To IM or not: Exploring the contexts of undergraduates' literate engagement with technology on campu

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To IM or not Exploring the contexts of
undergraduates' literate engagement with
technology on campus

• Sarah Lohnes
• Teachers College, Columbia
• NRC 2006

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A few framing ideas

• New literacies
• highlights an interest in understanding the
  technology-enabled changes in the contexts in
  which literacy practices occur, and the impact of
  those changes on literacy practices (Lankshear
  Knobel, 2003)
• Circulating literacy practices
• practices are embedded within, but not confined
  to, school and non-school contexts (Merchant,
  2004 Alvermann, 2004)

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Previous research

• How do liberal arts college students interact
  (and make meaning) with technology across the
  geography of their everyday lives?
• Setting
• month-long institute on new media and digital
  media production
• Participants
• 9 students from 8 liberal arts colleges
• Advanced technology users

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Why liberal arts colleges?

• Fully residential 4 year experience
• Small student to faculty ratio
• Historical tension between liberal arts mission
  and technology
• Technology and engineering, studies that
  emphasized things rather than ideas, had no place
  in the liberal arts colleges (Hawkins, 2000).

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Results
Students set boundaries for tech use in the
classroom context.
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Survey

• N 133 respondents
• fully complete surveys (63)
• Demographic info
• respondents from 3 liberal arts colleges in the
  Northeast
• 24 men, 38 women, 1 undeclared
• 17 freshmen, 10 sophomores, 21 juniors, 15
  seniors
• Technology ownership
• 83 of students own LAPTOPS
• 44 own an iPod
• 80 own a cell phone

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• Do you think it is appropriate/inappropriate and
• necessary/unnecessary to your college life to do
  the
• following in your dorm room

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• Do you think it is appropriate/inappropriate and
• necessary/unnecessary to your college life to do
  the
• following in an English class

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• Do you think it is appropriate/inappropriate and
• necessary/unnecessary to your college life to do
  the
• following in a Computer Science class

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One is tempted to conclude that these young
people can make technology work but cannot
place these technologies in the service of
academic work (ECAR, 2005, p. 8).

• Cannot, or dont want to?

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In what ways does the following paragraph
represent the ideal college English class? In
what was does it deviate from the ideal college
English class? Eleven students are seated around
a long conference table in a small classroom.
There are a few books scattered on the table
among the students, thermoses of coffee, and the
remnants of several students breakfasts. The
professor is seated at the head of the table,
asking the students a question about the text
that they are reading. A PowerPoint presentation
with several quotes from the book is being
projected onto the wall behind him. Three of The
students have laptops open on the table in front
of them. One of the students is using Google to
look up a reference related to the text. Several
students, including the other laptop user, have
their hands in the air.

• Ideal Comfortable, laid-back atmosphere. Small
  class size. Students and professor are engaged
  in discussion.
• Not Ideal Laptops. (Oh, and PowerPoint isnt
  great, either.)

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The problem with laptops fairness

• A classroom, it seems to me, should be a closed
  room in which students can
• bring their own ideas and discussions to the
  table. I like the honesty of a class
• separated from the outside world by NOT having
  connection to the Internet
• the student using google is not depending fully
  on his own capabilities to
• analyze the text independently.
• would only be idealif they had done the reading
  and thought about it on
• their own without help from outside ideas ...
• I think it's kind of unfair when kids look up
  answers to questions or references
• on google during class, b/c the teacher could
  have told you that anyway and
• half the time the people won't admit that they
  just looked it up(just because
• someone has the internet they're all of the
  sudden "smart." This is a disconnect
• with reality).

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The problem with laptops access

• Though they are convenient, they are distracting
  and it gives the students a
• bit of an unfair advantage in terms of accessible
  knowledge. It also could
• become a class issue, unless the laptops were
  provided by the school.
• I think that if professors see the merit of
  using a laptop in their class, then all
• the students should have laptops (whether they
  bring their own or the
• classroom is equip with laptops) so that the
  class discussion is a level playing
• field and the professors are aware of all the
  variables.
• Although most college students have lap tops,
  some students are simply
• unable to afford them ... These students should
  not be put at a
• disadvantage in the classroom when other students
  have access to things they
• do not.
• The only problem is that ALL the students should
  have laptops.

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The problem with laptops distrust/distraction

• I don't think I can trust the entirety of my
  fellow students to remain focused if
• they have computers with full internet access in
  front of them the potential for
• distraction is too great.
• I personally would find laptops in class
  distracting and believe that many
• people would abuse the use of the internet while
  in class.
• I feel like the presence of the laptop makes her
  more easily distracted on that
• tangent during class while she could've been
  paying attention to the discussion
• and learning things she couldn't have learned on
  her own.
• technology is not always put towards an ideal
  use that is, while the
• student searching Google is using their computer
  in a useful and meaningful
• way, the other students may not be utilizing
  their technology in a useful
• manner.

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In what ways does the following paragraph
represent ideal campus life? In what ways does it
deviate from ideal campus life? It is a bright,
sunny, spring day and a group of students are
gathered on the lawn. A few of the students are
chatting there are books and notebooks on the
ground. One of the students responds to her
friend while making a note on her Palm Pilot.
Another student uses his laptop to access the
wireless Internet to upload a paper to her class
files. On a nearby path, a professor and student
walk by. The students cell phone suddenly rings,
and she quickly answers it.

• Ideal Sunny day, students outside, interacting
  with each other, getting some work done at the
  same time.
• Ideal, If Technology and social interaction is
  in balance.
• Not Ideal Student interrupting conversation
  with prof to pick up the phone.

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Ideal, if Theme of ambivalence

• cell phones are a cursed blessing-- mobile
  communication. along those
• same lines, the invasion of wireless internet
  allows incredible mobility.
• The above paragraph describes the ideal campus
  life in terms of all our
• technological hopes and dreams. However it
  deviates from the ideal campus
• life because although every not is plugged in and
  "connected", none of these
• persons are really connecting with each other.
  This is where (and when) the
• college community would begin to disintegrate.
• I think this setting is fine, if we're going to
  accept the increased technology
• of our modern world.
• I would hesitate to say that high technology
  implies ideal, but I certainly think
• that having wireless access on the entire campus,
  even outside, is a good
• idea.

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Technology vs. Social Interaction

• I firmly believe that people trump technology.
• Personally, I think that we are too attached to
  technology and should just talk
• to others.
• It seems like technology is slightly detracting
  from the personal interactions in
• this scenario. I'm sure that the student on the
  Palm Pilot will be done making
• a note in a minute, but she is not giving her
  friend full attention.
• it can be isolating because people can be on the
  internet while outside,
• people can be on the internet while interacting
  with others outside.
• Ideal access to information, interpersonal
  relationships through various
• Modes of communication Non-Ideal a sort of
  domination of technology,
• relegating other forms of communication as
  secondary in importance

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Implications

• Practice
• Dont assume that Net Gen equals a consistent
  desire for technology in the classroom.
• Research
• If new literacies are performed within specific
  cultural and social contexts, in thinking about
  context, specificity matters!

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• Thank you.
• scl2103_at_columbia.edu