Oversold and Underused

Maximal Access, Minimal Change: Review of Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom

Overview

Many educators, public officials, business leaders, and parents argue that school computers and Internet access will improve academic learning and prepare students for an information-based workplace. In an effort to examine the validity of this argument, Larry Cuban provides a critical look at the actual use of computers by teachers and students in early childhood education, high school and university classrooms in Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom. Combining an historical overview of school technologies with statistical data and direct observation of classroom practices in several Silicon Valley schools, he concludes that, "Without a broader vision of the social and civic role that schools perform in a democratic society, our excessive focus on technology use in schools runs the danger of trivializing our nation's core ideals"(P.197).

Key Points

The key points of the book are surrounded by the discussions on the following questions:

(1) What were the goals of promoting computer technology in schools? Was that supposed to be “transformative" or just a means of "catch up" for teachers and students?
(2) How do teachers and students use computers in classrooms for instruction in schools where computers are readily available such as those Silicon Valley schools?
(3) Have the promotion and investment in computer technologie changed the landscape of the teaching and learning? Why or why not?
(4) Are the technology investment in schools worth the cost?

In order to answer those questions, Cuban offers three explanations to the unexpected findings and outcomes of his work: (a) the slow change will eventually transform teaching and learning; (b) history and context of teaching -- gaps between different sectors of society and the beliefs that these people hold influence what happens in the classroom; and (c) culturally constrained choice -- while teachers’ beliefs and values reflect what they do in the classroom and while they choose what to endorse, reject, and modify, they are still influenced by the structure of American institutions (p.170).

However, Cuban does not fully validate these explanations. He asserts that computers have been oversold by policy makers and technology marketers, and underused by teachers and students. To fully deploy new technologies reform, he suggests that teachers, parents, policy makers, workplace leaders, and other stake-holders should work closely to build stronger communities and citizens with technology and achieve larger social and civic goals through financial investment (Lomicka, 2003).

Limitations of the Study

Although Cuban’s study is profound and scholarly, I found the following flaws that might have weakened the strength of the research.

(1) The statistic data in the book was accurate at the time the research was conducted. But some of them, such as school profiles, frequency of home use, and the use of technology in a college setting, are extremely outdated today.
(2) I do not quite understand why Cuban would think that “neither age, experience, nor gender was a significant factor in our data” (P.98). These variables sometimes produce quite different results, according to a recent research based on the understanding of the digital divide from a multicultural education framework which indicates that “equal access is considerably different from equitable access” (Gorski, 2002).
(3) In Cuban’s study, students surveyed in the schools reported little to no use of computers in foreign language classes. However, according to a language professor (Lomicka, 2003), it may be interesting to “conduct a longitudinal study documenting the use of computers in second language classrooms.” “Had Cuban included observations that document the recent growth and development of telecollaborative work”, Lomicka suggests. “Perhaps findings in the area of language learning may have yielded somewhat different results in his research.”

Questions and Thoughts

Finally, there are a couple of questions and thoughts that I came up with during the reading. I hope they will be helpful for my further study.

(1) Can we afford such a luxurious experiment on the adoption of computer technology in classrooms? How big is the risk that stakeholders are taking by doing that?
(2) What are the changes in the classrooms since Cuban’s research was conducted? Actually we don’t see much of that, if any. And will the next decade see the same scenario (or even worse due to the education budget cut)?
(3) On the one hand, when teachers are not given a say in how the technology might reshape schools, “computers are merely souped-up typewriters and classrooms continue to run much as they did a generation ago.” On the other end, the pressures and the traditions that block many teachers from making more powerful use of these new tools exacerbate the former. Will this form a vicious circle of technology use struggling in a dungeon that Cuban called the “slow revolution?”

Although Cuban does not provide answers for these questions, like he does not point out how technology investments can be turned into impressive learning gains, his examination of the unexpected outcomes should to a large extent help technology planners and educational leaders improve their future efforts, and, more or less, “remind us of the deepest civic and humane goals of education” (Wald, 2003).

References

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: computers in the classroom. Library of Congress.

Wald, R. (2003).Radical teacher book review. Available online at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JVP/is_2003_Spring/ai_102119717

Lomicka, L. (2003). Review of Oversold and Underused. Language Learning and Technology, Vol. 7, No. 3.

Gorski, P. (2002). Dismantling the digital divide: A multicultural education framework. Modern Education online, Fall 2002. Available online at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3935

Educational research : competencies for analysis and applications (3): Evaluating a report

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2006). Educational research : competencies for analysis and applications (8th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Chapter 22. Evaluating a research report (p. 541)

General evaluation criteria

1. Introduction

1.1. Problem (p. 542)

• Is there a statement of the problem? Does the problem indicate a particular focus of study?
• Is the problem "researchable"; that is, can it be investigated through collecting and analyzing data?
• Is background information on the problem presented?
• Is the educational significance of the problem discussed?
• Does the problem statement indicate the variables of interest and the specific relationship between those variables that were investigated?
• When necessary, are variables directly or operationally defined?
• Did the researcher have the knowledge and skills to carry out the research?

1.2. Literature Review

• Is the review comprehensive?
• Are all cited references relevant to the problem under investigation?
• Are most of the sources primary (i.e., are there only a few or no secondary sources)?
• Have the references been analyzed and critiqued and the results of various studies compared and contrasted? That, is the review more than a series of abstracts or annotations?
• Is the relevancy of each reference explained?
• Is the review well organized? Does it logically flow in such a way that the references least related to the problem are discussed first and lose most related are discussed last? Does it educate the reader about the problem or topic?
• Does the review conclude with a summary and interpretation of the literature and its implications for the problem investigated?
• Do the implications discussed form an empirical or theoretical rationale for the hypotheses that follow?
• Are references cited completely and accurately?

1.3. Hypotheses

• Are specific research questions listed or specific hypotheses stated?
• Does each hypothesis state an expected relationship or difference?
• If necessary, are variables directly or operationally defined?
• Is each hypothesis testable?

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2. Method (p. 543)

2.1. Participants

• Are the size and major characteristics of the population studied?
• Are the accessible and target populations described?
• If a sample was selected, is the method of selecting the sample clearly described?
• Does the method of sample selection suggest any limitations or biases in the sample? For example, was stratified sampling used to obtain sample described?
• If the study is quantitative, does the sample size meet the suggested guidelines for the minimum sample size appropriate for the method of research represented?

2.2. Instruments

• Do instruments and their administration meet guidelines for protecting human subjects? Were needed permissions obtained?
• Is the rationale given for the selection of the instruments (or measurements) used?
• Are the purpose, content, validity, and reliability of each instruments described?
• Are the instruments appropriate for measuring the intended variables?
• Does the researcher have the needed skills or experience to construct or administer an instrument?
• Is evidence presented to indicate that the instruments are appropriate for the intended sample? For example, is the reading level of an instrument suitable for sample participants?
• If appropriate, are subtest reliabilities given?
• If an instrument was developed specifically for the study, are the procedures involved in its development and validation described?
• If an instrument was developed specifically for the study, are administration, scoring or tabulating, and interpretation procedures fully described?
• Was the correct type of instrument used for data collection (or, for example, was a norm-referenced instrument used when a criterion-referenced one was more suitable)?

2.3. Design and procedure

• Are the design and procedures appropriate for examining the research question or testing the hypotheses of the study?
• Are the procedures described in sufficient detail to permit replication by another researcher?
• Do procedures logically relate to one another?
• Were instruments and procedures applied correctly?
• If a pilot study was conducted, are its execution and results described as well as its effect on the subsequent study?
• Are control procedures described?
• Does the researcher discuss or account for any potentially confounding variable that he or she was unable to control

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3. Results

• Are appropriate descriptive statistics presented?
• Was the probability level at which the results of the tests of significance were evaluated specified in advance of the data analyses? Was every hypothesis tested?
• If parametric tests were used, is there evidence that the researcher avoided violating the required assumptions for parametric tests?
• Are the described tests of significance appropriate, given the hypotheses and design of the study?
• Was the inductive logic used to produce results in a qualitative study made explicit?
• Are the tests of significance interpreted using the appropriate degrees of freedom?
• Are the results clearly described?
• Are the tables and figures (if any) well organized and easy to understand?
• Are the data in each table and figure described in the text?

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4. Discussion

• Is each result discussed in terms of the original hypothesis or topic to which it relates?
• Is each result discussed in terms of its agreement or disagreement with previous results obtained by other researchers in other studies?
• Are generalizations consistent with the results?
• Are the possible effects of uncontrolled variables on the results discussed?
• Are theoretical and practical implications of the findings discussed?
• Are recommendations for future action made?
• Are the suggestions for future action based on practical significance or on statistical significance only (i.e., has the author avoided confusing practical and statistical significance)?

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5. Abstract or Summary

• Is the problem restated?
• Are the number and type of subjects and instruments described?
• Is the design used identified?
• Are procedures described?
• Are the major results and conclusions restated?

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Type-specific evaluation criteria

1. Qualitative research (in general)

• Does the topic studied describe a general sense of the study focus?
• Does the researcher state a "guiding hypothesis" for the investigation?
• Is the application of the qualitative method chosen described in detail?
• Is the context of the qualitative study described in detail?
• Is the purposive sampling procedure described and related to the study focus?
• Is each data collection strategy described?
• Is the researcher's role stated (e.g., nonparticipant observer, participant observer, interviewer, etc.)?
• Is the research site and the researcher's entry into it described?
• Were the data collection strategies used appropriately, given the purpose of the study?
• Were strategies used to strengthen the validity and reliability of the data (e.g. triangulation)
• Is there a description of how any unexpected ethical issues were handled?
• Are strategies used to minimize observer bias and observer effect described?
• Are the researcher's reactions and notes differentiated from descriptive field notes?
• Are data coding strategies described and examples of coded data given?
• Is the inductive logic applied to the data to produce results stated in detail?
• Are conclusions supported by data (e.g., are direct quotations from participants used to illustrate points made)?
  

1.1. Interview studies

• Were the interview procedures pretested?
• Are pilot study procedures and results described?
• Does each item in the interview guide relate to a specific objective of the study?
• When necessary, is a point of reference given in the guide for interview items?
• Are leading questions avoided in the interview guide?
• Is the language and complexity of the questions appropriate for the participants?
• Does the interview guide indicate the type and amount of prompting and probing that was permitted?
• Are the qualifications and special training of the interviewers described?
• Is the method used to record responses described?
• Did the researcher use the most reliable, unbiased method of recording response that could have been used?
• Does the researcher specify how the response to semistructured and unstructured items were quantified and analyzed?

2. Ethnographic research

• Does the written account (the ethnography) capture the social, cultural, economic themes that emerged from the study?
• Did the researcher spend a "full cycle" in the field studying the phenomenon?

Educational research : competencies for analysis and applications (2): Data analysis & interpretation

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2006). Educational research : competencies for analysis and applications (8th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Chapter 18. Qualitative research: Data analysis and interpretation (p. 467)

Data analysis: an attempt by the researcher to summarize collected data in a dependable and accurate manner (summarizing what's in the data)

Data interpretation: an attempt by the researcher to find meaning in the data and to answer the "So what?" question in terms of the implications of the study's findings (making sense of/ finding meaning in that data)

1. Data analysis during data collection: gathering data, examining data, comparing prior data to newer data, writing up field notes before going back to the research site, and making plans to gather new data. Two questions that guide qualitative work and reflections (Anderson et al., 1994, p. 155):

• is your research question still answerable and worth answering?
• are your data collection techniques catching the kind of data you wanted and filtering out the data that you don't

2. Data analysis after data collection - steps (p. 469)

• Reading/memoing: becoming familiar with the data and identifying potential themes in it
• Describing: examining the data in depth to provide detailed descriptions of the setting, participants, and activity (context)
  
• Classifying: categorizing and coding pieces of data and grouping them into themes
  

3. Data analysis strategies (p. 471)

• Identifying themes
• Coding qualitative data: the process of categorically marking or referencing units of text with codes and labels as a way to indicate patterns and meaning
• Asking key questions: "who is centrally involved?" "What major activities, events, or issues are relevant to the problem?" and so on
• Organizational review: helping the researcher understand the school or other organization as the larger setting. A review should focus on the following features of an organization: vision and mission, goals and objectives, structure of the organization, operation, and problems, issues and concerns
• Concept mapping: visualizes the major influences that have affected th study and to create a visual display that allows for the identification of consistencies and inconsistencies tha may exist between disparate groups
• Analyzing antecedents and consequences: map the antecedents (causes) and consequences (effects) that have emerged throughout the study
• Displaying findings: using matrixes, charts, concept maps, graphs and figures to encapsulate the findings of a study
• Stating what's missing: reflect on the pieces of the puzzle that are still missing at the conclusion of the study and to identify any questions for which answers have not been provided
  

4. Data interpretation techniques (p. 479)

• Extend the analysis
• Seek the advice of "critical" friends
• Contextualize findings in the literature
• Turn to theory
• Know when to say "when"
  

References

Anderson, G. L., Herr, K., & Nihlen, A. S. (1994). Studying your own school: An educator's guide to qualitative practitioner research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Ed research: Competencies for analysis and applications (1)

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2006). Educational research : competencies for analysis and applications (8th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Chapter 17. Ethnographic research

1. Definition: the study of the cultural patterns and perspectives of participants in their natural setting (p. 441).

2. Goal: describe, analyze, and interpret the culture of a group, over time, in terms of the group's shared beliefs, behaviors, and language.

3. A construct central to the understanding of ethnography is culture.

Culture: the set of attitudes, values, concepts, beliefs, and practices shared by members of a group.

Three conceptual areas that focus on tangible behaviors (Wolcott, 1999):

• Cultural orientation: where the people being studied are situated in terms of physical space and activities
• Cultural know-how: how a group goes about its daily activities
• Cultural beliefs (why a group does what it does)

4. Ethnographic research process (p. 442)

• Identify the purpose of the research study
• Frame the study as a larger theoretical, policy, or practical problem
• Pose initial ethnographic research questions
• Describe the overall approach and rationale for the study
• Describe the site and sample selection
• Describe the researcher's role (entry to the research site, reciprocity, and ethics)
• Describe data collection methods
• Describe appropriate strategies for the analysis and interpretation of data
• Write the ethnographic account
  

5. Types of ethnographic research (p. 445)

• Critical ethnography: a highly politicized form of ethnography written by a researcher in order to advocate against inequalities and domination of particular groups that exist in society (including schools)
• Realist ethnography: written with an objective style and uses common categories for cultural description, analysis, and interpretation
• Ethnographic case study (less likely to focus on cultural themes): focuses on describing the activities of a specific group and the shared patterns of behavior it develops over time
  

6. Key characteristics of ethnographic research (p. 445)

• carried out in a natural setting
• involves intimate, face-to-face interaction with participants
• presents an accurate refection of participants' perspectives and behaviors
• uses inductive, interactive, and repetitious collection of "unstructured" data and analytic strategies to build local cultural theories
• Data is primarily collected through fieldwork experiences
• typically uses multiple methods for data collection, including conducting interviews and observations, and reviewing documents, artifacts, and visual materials
• frames all human behavior and belief within a sociopolitical and historical context
• uses the concept of culture as a lens through which to interpret results
• places an emphasis on exploring the nature of particular social phenomena, rather than setting out to test hypotheses about them
• investigates a small number of cases, perhaps just one case, in detail
• uses data analysis procedures that involve the explicit interpretation of the meanings and functions of human actions. Interpretations occur within the context or group setting and are presented through the description of themes
• requires that researchers be reflective about their impact on the research site and the cultural group
• offers interpretations of people's actions and behaviors that must be uncovered through an investigation of what people actually do and their reasons for doing it
• offers a representation of a person's life and behavior that is neither the researcher's nor the person's. Instead, it is built upon points of understanding and misunderstanding that occur between researcher and participant (446)
  
• cannot provide an exhaustive, absolute description of anything. Rather, ethnographic descriptions are necessarily partial, bound by what can be handled within a certain time, under specific circumstances, and from a particular perspective
  

7. Ethnographic research techniques

7.1. Triangulation: the use of multiple methods, data collection strategies, and data sources to get a more complete picture of what is being studied and to cross-check information (ensure the trustworthiness/validity of the data)

7.2. Participate observation:

• Purposes: Observe the activities, people, and physical aspects of a situation; Engage in activities that are appropriate to a given situation and that provide useful information
• Active participant observer (p. 447) (e.g., researchers often negotiate roles as teacher's aides, student teachers, or even substitute teachers in order to gain access to schools and classrooms)
• Privileged, active observer (e.g., move in and out as of the role of teacher's aide and observer)
• Passive observer (e.g. the visitor is present only to see what's going on around here)
• Guidelines for participant observation (Wolcott, 1999) (p. 448, 449)
  
  • Gaining entry and maintaining rapport
  • Reciprocity
  • A tolerance for ambiguity
  • Personal determination coupled with faith in oneself
  • Letting go of control
    

7.3. Field notes: written records of the researcher's (participant observer) understandings of the lives, people, and events that are the focus of the research. They should be written up as soon as possible after completion of the observation. In addition to providing literal descriptions, the observer also records personal reactions, generally referred to as reflective field notes (p. 455).

7.4. Observing and recording everything you possibly can (p. 451)

7.5. Observing and looking for nothing in particular (p. 452)

7.6. Looking for "bumps" or paradoxes (p. 453)

7.7 Top 10 guidelines for fieldwork and field notes (Patton, 1990, pp. 272-273)

• be descriptive in taking field notes
• gather a variety of info from different perspectives
• cross-validate and triangulate by gathering different kinds of data (e.g., observations, documents, interviews) and by using multiple methods
• using quotations; represent people in their own terms. Capture their experiences in their own words
• select "key informants" wisely and use them carefully. Draw on the wisdom of their informed perspectives, but keep in mind that their perspectives are limited
• be aware of and sensitive to different stages of fieldwork
  
  • build trust and rapport at the beginning. Remember that the observer is also being observed
  • stay alert and disciplined during the more routine, middle phase of fieldwork
  • focus on pulling together a useful synthesis as fieldwork draws to close
    
• be disciplined and conscientious in taking fieldnotes at all stages of fieldwork
• be as involved as possible in experiencing the situation as fully as possible while maintaining an analytical perspective grounded in the purpose of the fieldwork
• clearly separate description from interpretation and judgment
• include in your fieldnotes and report your own experiences, thoughts and feelings
  

References

Wolcott, H. F. (1999). Ethnography: A way of seeing. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

ICTs: Considerations of current practice (2) Reinventing Role

Dede, C. (2007). Reinventing the role of information and communications technologies in education. In L. Smolin, K. Lawless, & N. Burbules (Eds.), Information and communication technologies: Considerations of current practice for teachers and teacher educators (pp. 11-38). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

ICTs are reshaping three aspects of education simultaneously:

• The knowledge and skills society wants from the graduates of education are shifting as a result of the evolution of a global, knowledge-based economy and a "flat" world (Friedman, 2005)
• Methods of research, teaching, and learning are expanding, as new interactive media support innovative forms of pedagogy (Dede, in press-a)
• The characteristics of students are changing, as their usage of technology outside of academic settings shapes their learning styles, strengths, and preferences (Dede, 2005)

Three fundamental observations about the impact of ICT on society:

• The definition of what computers and related technologies can accomplish has repeatedly expanded - individual & collective expression, experience, and interpretation (e.g., productivity enhancers, email communication, expanding access to info through web browsers & streaming video)
  
• Cognition is now distributed across human minds, tools/media, groups of people, and space/time - distributed cognition & action (e.g., asynchronous discussion online, delocalizing, sociability) (Dede, in press-b; Engestrom & Middleton, 1996; Hutchins, 1995; Salomon, 1993)
• The types of work done by people, as opposed to the kinds of labor done by machines, are continually shifting - growing proportions of the labor force are engaged in jobs that emphasize expert thinking or complex communication - tasks that computers cannot do (The fundamental change involves deemphasizing fluency in simple procedures as an end-goal of preparation for work and life, instead using these routine skills as a substrate for mastering complex mental performances, p. 13) - erosion of routine tasks in favor of expert decision making and complex communication skills
  
  • 21st-century skills: collective problem resolution via mediated interaction (including problem finding and solving)

Shortfalls in how current ICT for learning meet 21st-century educational challenges

• Three competing schools of thought on how people learn
  
  • Behaviorism: because learning is based on experience, pedagogy centers on manipulating environmental factors to create instructional events inculcating content and procedures in ways that alter students' behaviors
    
    • Purpose: acquire skills of discrimination (recall facts), generalization (define & illustrate concepts), and chaining (automatically perform a specified procedure)
    • Emphais: factual knowledge, recipe-like procedures
      
    • Suitable ICTs: computer-assisted instruction (CAI), drill-and-skill learning management system (LMS)
    • Limitation: limited both in what they can teach and in the types of engagement
      
  • Cognitivism: because learning involves both experience and thinking, instruction centers on helping learners develop interrelated, symbolic mental constructs that form the basis of knowledge and skills
    
    • Purpose: providing a deep foundation of factual knowledge and procedural skills; linking facts, skills, and idea via conceptual frameworks - organizing domain knowledge as experts in that field do, in ways that facilitate retrieval and application; and helping students develop skills that involve improving their own thinking processes, such as setting their own learning goals and monitoring progress in reaching these
    • Suitable ICTs: intelligent tutoring systems (ITS)
    • Limitation: well-defined content and skills, material with a few correct ways of accomplishing tasks (very limited range of knowledge and skills they can teach)
      
  • Constructivism: because learning involves constructing one's own knowledge in a context richly shaped by interactions with others, instruction centers on helping learners to actively invent individual meaning from experiences.
    
    • Purpose: instruction as a process of supporting knowledge construction rather than communicating knowledge; teacher's role as guide, rather than an expert transferring knowledge to novices' "blank slates"; learning activities that are authentic and that center on learners' puzzlement as their faculty or incomplete knowledge and skills fail to predict what they are experiencing; encouragement for students to reflect on experiences, seek alternative viewpoints, and test the viability of ideas
    • Suitable ICTs: wide range
    • Limitation: difficult to implement in conventional school settings; not so efficient for material that behaviorism and cognitivism can teach (e.g., arithmetic operations)
    • Social constructivism: students actively constructing their knowledge with instructional support, as opposed to being passive recipients assimilating information communicated by the teacher (Jonassen, 1996). Students construct knowledge as a result of their interactions with their community (e.g., the scientific research community)
  • Shortfalls
    
    • Conventional approaches (behaviorist & cognitivist) emphasizes manipulating predigested info to build fluency in routine problem solving
    • Problem-solving skills are presented in an abstract form that makes transfer to other disciplines and real-world situations difficult
    • The ultimate goal of all three is often presented as learning a specific problem-solving routine to match every work situation, rather than developing expert decision making and metacognitive strategies that how to proceed when no standard approach seems applicable
    • Little time is spent on building capabilities in group interpretation, negotiation of shard meaning, and co-construction of problem solutions, particularly in behaviorist and cognitivist approaches
    • ICTs are largely used to automate traditional methods of teaching and learning, rather than to model complexity and express insights to others
      
    • The effects from technology usage are measured, but the effect with technologies essential to effective practice of a skill are not
      
• Situated learning
  
  • Definition: embedded within and inseparable from participating in a system of activity deeply determined by a particular physical and cultural setting
  • Unit of analysis: the relationship between the individual & the setting (studies of apprenticeship in 'communities of practice')
  • Requirement: authentic contexts, activities, and assessment coupled with guidance from expert modeling, situated mentoring, and legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) (e.g., GA experience allows graduate students to gradually move from novice researchers to more advanced roles, with their skills and the expectations for them evolving)
  • Power: learning to solve problems as part of a community in the authentic context
    

A vision of how emerging ICT can aid in meeting 21st-century educational challenges

• Three complementary tech interfaces are currently shaping how people learn (K-12)
  
  • The "world-to-the-desktop" interface that provides access to distributed knowledge across space and time through networked media
  • MUVE that offers students an engaging "Alice in Wonderland" experience in which their digital emissaries in a graphical virtual context actively engage in experiences with the avatars of other participants and with computerized agents (e.g., Second Life) - it empowers the creation of contexts inaccessible in the real world
    
  • Augmented reality (AR) interfaces that enable "ubiquitous computing" models - it enables the infusion of virtual contexts within physical locations
    

(Reflection: if education can't precisely predict or control the future of technology, it should at least prepare people to be aware of the uncertainties that technologies may bring to them...)

(Reflection: some profs are very reluctant to let their students reference online resources. I'm going to disagree on that issue. Based on my experiences, I enjoyed so much finding information posted online which are so convenient, incisive, and valuable. Some articles are written by no names but they spark a lot of innovative ideas and provide multiple links that lead to further thinking. They make a lot of sense...)