the open university's institute of educational technology who are you? technology, networks and...
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The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Who are you? Technology, Networks and Identities
Chris Jones
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The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Who are you?
`Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly,
`I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'
`What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. `Explain yourself!'
`I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, `because I'm not myself, you see.'
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Identities in a networked world
Image from Wired magazine 2006
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Digital identities
Digital technologies allow for multiple identities but have a potential for integration
Virtual and networked
Blurring of public and private
Contrasts drawn with:
Agricultural
Fixed with a location in place
Unreflective allocation of role
Industrial
Multiple with geographical dispersal
Conscious construction and management
Cartoon by Peter Steiner reproduced from The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Introduction
I want to begin by examining my own ‘academic’ or earlier learner identity By way of my learner/academic
trajectory The second and main topic is to discuss
students learner identities In the context of:
Networked and digital technologies
The idea of the Digital Native and the Net Generation
What can we say about learners in a digital and networked world?
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Who am I?
On my CV it says:
Reader in the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University …
Open and Distance Learning strand leader EdD
Course author MA Open and Distance Education
PI ESRC Research project on the Net Generation encountering e-learning at university
What is my trajectory, my:
Future orientation?
Current identity?
Past?
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Trajectories
I was born and brought up in Bootle, a dockside town north of Liverpool
It’s moto was Respice, Aspice, Prospice: ‘look to the past, look at the present, look to the future’
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
A learner identity?
Merchant Taylors’ Boys School Crosby The Bootle connection A minor public school
An undergraduate degree from Lancaster University Interests in politics and new technology
A PGCE (FE) from Bolton (Manchester Victoria) A financial crisis …
1975 financial crisis 1976 public sector jobs frozen
From teaching to fire service
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
But…
I was an operational firefighter for 16 years…
A Trade Union official…
A political activist…
I was a Woodcraft Folk leader for 10 years…
An educational youth group
Based on collaboration
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
A new learning trajectory
During fire brigade service an OU degree 1980s General Science BA Computer use in Labs in local teacher training college
Introduction to the WWW via the FBU Manchester Host
Injury and retirement from the fire service (1993) Back to university MA Liverpool
Included a study of new technology in work PhD Manchester Met
An ethnographic study of collaboration online and on campus
Part-time sessional lecturer Liverpool John Moores University
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Trajectory and identity
Constructed in retrospect
I can see how I came to be where I am
A work constantly in progress
This links to Wenger’s views on trajectory and identity
A kind of confabulation
Not lies but economical with the truth
There are elements missing from this narrative…
Coherent by design
I make the story piece together to make a narrative
OU student, associate lecturer, central academic staff
Social studies of science and technology
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Learner identities
Non-traditional and ‘standard’ UK educational identities The usual student profile
School to 18 University 18/19 – 21/22
Possible further progression to post-graduate Large numbers of mature, non-traditional routes into H.E.
A variety of age profiles A range of academic backgrounds
Traditional qualifications/access courses/open entry Profile is becoming mixed
20% of OU recruits under 25 Increasing numbers of mature students on campus 50% of age cohort females now entering HE Racial and ethnic mix diversifying Social class mix stubborn and little changed
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
New kinds of learners?
“In education they [the Net generation] are forcing a change in the model of pedagogy, from a teacher-focused approach based on instruction to a student-focused model based on collaboration.” (Tapscott 2009 p 11).
“In order for schools to adapt to the habits of Digital Natives and how they are processing information, educators need to accept that the mode of learning is changing rapidly in a digital age… ” (Palfrey and Gasser 2008 p239)
“Most of our students, moreover, are part of what we now describe as the Net Generation. This is a generation who think IM, text and Google are verbs not applications!” (Brenda Gourley VC Open University, Council address Sept 2008)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
A form of determinism
Technological determinism
Technological change is seen as arising independently and then having an impact on other dependant domains in society
Hard forms - “In education they [the Net generation] are forcing a change in the model of pedagogy, from a teacher-focused approach based on instruction to a student-focused model based on collaboration.” (Tapscott 2009 p 11).
Softer forms - “In order for schools to adapt to the habits of Digital Natives and how they are processing information, educators need to accept that the mode of learning is changing rapidly in a digital age… ” (Palfrey and Gasser 2008 p239)
The problem with these approaches is that they fail to deal with the complexity and diversity found in real student populations.
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
The brain and plasticity
Baroness Greenfield the Director of the Royal Institution in the United Kingdom told the House of Lords that children's experiences on social networking sites:
"are devoid of cohesive narrative and long-term significance. As a consequence, the mid-21st century mind might almost be infantilised, characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity". 24th of February 2009 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/24/social-networking-site-changing-childrens-brains )
Prensky’s claim: Neuroplasticity Stimulation changes brain structure and the way people think Malleability
The way people think changes with experience Attention span and reflection
Attention ‘in bursts’ Reflection –
needs translating for digital natives The consistency of the human condition
Relative biological stability Socio-cultural and historical adaptability
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Claims about Digital Native learners
• prefer receiving information quickly• are adept at processing information rapidly in a non-linear way• are good at multitasking• have a low tolerance for lectures • prefer active and collaborative learning rather than passive and solitary learning• rely on communication technologies for both social and study related interactions
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
The generational metaphor
Prensky calls Digital Native break a ‘singularity’
The generational argument of Millenials and the Net Generation are part of a wider argument
Howe and Strauss have a long standing argument about US generations
A four stage historical cycle (Saeculum and turnings)
Different forces in other countries? E.g. China, or RSA
https://sites.google.com/site/sjlewisprojects/the-ascent-of-man
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Universities and the new learners
Tapscott and more recently Tapscot and Williams say:A powerful force to change the university is the students… A huge generational clash is emerging in our institutions. (Tapscott and Williams 2010 p 29).
AndThe current model of pedagogy, which is at the heart of the modern university, is becoming obsolete.
They recommend: Collaborative learning: Reinventing pedagogy Collaborative Knowledge Production: Opening Up the
University These arguments are linked by Tapscott and Williams to a
privatised and neo-liberal university They claim that change is restricted because of obstructive,
non-market-based business models
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
A moral panic?
An academic moral panic (Bennett et al. 2008)
moral panics occur when a particular group in society… is portrayed by the news media as embodying a threat to societal values and norms…
The concept of moral panic explains how an issue of public concern can achieve a prominence that exceeds the evidence in support of the phenomenon...
In many ways much of the current debate about digital natives represents an academic form of moral panic. Arguments are often couched in dramatic language, proclaim a profound change in the world, and pronounce stark generational differences.” (Bennett et al. 2007)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
The influence of the market
We can track within the ‘digital native’ literature and discourse an alignment with this vision of higher education as market driven and determined by a culture of enterprise. The need for institutions and individual academics to change (to become more ‘digital’) is regularly justified by referral to student ‘needs’ which come to stand as proxy for market ‘needs’ (Bayne and Ross 2007)
BabyphoneKoert van Mensvoerthttp://www.all-media.info/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Empirical evidence
A growing international body of evidence
Kennedy et al Australia
Czerniewicz and Brown South Africa
ECAR annual survey USA
Hargittai USA
Pedró EU
Littlejohn and Margaryan UK
The Net Generation encountering e-learning at university
A complex picture that does not conform to the rhetoric
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
The project - methods and methodology
ESRC project began January 2008 Mixed methods - to achieve a broad empirical description 5 English universities selected for type
1st year courses selected for range of disciplines/subject Included Net Generation and older students
Three kinds of intervention Survey
Spring 2008 Autumn 2008, Spring 2009
Interviews Students (telephone) Staff (face to face)
Cultural probes (Day experience method)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Summarising the evidence
The Net Generation encountering e-learning at university project found that: Digital and networked technologies infuse most students lives and
the material context claimed for a Net Generation exist There are age related differences but no single identifiable
generational set of changes The Net Generation age group is itself divided by age internally There are other significant factors including, institutional mode and
gender apart from age Social Networking and communication technologies are at the
centre of age related differences Students are often physically alone but usually digitally connected
SNS e.g. Facebook and Mobile (Cell) phones Students work and social life are simulataneously mediated
online, onscreen
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Access and use of technologies
The material basis of a Net Generation exists in England (and advanced industrial countries)
More than 75% of students enter university with a laptop
97% own a mobile/cell phone Students tend to use
The same technologies for study as they do for leisure
Use the same technologies they are required to use
Blogs, wikis and especially virtual worlds are little used
Students say they want to: Access information and resources Communicate with others
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
No generational divide
Age and the use of social networking sites (SNS) 68.3 % of the respondents in the sample participated in SNS (e.g. Facebook,
Bebo, MySpace) at least daily Variation in terms of frequency of use between
Age of students - 25 years of age and under and older students (F(1, 587) = 332.23, p < 0.001)
Net generation age students (25 and under) 81.7 % used social networking at least daily basis, whilst only
5.1 % ‘never’ participated in social networking sites.
Students aged 26 years of age and older 24.3 % used social networking at least daily whilst 55.7 % never
participated in social networking sites
Age continues to be a factor within the Net generation age group and between the older age groups of students.
4.3 % of those aged 20 and younger never used this technology
78.5 % of those aged 35 years of age and older never used it.
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Intra-generational difference
Item Means and F values on Self-Reported Frequency of Technology Tasks among Net Generation Students (5-Point Scale, One-way ANOVA, d.f. = 1 ).
20 and under 21-25
Read and send e-mail 4.33 4.34
Use mobile phone messaging 4.81* 4.66*
Instant messaging 3.75* 3.36*
Participate in online social networks 4.32* 4.06*
Read and write blogs 1.57 1.58
Use Wikis 2.76 2.69
Play games 2.29 2.51
Download/ stream music 2.97 2.80
Download/ stream TV/ video 2.81** 2.29**
Upload audio, images or video to social networks
2.47** 2.32**
* p < .05 ** p < .001
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Further complexity
Mode of study seemed to have a significant effect (place-based whole time / part-time distance) Distance students (of all ages Net Gen and older)
Lower use of ICT than place based students Less likely to use SNS, IM, blogs or wikis
Gender Female students lower use of blogs and wikis than males Over the academic year young males adopt a stronger
orientation to games and the use of advanced features of technologies (e.g. mobile phone)
International students Initially report lower SNS, IM use but a higher use of blogs
and wikis Over the academic year an increased use of blogs, wikis
and advanced uses of technology
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Agency and choice
Technological determinism in marked contrast to activity and the interplay of structure and agency.
Agency and activity suggest that students act as appropriators of technology Changes in the context of young people, consequent upon
digital and networked technologies, are unlikely to lead directly to changes in an entire generation.
Research needs to provide an account of how new technologies are actively appropriated by students in both their studies and in their social lives.
Not simply individual agency Collective agency Network effects
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Life on screen (Interviews/Day Experience)
The students integrated their lives on screen with little distinction between the location of work and play“Right, I’ve just flicked on to the internet and I’m just checking my Tiscali e-mails which is the first thing I usually do…. Usually there are only Facebook notifications… which means I probably will actually go on to Facebook which is never a good idea… Then I go on to BBC sport because I’m a bit of a sport addict… Then I check my [University] student e-mails because there’s usually a lot more going on there… Then I log into [local VLE] and the lecture writing up begins.” (Net Generation female studying Veterinary Science University A)
Distraction a key theme from our interviews“…if I’m doing some work and I’ve got Facebook open then I get a message or I’ll see pictures that my friend’s posted from a party and I get distracted and I’ll loose where I was in my work and then it’s a bit like I’ve lost my place and it’s hard to get back in and you know, all from that one little message..” (Net Generation Male, Information and Communications University B)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Responses to distraction
1. Removing the sources of distraction by switching them off“to be honest you just turn it all off and then you just don’t stick with it otherwise as soon as you turn it on, you’re losing time and you’re wasting your own time really.” (Net Generation Male, Modern Languages University D)
2. Physically removing themselves from the distractions“…and the computer is, is you know, today’s distraction, yesterday it was the TV now it’s the internet (laughs) so it, it has quite a serious downside…I tend to use the Library to get away from technology.” (Older Female Veterinary Science University A)
3. Interspersing study with breaks“…it’s just a matter of the person and whether they can not get distracted by it [technology], but I do think it’s just good to have those things there so that you can have a break and chill out and stuff, while you are trying to work.” (Net Generation Female English University A)
4. Working under pressure“Personally I tend to work best under pressure so I’ll sort of leave it until the last minute... I’ll tend to close everything down or at least have it minimised at the bottom of the screen and ignore it, set myself to appear offline on MSN messenger and leave everything, mainly to stop distractions from people talking to you, and try to ignore everything else.” (Net Generation Female Bio-Sciences University A)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Digital and networked contexts
Learner identities and trajectories are chosen from a range of options
Technology is just one factor
Students respond to academic requirements
Students have various trajectories Conditioned by their past
Looking towards an imagined future
Digital and networked technologies provide affordances
They allow access
They allow communication (networking)
They allow participation
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Networked individualism?
In networked societies: boundaries are permeable, interactions are with diverse others, connections switch between multiple networks, and hierarchies can be flatter and recursive. (Wellman 2001 p17) A move from place to place to person to person
Strong links and weak ties Community, cooperation and collaboration Social networks
The shifting of attention to the ways technologies open up the potential for new kinds of social engagement moves the argument towards choice
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Learner trajectories and identities
Changing affordances of technology
Mobility
Mobile phones and specialist mobile devices
The wireless and mobile computer
The nomadic worker
Work occupies a variety of spaces
Student use
Learning nests
Hybrid spaces
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Determinism or choice?
Digital Natives as Digital phrenology?
Association between known features
and presumed characteristics
Points to substantial change
Two related claims
The ubiquitous nature of certain technologies, specifically gaming (Oblinger 2004, Prensky 2001, 2001a) and the Web, have affected the outlook of an entire age cohort in advanced economies
The new technologies emerging with this generation have particular characteristics that afford certain types of social engagement.
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
Project References
Jones, C., and Hosein, A. (2010). Profiling University Students’ Use of Technology: Where Is the Net Generation Divide? The International Journal of Technology Knowledge and Society. Vol 6 (3) pp 43-58.
Jones, C., Ramanau, R., Cross, S.J., and Healing, G. (2010) Net generation or digital natives: Is there a distinct new generation entering university? Computers & Education Vol 54 (3) pp722-732 .http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2009.09.022http://oro.open.ac.uk/19890/
Jones, C., and Healing, G. (2010). Learning nests and local habitations. In Dirckinck-Holmfeld L, Hodgson V, Jones C, McConnell D & Ryberg T. (Eds) Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning, Aalborg 3-4th May 2010. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/abstracts/PDFs/Jones_2.pdf
Ramanau, R., Hosein, A., and Jones, C. (2010). Learning and Living Technologies: A Longitudinal Study of First-Year Students’ Expectations and Experiences in the Use of ICT. In Dirckinck-Holmfeld L, Hodgson V, Jones C, McConnell D & Ryberg T. (Eds) Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning, Aalborg 3-4th May 2010. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/abstracts/PDFs/Ramanau.pdf
Jones, C., and Cross, S.J. (2009) Is there a Net generation coming to university? Association for Learning Technology Conference, Manchester 2009. Available from:http://oro.open.ac.uk/18468/http://repository.alt.ac.uk/view/year/2009.html
Jones, C., and Ramanau, R. (2009) The Net Generation enters university: What are the implications for Technology Enhanced Learning? M-2009: Proceedings of the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education including the 2009 EADTU Annual Conference, 7-10 June 2009, Maastricht NL.http://oro.open.ac.uk/18690/http://www.ou.nl/Docs/Campagnes/ICDE2009/Papers/Final_paper_088jones.pdf
Jones, C., and Ramanau, R. (2009) Collaboration and the Net generation: The changing characteristics of first year university students. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning: CSCL2009: CSCL Practices. http://oro.open.ac.uk/18689
Project web site: http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/netgeneration/