriented letter or constructing a slide presentation on current events. The assessments attempt to offer formative information about students’ skills. They have been strongly recommended as an instrument for high school exit proficiency. What is your opinion?

CompTIA - Upgrade Wanted

Computing Industry Association (CompTIA) is known for its technology certification called CompTIA A+ certification. This assessment falls into the IT category and proves a candidate has a broad base entry‐level knowledge and competency in core hardware and operating system technologies, including installation, configuration, diagnosing, preventive maintenance and basic networking.

Internationally, two leading companies have dominated the work force for basic digital literacy assessment areas - Certiport with its Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3) and International Computer Driver’s License (ICDL). Both companies reference multiple countries using their assessment areas for both standardized benchmarking and regional and national levels, and for individual digital literacy work force assessments. When preparing the human population for the inevitable biological and technological convergence, candidates are seeking leadership for assessment content Upgrade. Are are you interested in the Upgrade?

A futurist, psychic, thought-leader, or fortune teller?

Marshall McLuhan: One of the best who ever did it!

For more than 20 years, my information communication technology (ICT) career has been fueled by the writings of Marshall McLuhan. Yet his material seems like it was written yesterday. He had a gift to write and speak in the moment (i.e. past, present and future). "We are all robots when uncritically involved with our technologies." Imagine being haunted by your enemy which is a digital equivalent of yourself. His material challenges whether humans have evolved beyond Darwin's limited concept of biological evolution, and whether our digital technology will utilmately evolve beyond us. (Read More)

Vendor-neutral educational approach is the Game Changer needed

Is it possible that numerous students in the education system (i.e K-16) today are lacking in the basic ICT literacy skills required to even effectively operate a computer and navigate typical application suites?

Yes. Because to date, assessments and curricula have been primarily driven by competitive vendors with a primary interest in marketing tests for industry related computer skills, standards or technical competencies for jobs related to digital technology. For example, organizations such as Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, Linux, a even Apple and Google, have wide‐ranging testing materials with support curriculum that relate directly to their products and services. Their skills tests, known generally as IT or ICT assessments, are available either directly from the company or through numerous resellers.

Most of these digital technology skills certifications and training programs are costly for the consumer and focus on identifying and validating use of vendor specific products and systems. The assessments seem to adequately measure and provide certification of higher‐level candidates on primarily the planned obsolescence technical skills.

Is such a game changer approach needed?

The Seven Standards (TSS)

1. Determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
2. Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
3. Evaluates information and its sources critically.
4. Incorporates verified information into knowledge base and value system.
5. Uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
6. Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information.
7. Accesses and uses information ethically and legally.

Embrace challenges without fear, Bright Girls

How often have you seen a Bright Girl suddenly lose confidence when faced with a difficult task? How many girls and women, while seemingly smart and good students, claim they "aren't good" with technology and computers?

Heidi Grant writes in the Huffington Post about the gender differences between boys and girls when it comes to facing difficult tasks. Drawing on the research of Carol Dweck, who was her graduate school advisor and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006), Grant explains that praise can be bad for girls, particularly Bright Girls. This is because praise tends to promote a fixed mindset about yourself. Comments such as "You are smart," or "You are a good student" lead to fixed ideas about who you are, and thus the need to continually prove yourself. Bright Girls would rather give up than tackle a difficult task that might lead to failure. That would be too painful, since it could involve giving up your basic identity.

Boys, on the other hand, are usually considered a handful by parents and teachers regardless of how well they perform in school. Bright Boys tend to receive feedback such as, "If you try harder, you can get it right." Thus they are free to continually improve themselves without risk of identity failure.

In Mindset, Dweck promotes the idea of people having a "fixed mindset" versus a "growth mindset." When people have fixed mindsets, they tend to exhibit rigid thinking. Dweck gives the example of one of her former teachers, who organized students' seating arrangements according to IQ rank - ironic, since the founder of the IQ test himself did not believe in fixed IQs. People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, regard things such as "intelligence" as just a starting point. Purposeful engagement is the key to achieving expertise or success, not pre-existing attributes such as "talent" or "genes." Dweck noticed that some of the boys she observed loved failure. In fact, they saw "failure" as a stimulating challenge - a temporary state of affairs.

Positive mental attitudes can be adopted by anyone, is the point made by both Grant and Dweck. Seek out people who will challenge you to grow, and don't let "beliefs" about yourself lead to pre-mature conclusions. Embrace challenges without fear.

Read more about real science used for real goals and struggles in:

Ferguson: The financial meltdown up close isn't pretty

Why isn't there more popular outrage over "a crime story like no other in history" - a.k.a, the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown?

Charles Ferguson, the Oscar-winning director of "Inside Job," suspects many people find the financial services industry just too complicated to understand. The industry is awash with obscure jargon. Additionally, digital technology has complicated and fundamentally changed how the industry operates, to the point traders are studying computer programming and computing.

But Ferguson believes people CAN understand what's going on, with a little effort. The official Inside Job website has a study guide for teachers, complete with hands-on activities and a list of players. This is pretty radical stuff. I'd be interested in finding out how many K-12 teachers are using it.

If you still just can't see yourself spending money on a documentary about the financial services industry, you might want to listen to Ferguson being interviewed at the Commonwealth Club of California. The audience is clearly on Ferguson's side, and a sense of outrage comes alive after the first few minutes. I haven't seen the film, but I plan to after listening to this show. For example...

Ferguson, a former software entrepreneur and technical policy academic and consultant, commented "too bad" when informed some people on Wall Street didn't like their portrayal in his film.

"How did you get to be such a tough guy?" asked the Commonwealth interviewer.

"Well, I've been one for awhile actually. Partially perhaps the way I was raised, I don't know. When I was an academic, certainly it was quite routine to get into tough fights - intellectual fights, not personal ones. People were very direct about their views of each other's ideas."

Ferguson also talked about his Ph.D. thesis advisor, a man who had spent real time out in the read world.

"I remember one time when I complained to him that I was under a lot of pressure, and he kind of smiled and said, 'Charles, let me tell you about the Cuban missle crisis. That's pressure. Your problems are not pressure.' So he set a high standard."

Then there was the time he spent filming in Iraq. It sounds more interesting via audio.

As good as Inside Job is (at least I think it is), we need more articles, films. photos, and general documentation about the impact of the financial meltdown from a variety of perspectives and social levels. History is in the making - and with digital technology perhaps more of it can be collectively shaped than in the past.

For more insight about "Inside Job" or the Charles Ferguson writing, please consider the following;

Dangerous clouds: Why critical digital literacy matters

OK, here’s the situation. I was watching TV the other night, and heard about a new danger: Hydrofluoric acid (HF). Hydrofluoric acid can travel swiftly in huge clouds, and cause horrible death to anyone in its path, according to a report by The Center for Public Integrity. With 50 oil refineries in the US still using HF, more than 16 million people are in the potential path of HF – most of them unaware of the danger they face. The friendly and concerned TV anchorperson advised checking the map on The Center for Public Integrity Web site for more details.

I don’t usually follow up on such things. But noticing two oil refinery plants that appeared to be very near where I live in the center of the country, I decided to check it out. I couldn’t find a map on the Web site. But I did find an Excel spreadsheet of the 50 oil refineries. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the headings on the Excel spreadsheet to appear, or get the scroll bar to show up, so I couldn’t make sense of – I assume – valuable and free information. I never did like Excel, and I forget everything I learn about it. But I shouldn’t. Excel is apparently here to stay, at least for awhile.

I still don’t know if I’m in the path of HF. But maybe you can figure out if you are.

Using GPS to track truant students

The Anaheim Union High School District in California is using GPS units to track truant students, according to the Orange Country Register. Students who have more than three unexcused absences from school are being given the GPS units, developed by AIM Truancy Solutions.

"Every school day, the participants receive an automated phone call reminding them to get to school on time. They are then required to enter a code that tracks their location during their departure for school, arrival at school, lunch period, departure from school and at 8 p.m.,' according to a recap of the article by PCWorld.

"The devices cost between $300 and $400 apiece. All together, the six-week program costs about $8 per day for each student, or $18,000. It's estimated that schools lose $35 per day for each absent student, so AIM Truancy Solution's program is a cost savings."

The threaded discussion that follows the story in PCWorld is interesting. Most of it focuses on the accuracy of the math, with a couple of comments about the threat of "juvie" and the poor quality of schools. Interesting in itself, and an example of how smart, technocratic thinking can quickly dominate educational issues. But what about the social aspect of having schools track students from first thing in the morning to night? Is this an example of schools and parents working together to ensure better futures for their children? Or is technology being used in too controlling a fashion?

Don't pay for reading, writing & math skills!

What are K-12 students actually learning in school? According to an article in the New York Times, 65% of community college students nationwide need remedial education in reading, writing or math. With fees ranging up to $910 per class, students are paying a lot of money - and earning no college credit - for education that should have got in middle and high school. No wonder only 35% of community college students nationwide graduate in six years.

According to the article, many students are surprised to find out they need remedial classes. Math is the subject where students most frequently lack skills. Test your own college-level math skills with four basic math problems offered through ACT, a nonprofit organization that engages in educational and workforce assessments, certifications and research.

With K-12 schools failing to give students the skills they need to succeed in community colleges, could critical digital literacy help fill the knowledge gap? Maybe schools should help students learn to teach themselves, through connecting them to some of the many online math resources. That way, students could teach themselves when they need to, as often as they need to. After all, an associate degree can mean the difference beween an $85,000 nursing job and a minimum-wage service job, as a community college president pointed out.

Ready or not: K-12 Students MUST take online courses

More states are requiring students to take an online course before graduating from high school. Michigan, Alabama, New Mexico, and Idaho have or are proposing some form of e-course requirement, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning in Virginia.

I have a bad feeling about this. Not only are there serious equity concerns, which states claim to be addressing, but is there any better way to kill students' interest in digital learning and technology? Instead of computers being an escape from school, a place where kids can engage in social networking and perhaps explore sites and information outside the boundaries of common core standards, online learning will become a duty - right up there with turning in truly boring homework.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe students need to be pushed into online learning, in order to get comfortable with what is likely to be - more online learning in their future! What do you think?

Parents pay big bucks for e-high schools

It looks like digital literacy is becoming necessary to compete at the K-12 school level, where until recently paper and pencil used to rule. Parents are increasingly paying tution for online private high schoolsk said a spokesman for the Evergreen Education Group, which conducts research on online K-12 education . The George Washington University Online High School (GWUOHS), which just launched this year with 18 students, charges $9,999 annually per student.

GWUOHS is a partnership between George Washington University and Virginia-based K12 Inc, which operates public schools in 25 states. The school is targeting college-bound, high achieving students. Read an article about the partnerhip in Education Week (where access to much of the content costs about $10 a month).

Can the compounded advantages of money and advances in digital learning be overcome? What do you think?