Notes on:
Dr. Yong Zhao: Digital Citizenship in a Global Economy
Podcast to follow
Technorati Tags: BLC07, yongzhao
Started with the study that test scores were not higher in classroom that used software tools.
Lots of news on this. Debate still goes on.
We have always been debating whether it works or not.
Showed a list of celebs and split them into who will look good on HDTV… “You want Donald Trump on HDTV?”
Technology redefines talents.
Can divide people… uses staircase as an example… now we have abled and disabled.
Book recommendation: The Alphabet versus the Goddess
Alphabet is left brain… invention benefited men…
Zhao predicts that the new media tech will now benefit women.
Industrialization… changes how we think about time and distance… social interaction
Herbert Spencer asked at this time… What’s taught in schools?
Latin, Greek, Theology, Religion, Grammar… as relevant in the Industrial age?
He said the most important thing to teach is Science and this was accepted… and still is
Almost 150 yrs later…
Cyberwar happening now
Virtual marriage & 2nd life… socializing virtually… SL merges physical world with virtual (economy)
Gold-farming and digital produce: Digital farmers market… ie., World of Warcraft… buy stuff, so people sell status, gold… etc. It’s a booming industry… sold on ebay, etc.
There are online gaming factories… outsourced to China… virtual sweatshops… where people play for a living and harvesting virtual gold. Usually 12 hr shifts… people make about 25 cents an hour.
YouTube and podcasting: running your own show
What kind of new talents do we need? The Internet now demands that everyone become an author, just as Gutenberg Press demanded that everyone become a reader.
Media/Technology changes a lot of things
Chinese Backstreet Boys YouTube video… these guys are very popular.
Hackers and Thieves… what can an 18 year old do?
Now… the global part of it…
“As electrically contracted, the globe is no more than a village.” Marshall McLuhan, 1964
Friedman… 2005… world is flat.
Global Free Flow… Global Integration: Goods… People…Money
McDonaldization and Starbucks in the Forbidden City (China): Global Consumerism
This doesn’t just bring BigMac and french fries… brings culture changes… culture threats
Our students are affected by global forces, cultural clashes, and different value systems.
It’s a Big Job to Make the Mini: Global Supply Chain
Many products’ parts are made in different parts of the world
We need to move our students in niche places… Global Trade of Talents… Global supply chain of talents
In summary…
- Identities: nationalism, virtual, and physical? who are you “loyal to”
- Global reach
- Returning to the agricultural mode of production?
- Accept the role of the machines… computers can do some things as well or better…
We need to make our students aware of these issues. They will have to interact with people from all over the world.
Children at a young age can contribute in a genuine way…
What knowledge is of most value? We need new skills… see Daniel Pink
Digital Citizenship Concept
- Living in the digital world
- learn how to make a living in the digital world
- (Re)Creating the digital world
Are our students being prepared
Niche talents and multiple intelligences… what are we good at?
This is a very different world.
If we only test one ability, you “drop” most of the kids.
What about the other talents
“Never send a man to do a machine’s job.” —The Matrix
Let teachers do what they do best… the human touch
We’ve asked teachers to do too much in their classroom… can not redefine their talents… with technology… we might just be duplicating
Dividing the jobs… human touch for teacher, input/output stuff for machines… so do some of the instruction online… then “book” time with teacher and small group of students. Computers to use to prepare for the test, for instance… in a game
Redefine talents and academic success
Start with problems… Re-image education
Reconfigure traditional institutions
Students must participate in the PRODUCTION… not just CONUSMERISM
3 responses so far ↓
1 Wesley Fryer // Jul 20, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Bob: Thanks so much for blogging and podcasting at the conference. Wow! I heard you mention on your last Bit by Bit podcast that you were going to do this, but hadn’t checked in till I saw some pictures from Will and then your conference voicethread…. Of your notes here, the following statement hit me the hardest: “The Internet now demands that everyone become an author.” I hadn’t thought about the printing press requiring everyone to be a reader, but that is so true. Reminds me of Papert’s distinction between “lettracy” and “literacy” that he makes early on in “The Children’s Machine.” The printing press really forced schools to focus on “lettracy.” The Internet and media centric culture in general should propel us to focus on “literacy” more broadly defined, as Papert says. This ties in nicely with this quotation that EVERYONE now needs to become an author, not just a reader. A content CREATOR, not just a content consumer. Thanks for sharing the post and stimulating some new ideas!
2 Bob Sprankle // Jul 20, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Thanks so much, Wes for your comment. I am truly “blown away” from all of the presentations and feel so very fortunate to have been at BLC. I’ll get podcasts up soon (heading off Sun. to DC, so it might be in spurts).
Thanks again to the presenters for letting me post the podcasts here.
bob
3 ben // Aug 26, 2007 at 10:18 pm
bob,
thanks for posting your blc07 podcasts! running out of pd time as in-service begins tomorrow and students in a week. i’ll barely finish blc and the necc07 pod/vodcasts before k12. andrew zolli’s sunday keynote at necc is a good listen.
the itunes bit by bit is missing the zhao (48) podcast that is here in the blog. somehow mitch resnick’s presentation (47) was repeated.
thanks again for the great show notes too!
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