Digital Shift is On ~ The "digital natives" will stop showing up unless we shift with it!

PART 3
December 8, 2007

One of the things I saw over the last few years in the Roman Catholic church I attended when I was young is how many gray heads were sitting in the pews during mass on Sunday. What was going on? How will the church have to change to enlist youth in religion?

I have been speaking over the last few month about the digital shift occurring in our youth. We see that in the electronic devices they use and have access to each day. How will schools have to change to keep up with this shift to enlist youth in education?

An then again... what are the implications of Weinberger's observations and theories?

Last night I collected my computer and Logitech laptop camera to attend the David Weinberger dinner and lecture I mentioned in my December 5th blog post. When I arrived at the dinner which I had assumed was going to be a small, intimate dinner with the author and some friends, I was surprised to see over a hundred people in their 60's and 70's feasting on a buffet dinner. I learned that the dinner was part of a Friday Forum lecture series.

I was out of place, not because of my age, but because of my computer. Once again (this happens everywhere) I was the only one with a black leather computer case. The digital shift is not ubiquitous yet.

It was a pleasant meal with some friendly people, but I wanted to engage with the author about his thinking and this wasn't going to be the forum for that kind of an exchange. The organizer for the event did introduce me to Weinberger. I told him I was looking forward to his presentation; "you have put words to what I have been thinking," I said to him. Weinberger replied, "Good thing your thoughts aren't copyrighted."

I was the first to leave dinner; I wanted to get to the lecture hall so I could test out the internet connection and prepare for my Ustream.tv broadcast. Although I still hadn't figured out how to archive a broadcast, I still wanted to try; sooner or later I will find out and the experience with broadcasting will get me ready for my EduCon 2.0 presentation on January 26, 2007, Claiming what we Imagine.

I fired up Firefox only to get the "no connection screen." I fittled with with "View available Networks" and found that they was a wireless connection in the air, but when I tried to connect, I got a message asking me for an ID, password, and room number. Frustrating, but it happens everywhere, either there is no connection or their is a connection for only the registered users. Obviously, with no connection, no Ustream broadcast.

People from the dinner and many others (totaling I'd guess 250) shuffled into the lecture hall. Most were in their 60's and 70's ~ no one had a computer but me. David Weinberger was introduced with words of praise that must have come from the reviews of his new book. He began his presentation and wow! It was almost exactly the same presentation he gave on Google. See PART 2, December 6th below. How ironic! Here is a Fellow from Harvard's prestigious Berkman Institute for Internet & Society speaking about how accessible knowledge on the internet is for users and I'm sitting in a presentation for the second time! I found out later on his blog that the presentation is his "stump speech" for his new book.

Did he assume no one would Google his name and find the presentation video and watch it before the Friday Night lecture? Did it not occur to him to even make the connection between his online version, the presentation I was watching and an internet literate audience?

I am grateful to have access to his ideas online and it doesn't seem to have dampened the enthusiasm for him as a speaker with the "digital immigrant" generations. Will we realize that a monster is growing among us?

• Digital natives are the result of our world's cultural and economic inclinations.
• Inertia is preventing us from changing to digital habits (ubiquitous internet access?).
• Digital natives are not showing up to analog institutions: churches, education, Friday Night lectures.

Do teachers need to innovate? Or is innovation a 21st Century skill we must teach in school?

Student Art Show ~ the VoiceThread Way

I am reading a blog post by Jeff Utecht on R & D in education. Jeff makes the point that without the exploration time he personally invests in R & D, a tool like VoiceThread would not be used in classrooms where he works. I'd encourage you to view the artwork and commentaries by the student artists at the Shanghai American School. I was impressed with how VoiceThread was used to display student artwork, but I was more impressed with the insights and maturity students exhibit in their comments. Well done art, students; thanks for the showing. I enjoyed hearing your comments and watching you illustrate on the artwork how your thinking developed the piece. A unique application of a collaborative tool that brought me closer to the humanity evident in your art work.

Innovation at Google ~ A Model for Schools?

Jeff goes on to relish the thought of Google employees who have time built into their day for R & D: "But what if we could get schools to buy into the idea that we are the R&D department. What if we had 20% time like Google employees? I checked out the benefits. Makes me realize how tough educators have it.

Top 10 Reasons to Work at Google

1. Lend a helping hand. With millions of visitors every month, Google has become an essential part of everyday life - like a good friend - connecting people with the information they need to live great lives.
2. Life is beautiful. Being a part of something that matters and working on products in which you can believe is remarkably fulfilling.
3. Appreciation is the best motivation, so we've created a fun and inspiring workspace you'll be glad to be a part of, including on-site doctor and dentist; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; on-site day care; shoreline running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day.
4. Work and play are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to code and pass the puck at the same time.
5. We love our employees, and we want them to know it. Google offers a variety of benefits, including a choice of medical programs, company-matched 401(k), stock options, maternity and paternity leave, and much more.
6. Innovation is our bloodline. Even the best technology can be improved. We see endless opportunity to create even more relevant, more useful, and faster products for our users. Google is the technology leader in organizing the world’s information.
7. Good company everywhere you look. Googlers range from former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and U.S. puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and former-Marines. No matter what their backgrounds Googlers make for interesting cube mates.
8. Uniting the world, one user at a time. People in every country and every language use our products. As such we think, act, and work globally - just our little contribution to making the world a better place.
9. Boldly go where no one has gone before. There are hundreds of challenges yet to solve. Your creative ideas matter here and are worth exploring. You'll have the opportunity to develop innovative new products that millions of people will find useful.
10. There is such a thing as a free lunch after all. In fact we have them every day: healthy, yummy, and made with love.

Innovation?

Innovation seems to be the name of the game at Google. Do schools need to be innovative to prepare kids for their futures? How much innovation will their be in our future day-to-day lives.

My visit to Google catapulted me into a cell phone analogy. We all have cell phones. Many students have cell phones....but what if you could get the cell phone to do whatever you wanted it to do? Be innovative. Dream, discover, invent.

Watch these three videos and them leave a comment to the question: Is innovation a 21st Century skill we must teach in school?

Perhaps Jeff's idea that Technology Specialists should have time to innovate (the equivalent of 36 days a year - 20%) is not so outlandish. For Professional Learning Communities to thrive, we need to give professional teachers and administrators time to read, reflect, interact with other professionals, and innovate and apply in the classrooms to improve student learning. Short of that happening, teachers and administrators need to continue to be passionate about learning and find ways on their own to give learning a chance ~ over and over again. My online community helps me with the means and the methods to do my learning beyond the school day. I've been finding the time since 1970. I know I won't stop now.

1. If I had a magic phone....

Kids talk about what their dream phone would do. Learn more about the Open Handset Alliance's plans to build a better phone. What will your magic phone do?



2. Introducing Android

The creators of Android talk about their new open platform for mobile phones and the Open Handset Alliance.



3. Skypop on Android

Bruce Leak and Timo Bruck from SkyPop demo a couple of their new applications for Android.