Are we preparing students for a world of Mass Collaboration? (April 26, 2009)

Are we preparing students for a world of Mass Collaboration?
How do we prepare students for a world of Mass Collaboration?

To answer these two questions I did a lot of online research as the term 'mass collaboration' was relatively new to me. I knew of course of Wikipedia, the oldest and most refined mass collaborative project, but I lacked a working definition and deep conceptual understanding of the word and the creative process it represented. I first turned to Wikipedia for a working definition: “Mass collaboration is a form of collective action that occurs when large numbers of people work independently on a single project, often modular in its nature. Such projects typically take place on the Internet using social software and computer-supported collaboration tools such as wiki technologies, which provide a potentially infinite hypertextual substrate within which the collaboration may be situated. A key aspect which distinguishes mass collaboration from other forms of large-scale collaboration, is that the collaborative process is mediated by the content being created - as opposed to being mediated by direct social interaction as in other forms of collaboration.”

I then chose to read the introduction and first chapter of the new book, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing the World, by Don Tapscott, author of internationally best-selling books on the application of technology in business and society such as Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything and of Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, online. In the introduction to his new book I found a description of wikinomics and mass collaboration. Tapscott states that wikinomics and mass collaboration is based on four powerful new ideas: openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally. The new Web (the Web 2.0, the living Web, the Hypernet, the active Web, the read/write Web.5) is “becoming a place where the knowledge, resources, and computing power of billions of people are coming together into a massive collective force. Energized through blogs, wikis, chat rooms, personal broadcasting, and other forms of peer-to-peer creation and communication, this utterly decentralized and amorphous force increasingly self-organizes to provide its own news, entertainment, and services.” He furthermore describes today's Generation Y or 'Net Generation' and their "natural affinity for technology". In "instinctively turn(ing) first to the net to communicate, understand, learn, find and do many things", Tapscott argues that "these young people are remaking every institution of modern life, from the workplace to the marketplace, from politics to education, and down to the basic structure of the family".

I then focused my research on education and mass collaboration and found an excellent article on collaboration for educators, Can Web 2.0 Improve Our Collaboration? In this article I found a definition of collaboration I like which quotes Schrage (1990) who defined collaboration as a "process of shared creation: two or more individuals with complementary skills interacting to create a shared understanding that none had previously possessed or could have come to on their own." This article highlights how we as educators are using Web 2.0 to collaborate professionally, formally and informally; to share ideas, information and data to improve our pedagogical practice; and to create learning experiences for our student that are interactive, engaging, (authentic, and current) and that help students succeed at school.

An alternate view was presented by Wesley Fryer on his weblog speed of creativity blog. While he credits most school systems for providing the physical wiring necessary for broadband Internet access he expresses a need for educational reform so that our students "USE those wired connections for actual COLLABORATION rather than just information consumption (Internet research and other non-publishing activities)" and that replaces "high-stakes standardized testing...with a truly student-centered, constructivist agenda (inclusive of collaboration and project-based learning) that embraces diverse modalities for learning as well as assessment." I agree with Wesley and thus by answer to the first course question for this week, Are we preparing students for a world of Mass Collaboration? would be "Not as well as we could". Wesley then poses five questions that I believe can be turned into statements that can answer the second course question for this week, How do we prepare students for a world of Mass Collaboration?:

1. Provide more time for professional development opportunities for teachers to learn about and support each other in the innovative uses of IT that improve learning and facilitate global connections
2. Articulate a school-wide vision of global collaboration that becomes a vehicle for how learning takes place in and outside of school each day
3. Encourage students (and teachers) to regularly collaborate with other learners (and teachers) around the globe throughout the year
4. Embed more project-based learning opportunities in the school curricula
5. Foster a school culture of creativity, innovation, and (global) thinking

Whose responsibility is it to teach students to be safe online? (April 12, 2009)

This week's class on cyberbullying was eye opening to me as a relatively new digital immigrant. I was surprised at the ubiquitous nature of the act and the varied forms cyberbullying can take. The website STOP Cyberbullying defines cyberbullying as "when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones." as distinguished from such acts by an adult which are then termed cyber-harassment, cyberstalking or sexual exploitation. The website further states that the "methods used are limited only by the child's imagination and access to technology" and common forms cyberbullying take include:
1. Instant Messaging/Text Messaging Harassment
2. Stealing Passwords
3. Blogs
4. Web Sites
5. Sending Pictures through E-mail and Cell Phones
6. Internet Polling
7. Interactive Gaming
8. Sending Malicious Code
9. Sending Porn and Other Junk E-Mail and IMs
10. Impersonation
And these are only the common forms that direct attacks take, for examples of cyberbullying by proxy see the website.
Of interest to our class, the website also states that "When schools try and get involved by disciplining the student for cyberbullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech right." The site then goes on to say, "Schools can be very effective brokers in working with the parents to stop and remedy cyberbullying situations. They can also educate the students on cyberethics and the law. ...We recommend that a provision is added to the school's acceptable use policy reserving the right to discipline the student for actions taken off-campus if they are intended to have an effect on a student or they adversely affect the safety and well-being of student while in school. This makes it a contractual, not a constitutional, issue." As for the home, the website states that "Parents need to be the one trusted place kids can go when things go wrong online and offline. Yet they often are the one place kids avoid when things go wrong online."

The essential question of the week is then, "Whose responsibility is it to teach students to be safe online?" whether it be from cyberbullying, . My answer would be in the form of a now famous African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child" and I would add that for me the proverbial village includes the child as well. Children as well as the villagers (parents, siblings and other family members; teachers, counselors and school administrators; churches and other community organizations; police, lawyers and policy makers; an online communities and industries) need to take personal responsibility for educating today's children, digital citizens fluent in media literacy, about how to protect their own and others online safety. The focus should be on education, on learning, not on punishing and policing. What we need are collective collaborative solutions where digital citizenship and responsibility are promoted and modeled by all villagers such that awareness is raised, teachable moments are taken advantage of, and critical thinking, ethics and behavior (values and character), and media literacy are taught in our schools to the benefit of the well-being and safety of all members of society.

I would like to end this blog with a quote, "Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” (STOP Cyberbullying website)

Copyright and Fair Practice in Education (April 5, 2009)

The course's essential questions for this week on the topic of copyright and fair use in education were:
1. What is the purpose of Copyright?
2. What is Fair Use?
3. What's our role as educators in copyright usage in schools?
4. Do we as a global society need to rethink copyright laws?

To answer the first two questions I refer to the course reading "Understanding Copyright". Copyright law is a "bundle of several different rights" conferred upon individuals and their creative work or "intellectual property". Creative work encompasses varied "fixed symbolic forms" of shared ideas and information including "books, movies, music, paintings, photographs, websites, images, videogames, performances, ... and software. "The purpose of copyright is to promote the creation and use of knowledge" by conferring intellectual property rights upon individuals for a limited time (rewarding and recognizing their work) subsequent to which these works are available to other creators (sharing their work) to use and build upon in the expression of new creative works. Copyright law when applied fairly in terms of the rights of the owner and the users of intellectual property leads to the growth of knowledge and innovation in society. (Understanding Copyright p.1)

Fair Use is a doctrine or "right" (Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education p. 16) established to facilitate this growth of knowledge and innovation in society. It allows members of the public at large to make (unauthorized) use of copyrighted works given that the use of the copyrighted work is 'fair' and benefits society more than it hurts the copyright holder. As stated by Chad in our f2f of April 1 and reiterated in the course readings on fair use, a reasonable determination of fair use is made by considering four factors and two overreaching questions:

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Q 1. "Was the unlicensed use of the work transformative?" (Understanding Copyright p.2)

Q 2. "Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount, considering the nature of the copyrighted work and of the use?" (Understanding Copyright p.2)

In determining fair use, users (and judges, if need be) must analyze the context and situation of each use as well as the norms within the community of users—their peers or fellow professional and creators. Many communities ("documentary filmmakers, film scholars, and online video creators") have established their own best practices in fair use. Educators can refer to the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education available at the Center for Social Media website. (Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education p. 7)

As for our role as educators in copyright usage in schools, I agree with Wesley A. Fryer, "Teachers at all levels have the responsibility and the legal obligation ... to model appropriate respect for copyright law and educate students about how they can do the same." This modeling of respect for copyright law, and I would add the doctrine of fair use, supported by the code of best practices for educators is complicated for international school teachers by the range of national copyright laws (and school policies) they encounter as they move from country to country and school to school. As international school educators, we need to be aware of such differences and work within the diversity of copyright laws (and school policies) around the world utilizing the doctrine of fair practice such that we are able reach a "level of comfort" in our professional lives by being able to apply and model fair use reasoning with our colleagues, students, administrators and others who encounter our creative works.

What should schools be teaching students, teachers and administrators? Doug Johnson of the blue skunk blog states that schools need to:

* "teach users that the use of copyrighted material in research and projects, if properly cited and if it supplements, rather than supplants the researcher’s product, is perfectly legal. (And to teach how) to cite a source and how to avoid inadvertent plagiarism."

* teach "the concepts and tests of (four factors used to determine) Fair Use."

* "teach that a copyrighted work’s use is considered Fair Use if it is of a “transformative” nature." (two questions used to determine Fair Use)

* inform teachers of all special rights given to them as educators.

* inform teachers of the availability of professional codes of best practice (Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education.)

As for the final question, I do think we need to look at copyright laws, the doctrine of fair use, professional codes of best practice in light of societal changes—culture, technology, education, and others—in order to guarantee that we as citizens (local and global) have the rights and opportunities we need to freely nurture the growth of knowledge, innovation and creativity both locally and globally. Universally agreed upon copyright laws, doctrines of fair use and professional codes of best practice would be ideal in this new global digital age. I also think we need to look at copyright laws, the doctrine of fair use, professional codes of best practice in light of the uncertainty (and even fear) they instill in educators. These laws and doctrines and codes to be clear, accessible, simple and nurturing of the growth of knowledge, innovation and creativity both locally and globally in a way that is fair to the rights of both owners and users of creative works so that we can move beyond the atmosphere of uncertainty and fear that prevails in many classrooms (homes and businesses) today. (See quote below)

"As documented in the report The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy
(centerforsocialmedia.org/medialiteracy), educators involved in media literacy feel
uncertain in this new environment of heightened commodification. On the one
hand, they sense that copyrighted material should be available for their activities and
those of their learners, and that such availability has great social and cultural utility.
But on the other, they are aware of the increased vigilance with which copyright
owners are enforcing their rights. And their actual understanding of the subject is
incomplete or even distorted. As a result, there is a climate of increased fear and
confusion about copyright, which detracts from the quality of teaching." (Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education p. 4)

Technology worries of a digital immigrant (blogpost of my choice)

As a 'digital immigrant' teacher and parent I have concerns about the impact of today's wired world on today's youth. I understand and appreciate (to the extent of my current knowledge) the empowerment, creative potential, reach, speed, and wealth of information and knowledge available to those who participate in today's digital landscape. However, as stated by Mark Prensky in Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom, as with most digital immigrants I retain my pre-digital accent (and values) despite solitary and group forays (successful and unsuccessful) with my students and children into today's digital landscape.

So what are my concerns?
1. Although one of the powers of today's technology is in connecting people around the world, I see it isolating people (families and friends) in the same room. The attractive interface of the technology draws people in so that they lose touch with their surroundings and the people in it.
2. Most of today's technologies seem addictive. People are 'obsessed with' their technology of choice (gaming, face book, chatting) and lose track of time while engaged and become distracted thinking about their preferred technology of choice when not engaged.
3. Age appropriateness of content made available with today's tools. As a parent and educator in having these tools in your home and classroom, How can you ensure the appropriateness of the content of each game, each website, each video? The task seems impossible as the tools become more pervasive and information available through these tools grows exponentially.
4. Cost. Again as a parent and educator having the latest technological tools available to our children and students is expensive. And as with all marketed goods, anything we buy is soon outdated and needs to be updated with a new purchase or upgrade.
5. Time. There are only so many hours in the day. Given the addictive nature of many of these technologies I worry that what is being lost can be found on my list of "What will never be wrong..." below.

I don't agree with what Mark Prensky describes happening in many US schools, "locking down machines, refusing to allow students to access email...block(ing)instant messaging, cell phones, cell phone cameras, unfilitered Internet access, Wikipedia..." but I am cautious and don't believe we need to jump wholeheartedly as teachers or parents behind something just because of its pervasiveness in society. New is not always better and old is not always wrong.

What will never be wrong...
1. Reading books together as a family each night
2. Talking to your children (and husband or wife) about their day when they come home each day
3. Making a family meal together
4. Creating a birthday card from scratch
5. Climbing trees with your friends

Feel free to add to either list if you feel like me...


Image URL.