by Scott McLeod | Nov 28, 2007 | Blogging, Communication, Law, Policy, and Ethics, News and Events, Research and Evaluation, Safety and Security, Tech Tools |
This arrived in my e-mail inbox yesterday:
CDC REVIEW OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND YOUTH VIOLENCE
Research Shows Increase in Electronic Aggression
In September 2006, experts from academic institutions, federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations gathered at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, to better understand the varied ways new media technology – blogs, instant messaging, chat rooms, email, text messaging and the Internet – influences youth aggression. The two-day meeting, "Electronic Media and Youth Violence," was held to review current research and to discuss the implications for youth, parents, school staff, and educational policymakers. Data from the review show although rates of electronic aggression are lower than rates of physical and verbal aggression, these rates seem to be increasing. In 2000, 6 percent of internet users ages 10 to 17 said they had been subjected to online harassment; by 2005, the percentage had risen to 9 percent – an increase of 50 percent.
The complete review can found in the December 2007 supplement of the Journal of Adolescent Health. To access a complete copy of the Journal and the supporting issue briefs, which summarize the research and discuss the implications of these findings for youth, parents, school staff, and educational policy makers, please visit www.cdc.gov/injury.
A few thoughts…
- Most parents probably don’t do near enough at home to teach and monitor children’s appropriate usage of electronic communication tools. We know that schools and religious institutions don’t when kids are with them. So why should we be surprised that some children and adolescents are using these tools for inappropriate purposes? It’s like Lord of the Flies out there when it comes to adult supervision!
- The JAH research articles on this topic are impressive. It’s going to take me a while to read through them all. My first scan, however, is that while there seems to be a bevy of top notch, peer-review-quality research there, it’s all on the harmful effects of communication technologies and none on the empowering effects of the same. We need good, data-based information on this topic, but I’d like to see academia provide some counterpoint research on the positive aspects too, not just more fear-driven research. I want to also see a two-day meeting on Electronic Media and Youth Empowerment. We’re not going to back to a tech-less society. Why can’t we get info on both sides of the coin so that we can make intelligent decisions about this stuff?
- ‘An increase of 50 percent’ sounds ominous. An actual rise from 6 percent to 9 percent doesn’t. Presentation makes all the difference.
- The policy implications from the expert panel crack me up. Essentially the panel said ‘The federal government should do very little. The states should do more. School districts and schools should do the most.’ In other words, they could have just typed the word ‘federalism’ on a piece of paper, handed it in, and gone out for coffee. Nice job, folks!
by Scott McLeod | Nov 26, 2007 | Communication, Higher Education |
I blogged before about my regular column on technology and higher education for Technology & Learning magazine. My latest article is now available:
Here’s an excerpt:
In the Internet era, it’s not enough to have good ideas or content.
People also have to be able to find you. Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics,
puts it this way: "[The risk is] obscurity: the risk that one’s work
will get lost in the vast digital wilderness of content and
voices….In today’s information-soaked environment, writers and
content creators need to find ways to permeate people’s consciousness." . . . [M]y academic colleagues are not clickable.
FYI, I sent Will Richardson a big thank you for his post that inspired the article.
by Scott McLeod | Nov 13, 2007 | Blogging, Communication, Leadership and Vision, Miscellaneous, Videos |
A few weeks ago I
highlighted some videos made by Michael Wesch and his students at Kansas
State University. If you haven’t seen them, I encourage you to do so.
David
Warlick liked A Vision of Students Today. Gary
Stager didn’t. And Michael was stirred to make a
clarification. The comments on all three blog posts are informative and
interesting.
The great part of the Web, of course, is that it makes all of this
conversation public, transparent, open to participation by others, and, dare I
say, even possible. Sure, before the Internet and blogs existed, Michael, David,
and Gary could have exchanged thoughts about Michael’s work via mail or e-mail.
But this is more powerful (and much more fun).
by Scott McLeod | Nov 2, 2007 | Communication, Leadership and Vision, Management and Operations |
[cross-posted at LeaderTalk]
These are the signs you see when you enter Minnesota or Iowa along Interstate 35. Guess which one leaves the better impression?
While traveling recently, I had the unfortunate experience of overhearing two male restaurant employees ogling a young female traveler as she walked through the airport. All of the people sitting around the servers’ station got to hear all about how ‘hot’ she was, what they’d like to do to her, etc. They were completely oblivious to their surrounding customers and to the fact that their sexist (and graphically vulgar) behavior reflected poorly on the national chain restaurant for whom they worked.
I have seen a similar phenomen when I visit schools. I can think of many school organizations where receptionists, secretaries, and other front office employees seemed oblivious or indifferent to the fact that their conversations, behaviors, and work environments reflected upon the institution. While waiting in school or district front offices, I have been ignored, overhead confidential conversations about students, been treated to complaints about bosses and the school system, and heard vulgar language. I have seen signs on walls like ‘Lack of planning on your part DOES NOT constitute an emergency on mine!’ and ‘I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn’t look good either.’ I have seen students and parents treated poorly, either in person or on the phone. And so on…
I always wonder what parents or community members think when they visit these offices. Like me, do they wonder about the level of professionalism of the office staff? Are they concerned about the level of customer service that they are going to receive? Are they worried that their visit may become fodder for later public conversation or ridicule? Do they wonder why an administrator is ignoring this?
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
![Cause and effect? Or just ironic?]()
by Scott McLeod | Oct 28, 2007 | Blogging, Communication, Safety and Security |
Earlier this week I blogged about fighting fearmongering. PREA Prez notes that the next day his district blocked my blog:
[click on image for larger version]
Ironic timing, isn’t it, Doug?
by Scott McLeod | Oct 17, 2007 | Communication, Online Learning, Safety and Security, Tech Integration, Tech Tools |
Check out the transcript of Will Richardson’s live online chat about the educational benefits of social networking. Part of the fun at this year’s T+L conference!
FYI, tomorrow is an online discussion with Thomas Hutton, senior staff attorney for the National School Boards Association, on navigating the legal landmines associated with new technologies. You know I’m looking forward to reading that!
by Scott McLeod | Oct 17, 2007 | Blogging, Communication, Higher Education, Law, Policy, and Ethics, Leadership and Vision, Pre-Service Preparation, Tech Integration, Tech Tools |
A few months back, Susan McLester, Editor in Chief of Technology and Learning magazine, asked if I would write a monthly column on higher education technology issues. Always mindful of opportunities to spread the word about CASTLE, of course I said yes!
Here are my first few articles:
by Scott McLeod | Sep 26, 2007 | Communication, Higher Education, News and Events, Online Learning, Pre-Service Preparation, Professional Development, Research and Evaluation, Tech Integration |
It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Chris Gareis and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach are the recipients of the 2007 Technology Leadership Research Award. Here is the abstract from their co-authored article, Electronically Mentoring to Develop Accomplished Professional Teachers:
With nearly half of all new teachers leaving the classroom within five years, schools are faced with the challenge of retaining early-career teachers while simultaneously providing them with the support they need to develop into effective professionals. Mentoring novice teachers by pairing them with experienced teachers in schools is a widely adopted practice for addressing these needs; however, face-to-face mentoring is subject to challenges. A promising complement to face-to-face mentoring may be found in the innovative use of computer-mediated communications, such as online forums. In an effort to support, develop, and retain novice teachers, The College of William and Mary has partnered with the Center for Teacher Quality to create ENDAPT – Electronically Networking to Develop Accomplished Professional Teachers. ENDAPT is an asynchronous online forum that brings together novice teachers and teacher leaders in a virtual mentoring community. This article provides an overview of the program model and presents research findings from a study of participants’ postings using content analysis methodology to identify and describe the nature of professional conversations among mentors and novice teachers.
Although we can’t share the actual article with you (because it’s currently under review by a journal), Chris and Sheryl will be giving a presentation on their paper at the UCEA conference in November which we will try to make available to folks.
I would like to publicly thank the other practitioners and academics who took the time out of their extremely busy schedules to participate in the anonymous review process this year:
- Kurt Bernardo, Technology Coordinator, Orange City (OH) Schools; 2005 Ohio Technology Coordinator of the Year
- Dr. Jim Morrison, Editor-in-Chief, Innovate
- Dr. Chris Sessums, Director of Distance Education, University of Florida College of Education; Best Individual Blog, 2006 Edublog Awards
- Dr. Jon Voss, Coordinator, Northern Star Online (MN) Schooling Collaborative
The Technology Leadership Research Award is jointly sponsored by CASTLE and the UCEA School Technology Leadership Special Interest Group.
Kudos to Chris and Sheryl. I’m looking forward to the submissions for next year!
by Scott McLeod | Aug 29, 2007 | Blogging, Communication, Miscellaneous, Tech Tools |
[cross-posted at the TechLearning blog]
What social networks do I belong to? Let me see…
MySpace. Ning Classroom 2.0. Facebook. Ning EdubloggerWorld. LinkedIn. Ning Stop Cyberbullying. The blogosphere. The Did You Know? 2.0 wiki community. And my burgeoning list of Twitter friends. And the folks in my Skype and other instant messaging networks. And also my only-sometimes-electronic personal and professional networks: other professors, principals, superintendents, technology coordinators, assessment coordinators, former students, friends, family. And so on… (do listservs count? Second Life? my classes in WebCT?)
A few things are becoming clear to me about all of this social networking that is occurring:
- I don’t have time to do much of it. I see the active Twittering that’s going on, the vibrant dialogues occurring in Ning, the questions that others are asking and answering in Facebook. I’m already exhausted trying to balance everything. I can’t keep up with the reading, not to mention the posting and participating. I’ve essentially chosen e-mail, the blogosphere, and live people over more formalized social networking and instant messaging tools. Maybe I’m starting to become one of those antiquated old fogies that the young whippersnappers complain about… (Q: if I have a bunch of social networking “friends” but never participate, does that make me “antisocial?”)
- I spend more time in the networks that push notifications out to me via e-mail or my RSS aggregator. I’d likely be more active in Facebook, for example, if I could subscribe to all of its functionality rather than having to remember to go visit.
- I agree with Wired.
- We need to be sure that one of the 21st century skills students learn is “navigating and managing multiple, potentially overlapping, worldwide social networks” (or something like that).
- As some of us encourage educators to dive into social networking, it behooves us to explicitly acknowledge the challenges of time management, multiple network management, etc. It’s not all glam and glitz.
- There are a lot of social networks out there. Some of them are a little lame (wait a minute! I belong to one of these!).
- Right now RSS is the key. Services like Feedburner’s subscribe via e-mail are stopgaps to bridge old technologies with the new.
- Maybe I need a dedicated widescreen social networking monitor, one that I just load up with open social networking, IM, RSS, Twitter, and e-mail windows. That way I’ll never miss a beat (and also never get anything else done).
I need to get over my worry that I’m going to miss something. I’m saying no to the next social network invitation I get. I don’t care if it’s the “People who want to give Scott McLeod a million dollars” network. Sorry. My brain is full.
P.S. #4 is really important.
by Scott McLeod | Aug 20, 2007 | Communication, Miscellaneous, Tech Integration |
A video of prison inmates in the Philippines remaking Michael Jackson’s Thriller is a big hit on YouTube. As is typical, the rebuttal is getting much less attention.
The truth is somewhere in all of this, although as an outsider I can hardly presume to know what it is. But this much is certain: these two videos certainly highlight yet again the importance of media and information literacy.
