Cultural change
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 07:07PM I've been thinking about Michael Wesch's talk I heard at last week's e-learning conference. He called his keynote "Human Futures for Technology and Education" and made some interesting points. We are seeing, he observes, a movement toward:
- User generated content (YouTube)
- User generated filtering (digg)
- User generated organization (del.icio.us)
- User generated distribution (RSS)
- User generated commentary (blogs)
- User generated ratings (Technorati)
and concludes we are experiencing not a technology or information revolution, but a cultural revolution. He also remarked that while we might easily say "Some students are just not cut out for school," we would not say "Some students are just not cut out for learning."
Wesch obviously looks at technology through the lens of both a cultural anthropologist and an educator - the combination that makes him very interesting indeed. And I would agree that we are experiencing cultural changes brought about by technology.
What I am wondering about is just how fast and universal these changes are - and if any changes brought about by technology in education can be considered truly cultural to date.
The variety of rates at which the tools above are being adopted by the general population was brought home to me vividly by a phone call I received last Monday from Don, a retired teacher who serves on our local lakes association board. He wanted to know how many visitors the association website was getting. Loggin on as webmaster, I found out the site had been averaging about 25 hits a month so far this year. I was mortified; Don was delighted. "Wow, that's almost one a day!" (Take a look a the site - if we get up to 2 visitors a day average, it'll really make Don a happy camper.)
On that same day, I read Amy Bowllan's post in which recommends Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income and strategizes how she can increase her (probably already substantial) blog readership. I suspect one would need more than "almost" a visitor a day to hit that six figure income. Don and Amy may both be part of the same cultural revolution - but for Don it's revolving att 33 1/3 rpm - while Amy is mp3. (A recent study identified only 6% of American consumers as "digital savvy.")
Last week, when Scott McLeod asked his blog readers about "long term, substantive, sustainable change that occurred in your organization," I was sincerely hard pressed to identify such a change - let alone think about who or what caused it - especially a change abetted by technology. If I survive two more weeks in my current position, I will have completed 31 school years as a teacher, librarian or technology director. And things are more the same in 2008 than they are are different from my first year teaching in 1976. Some changes, yes; cultural changes, substantive changes, no. For the most part adults are still putting 20-30 kids in hard desks in square rooms, talking at them and requiring them to regurgitate what we told them.
To use Zuboff's terms, we have "automated" some aspects of education with technology: attendance, grading, lectures, and communication. But what we have yet to do is "infomate it" - do things we could not do before there was technology. What would real cultural change look like in education?
- All students would have meaningful Individual Education Plans specifically written to their learning styles and needs.
- Classrooms would be truly differentiated with all students learning in their own way, at their own pace. Chronological segregation would not happen.
- Personal motivation and relevance for learning would be a prime ingredient in education.
- Constructivism would be the main pedagogy, not a once-a-year term paper or project.
- Data mining would genuinely determine the most effective teaching methods, teachers and conditions for learning.
- Distance learning would be the norm, opening huge opportunities for students to learn according to interest from the very best instructors.
- Gaming would be the norm and teachers would be game coaches.
- Schools would be genuinely pleasant places where student want to be.
- Assessments would measure individual growth over time, not compare students to artificial norms at snapshots in time.
We seem poised in our technology efforts to make some of these school culture changes. I am not holding my breath for any of these things to happen, but you never know.
Has technology changed school culture? Will it? What will it look like?
Reader Comments (15)
Doug, this is an important post and I hope you generate lots of comments. Education has seen big cultural changes. The advent of kindergarten, comprehensive high schools, the standards-based movement, and increasing diversity post-Brown are some that come to my mind. The underlying classroom pedagogical delivery system may not have changed too much yet (in most schools) but these were big cultural changes nonetheless. We are seeing cultural revolutions in other societal sectors because of these digital technologies. Chronicled in books like The World Is Flat, Here Comes Everybody, Everything is Miscellaneous, and Caught in the Middle, we are increasingly seeing that the world as we know it is different from just a couple of decades before. We're still in the middle of the upheaval - and it's hard to see from inside the tornado - but this is our next societal revolution. Yes, technology impacts change - fire, the wheel, the car, the personal computer - all substantively life-changing.
I'm going to use the first half of your post (and maybe the seconf half too!) in my 3-day technology leadership workshop this summer for the Vermont Principals Association. Thanks!
The word I am sticking on is cultural change. The Civil Rights Movement probably brought about the largest cultural change in education by contributing to a redefinition of public school's roles in educating every child regardless of needs or differences.
If you are speaking of substantial or "second order" change, then schools are somewhat immune to those influences which shape society.
The books mentioned by Dr. McLeod are great examples of how our society is different, but schools do not necessarily follow. As an example, television had an astronomically large impact on society. From a change in how families spent time to how we received our news of the world to a rise in consumer advertising; all forever and irreversible. The impact on schools and the actual structure of teaching and learning - very small if examined in the larger context of education.
While our society is dramatically different today in many ways than it was 20 years ago, that pattern has repeated itself in the years preceding the 1980's too. What might feel different is that each significant change is occurring in an shorter timespan (I wonder how soon we will see "generational" differences in people who are only 5 -7 years apart in age?).
Education (with a capital "E") however, has not necessarily followed and we do look more like our institution 20 years ago than different. The major components of what, when and where to learn are still dictated by the institution, and unfortunately rooted more in what, when and where we want to teach (as opposed to what ought we hope others will learn). Until the institution wants to change, either through bottom-up willpower, or through outside pressure to be something radically different (or some combination of both pressures), it is unlikely that Education will see the type of second order change I think we all hope for.
Just consider how many schools still educate on a 9-month calendar when every piece of data suggests this to be a bad practice. My schools do - how about yours and what does that say about the ability to change?
Hi Scott,
Hmmm, kindergarten, comprehensive HS and integration all were around even when this old man was in elementary school - for nearly 50 years. And I am not convinced that we are doing more than paying lip service to the standards-based movement. What I was asking about was if technology has culturally changed schools yet, and I would still argue "no." But it could be viewed that we are still in an infrastructure building mode.
And I agree that we in a cultural change in society as a whole - but not quite as fast or comprehensive as the Shirkys and Friedmans would have us believe (moderation doesn't sell books!)
Here is what you've caused me to think about lately: Is school a culture changer, a culture transmitter or a culture preserver? I feel a blog entry coming on...
Good luck with the Vermonters!
Doug
Doug,
Not related to this post, but excellent article in the latest Learning & Leading with Technology.
Will you be posting a copy here or will it only be available on ISTE's site?
D
You are right on, Doug! Cultural Change is imperative for today's students. And for me, a visual learner, I need to see it in action or in pictures. What does this cultural change truly look like? Based on your superb specs, what a fun task for an illustrator to take on. I have to share this because it really bothers me. I was sad the other day because my 8 year old asked me to hold her back - she's in 3rd grade and wants to repeat it - she is in that much fear of the 4th grade state test. *sniff*
WHY should she even care about this? But this goes back - and to quote Sen. Obama - change is desperately needed especially in education.
And in regards to my post, my goal for it - which was probably unclear to readers - was to clearly define this idea of my NICHE. I guess in some ways you are right when you say to "increase readership". But I want my "mp3" readership increase to be for those who can best benefit from what I have to offer.
Btw,I would be lying if I said I knew what you meant by mp3. :)
I believe that this could be done - but would require a teacher to take a year off to schedule and organize their curriculum...or find the technology that already exists that does all of this. It seems to me that it is NOT whether teachers want to make these changes, but that they cannot all be done at the same time in a short period of time. Even if everyone agreeded that "smart boards" needed to be installed (and a school had the money to purchase them) it takes time to install and train. And trying to implement multiple changes are going to cause friction somewhere.
So we close all schools for one year, and let the students free. This should show "society" how important schools really are, and then when we open schools again, "society" will be even more supportive of teachers and schools.
@Joel: Radio and television impacted society but didn't cause enormous changes in how people did their work. That's the difference this time around, I believe, which is why this is more similar to the Industrial Revolution than the Couch Potato Revolution. =)
I'll not take up lots of space here, but I argued at LearningReimagined that schools are impervious to change of the magnitude you seem to be implying. And I don't think technology will change it all that much either. Reforms and reformers get shut down at the schoolhouse door. Even if they make it inside, the system snaps back to status quo ante change.
Great questions. I, too, am not holding my breath for change, but am doing what I can to bring an end to "school" and "schooliness" and get back to learning sans system.
@Scott: I would agree that TV and radio did not change the way we work as computers have. However, computers have already changed how teachers work (grading, attendance, communicating internally and externally). But, this is not really about learning, it is how we go about "playing school". Computers have been embraced in schools in the least significant means possible - giving us some efficiency.
Back to the original argument that technology might have a minimal impact regardless of what it has done to society... I would argue that television is a more reasonable analogy as are video games. These two technologies have probably had the most profound impact on brain development in children and certainly had influence on how children learn; yet neither significantly changed how schools approach the learning environment.
My point is that we have had technologies that have had profound impact on students and how they learn, but schools have not moved with them.
I am not saying this is a good thing, only pointing out that change in schools is monumental; darn near impossible. It is easy enough to change how we go about playing school, but the very core practices of teaching and learning have not systemically and dramatically changed in a very long time, regardless of what tools have shaped the experience outside of schools.
@ Darren
I've not yet received my copy of L&L (Leaning and Lurching) but if it is the Blogger's Café piece, it is a riff on an earlier blog posting you can find here:
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2007/1/26/blogging-and-a-little-common-sense.html
It seems from past issues that the Blogger's Café columns will be available for downloading from the ISTE website - at least for members.
All the best and glad you enjoyed the column,
Doug
@ Amy,
You comment makes me think of the term "vision." Whether painting with oils or words, the ability to create a picture of what is desired is important.
Your daughter's reaction to moving to a new grade is horrific. I just don't know what to say. What are they telling these kids that creates such anxiety? Maybe you need to go in and dope slap a few administrators!
I am not sure what Obama's education platform looks like. I do know Teddy Kennedy was a co-author of NCLB!
Oh, mp3 is a file format for digital music players. The illusion was that you are at the cutting edge of the technology change.
All the best and thanks for the comment,
Doug
This isn't directly related to the cultural part of your post, but more a response to this:
"do things we could not do before there was technology"
That is the BIG guiding idea for my use of technology with students. I try to ask myself, always, whether what I am doing is the "best" way to do it. If their learning would be just as effective without the technology, then I suggest technology NOT be used.
Here are two examples of effective use of technology that I'm really proud of:
Normally, during literature circles, students who are well known as proficient readers tend to dominate discussions. Personalities definitely come into play. As well, I can never have a discussion between my two classes because I never have the two groups at the same time, and lastly, I can monitor all the group discussions because I can only be in one place at one time.
Several years ago, I created a novel discussion area on blogspot.com, for each of the five novels we were reading. The key factor was that the students were signed in by a code number, and no one knew anyone else's identity. This meant that a) personality and gender was no longer part of the discussion...b) both my classes could discuss with each other so there were ten people per novel rather than five, and c) I was able to monitor all of the discussions, since the text was all there, and I knew all the identities. I had run traditional literature circles, and then I ran the blogspot discussion. One of my students who almost NEVER opened his mouth during the traditional method posted and responded like mad. He admitted later that he loved the anonymity the blog discussion provided. This was a perfect example of something that would not have been possible without the technology. Unfortunately, shortly after our discussion group finished, my board blocked the use of that particular site and I didn't get around to setting up a new one before I changed jobs. It would have been neat to partner with a neighboring school and have inter-school discussions
Very recently, I ran a lunch and learn for our staff on how to use Audacity. One of our staff members, who is an ISSP (In School Support Person) teacher, used the program so that her special education students could record announcements for Asian Heritage month. They burned the mP3 files to a CD, and she just handed the CD to the announcement team. Each day, a different track was played. Those students could NEVER have walked into the office, picked up the microphone and said their piece, but because they were able to re-record as many times as needed until they were satisfied, and because they were able to perform in the privacy of a quiet room, without an audience, they were able to be successful. The look on their faces when "their" announcement came on the PA, and their peers recognized the voice and looked at them with admiration and respect... it was absolutely incredible.
I love that technology has the capability to take students where they never thought they could go.
Hi Janice,
I think what you have hit upon is that technology does not necessarily have to be transformational for an entire organization in order for it to have a huge impact on an individual.
Both your examples might be considered "adaptive" uses of technology - a powerful way we've seen technology already used with seriously disabled students already.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments and great examples.
All the very best,
Doug
Doug,
What a great post. I am a newbie librarian, and I am right in the middle of learning about what different types of technology the educational world has to offer, so needless to say, your blog caught my eye.
I took a few minutes to read the responses to your blog, and I must say that I agree with Scott; we are definitely inside the technological tornado. I can’t believe how fast technology changes, and I think because of that very fact we are having difficulty figuring out how to use it in our classrooms. However educators, do not lose hope, because it is happening. Why, I am currently taking graduate classes where I have learned that many of my colleagues use these new technological wonders on a daily basis in their classrooms, and not just to send their attendance to the office. Through technology, students are beginning to take both interest and pride in their education, and they are also learning from one another, which is such an exciting concept!
We are smack dab in the center of a huge cultural change, but it is hard to see because of that very fact. However, if we just take a look at all of the new technology, take the Kindle (kind of like an iPod for books!), for instance, we will see that our culture is slowly but surely changing because of it. People will no longer have to go to the local Barnes & Noble or Borders anymore to find a book, they can simply download it within minutes onto their Kindle with one simple command. I think that this might have an effect on the concept of social gatherings in our local bookstores, something that I myself have enjoyed extremely in the past. There is nothing like getting together with other readers and discussing the book that you are thinking about buying – getting face-to-face input from your peers.
Our entire culture has already shown examples of how it has changed due to technology. If you look at the amount of personal letters coming in and out of the local post office, you will find that compared to the last few decades, currently there are not as many being sent due to that global minimizer, the good old internet. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but it definitely a cultural changing one. We can also shop from home, which can have an effect on the shops in town, thus changing the area’s economic culture.
But what about our school’s culture? As I stated above, our educators are using technology in the classroom as we speak. I think that we are just beginning to see the changes in our schools that will soon become more evident. Because we are using technology in the classroom, the students, who are digital natives to begin with, are becoming more interested. We’re finally speaking their language! We are slowly but surely moving away from the “teacher lecturing to the student” type classroom, to the “student educating student through technology with the assistance of the teacher” type of classroom. So yes, the culture of our schools are on the precipice of change, we just can’t see the forest for the trees yet. But we soon will.
Hi Ali,
Your excitement and enthusiasm jumps from your words. I am delighted to know that you are seeing (and experiencing) change in your school.
I agree that there is a cultural shift happening. I am just not quite convinced it is happening at the speed some are expecting.
Hope you are finding your job satisfying and welcome to the profession!
Doug