Literature Review 2: "A Technological Reinvention of the Textbook: A Wikibooks Project"

We had briefly discussed using wikis as textbooks in an earlier class this semester and it brought to mind a few questions about the efficacy of this practice. In this regard, I was hoping to find an article that would delve a little deeper into this area. Luckily, I found, "A Technological Reinvention of the Textbook", which was written by Patrick M. O'Shea, James C. Onderdonk, Douglas Allen and Dwight W. Allen. It appeared in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, v27 n3 p109-114 Spr 2011. 6 pp. The link to this article is: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ918902.pdf.
  The authors of this article believe that the standard textbook is, "...outdated and in need of reconceptualization" (p.109). They state a number of reasons for this belief, but perhaps the most important is the speed in which information is changing in today's society. The authors believe that the "lengthy publication schedule for textbooks" (p.109) essentially renders them obsolete by the time they reach students. One solution to this problem that the authors discuss briefly in this article is the use of e-books as textbooks. These would still have the same format as a textbook, but could be kept current with "real time updates" (p.110) by the original author of the text, thus still keeping them credible. E-books could also utilize multimedia options and links to other sources (p.110). To me, this seems like a great alternative to the current textbook model. Having a constantly current and evolving text would be a great way to keep students engaged using existing technology that is relatively cheap and easily accessible.
However, the authors do not believe this is the most viable option for the future. They favor the student created wiki as the best alternative to today's textbooks, because it makes the learning experience "...integrative, revolving around the students and their ability to find, analyze and report information..." (p.112). In this approach, the course textbook is created by the students as part of the course itself. At first, this seems like a good idea, but it does beg the question, when and how is the textbook used exactly? If the majority of the coursework is spent actually creating the text, then it kind of defeats the purpose of having a textbook in the first place. Also, the authors state that to create the textbook, they had individual students work specifically on one subject (p.111). In this regard, it would appear that these students are only gaining knowledge in one very specific area of the course and will be lacking in many others.
It seems to me that most of what the authors are trying to achieve with this project can be done in other ways. Having students do multi-genre projects or other student centered activities still provides them with choices in how they learn and gives them the opportunity to use the skills that were mentioned earlier that the authors believe are so important. Using e-books as a textbook is a great way to supplement this learning while still moving forward in enhancing the student experience through technology.

K-12 Online Video: "Robo-Fusion" by Joe Bires

In this video, Mr. Bires discusses how having his students build and program robots can help inspire them and "reinvigorate learning". I thought this was an excellent presentation and a really good idea . The first thing that struck me about this subject was how the use of robots in this way was a great representation of Conrad Wolfram's idea of fusing math, science and real world skills. Mr. Bires mentions in the video that the focus of this lesson is not the robots themselves, but teaching the students the problem solving skills that will help them get their robots up and running. To do this, students have to draw from many subject areas: math, design, engineering and computer programming, just to name a few.
I was also surprised at how young the students in the video were. I would have thought that a project this complex would be geared toward older students. However, it appears that robots can be used with much younger children. I also noticed that all of the students that Mr. Bires featured in his video were male. It made me wonder if a project of this type would have a broad appeal to female students. as well. It could be that female students just weren't featured in this video, but it seems like the subject of robots is a typically male one. I have heard it mentioned that it is sometimes difficult to get younger female students interested in science, so hopefully Mr. Bires has taken this into account and tailored his lesson plan accordingly.
After all, if one of the goals of technology use in schools is to motivate student learning, I can't think of a much better project than this one. A piece of tech that students actually build themselves seems like the ultimate way to keep students engaged. The fact that it fuses together so many aspects of the curriculum makes it so much the better.

Digital Nation Video: Stimulation Overdose

One thing that really struck me in the Digital Nation video was the idea of  stimulation as an addiction.  The section on multi-tasking and what it does to the brain was very eye opening.  The fact that excessive multi-tasking can completely alter brain fucntion and thought processes is definitely one element of what could be considered an addiction.
Another good example of this was the M.I.T. students who were addicted to their technology, to the point that they couldn't even have a dinner with friends without checking their cellphones numerous times. They are in need of constant stimulation from as many sources as possible. If all of their technology was suddenly taken away, I don't think that they would be able to function. These students would be "jonesing" for their stimulation fix to the distraction of all else.
I think in relying on this stimulation overload, something essential is being lost. The ability to sit quietly and contemplatively is an important part of being human. If great thinkers like Einstein or Socrates were being constantly inundated and distracted by all of this information technology, would they have still created their world changing ideas? Personally, I don't think so. It makes me wonder if, in twenty or thirty years, there will be any great thinkers left.