Digital Tourists

Maybe it's slightly off-topic for this blog, but I recently read this great article titled Kids Can't Use Computers... And This Is Why It Should Worry You and I thought I'd add my 2c worth to the debate.  After all, I've spent the last 15 years watching students and teachers use of and attitudes to Computers change.

Some time ago, a very intelligent man called Marc Prensky temporarily abandoned his intellect and coined the term "Digital Natives".  That term has probably been unfairly extrapolated on and taken out of context, but is largely taken to refer to those who were born in a world with computers and the internet and therefore can better use their "native" technological gadgets.  That theory is wrong.  Kids certainly don't have the fear of technology older generations might, but that's about where it ends.  A teacher/techie I know once used the term "Digital Contiki Tourists" which meant, to paraphrase a little -  they were on the tour bus, supposedly getting an appreciation for the actual natives, but all they want to do is hang out the side of the bus and go "wheeeheeyyy", hit the nightclub and go on the rollercoaster.



Firstly though, I have to say although I did enjoy the article linked above, the author crosses the line more than once, slipping into the chest-pounding "I am UberNerd, Hear me Roar" persona.  Which, as he's a Linux fan reminds me again that this slight disconnectedness from reality is a little too common from that corner of the computing world.  In particular, the author opines:

"He asks what he needs to do, and I suggest he reinstalls Windows. He looks at me blankly. He can’t use a computer."

I don't believe the ability to install an operating system is a core skill the average user should need.  Sure, it's handy to know how, but I actually think the need to do this is a result of poor system design in the first place.

"While I was busy deleting my on-line accounts and locking down my machines, my friends called me paranoid and made jokes about tinfoil hats."

This is as a direct reaction to Snowden and PRISM?  Your friends were right, you are paranoid.  You're worried about privacy while happily blogging every second opinion that occurs to you?  Those two things are incompatible.  Also, traditional privacy doesn't exist on the internet, forget about it.

"When they hit eleven, give them a plaintext file with ten-thousand WPA2 keys and tell them that the real one is in there somewhere. See how quickly they discover Python or Bash then."

This is the author suggesting that you tease your own kids using wifi access as bait.  Now that's just being an arse.  How about the kids hide your car keys somewhere in the house and make you search a list of locations to find them.  Not so clever now you're late for work eh?

"Google and Facebook give kids money if they manage to find and exploit security vulnerabilities in their systems. In schools we exclude kids for attempting to hack our systems. Is that right?"

Yes, it is right.  I and every teacher I work with would agree to draw the line at any 'learning' that has the ability to negatively impact everyone else.  <sarcasm>Why don't we teach kids about combustion by giving them a box of matches and a can of petrol and letting them go nuts!</sarcasm>

... But I Digress.

Sorry for staring the article by going off on a somewhat negative tangent.  Despite that, I do agree with the premise of the article.  Modern computing is easy to use, which is a great thing when you need to get work done.  It just has a downside of no longer forcing people to learn as much about using their computing device, which means when things go wrong they feel more confused and affronted than ever before.  So, I've picked out the bits I don't agree with, now let's look at some positives:

Oh… I guess these days you must find that the kids know more about computers than the teachers….

This isn't just a teacher being offended at the suggestion that some hormonally imbalanced adolescents might be able to teach them a thing or two.  They probably could, but most of the time it'd be how to complete a level of Angry Birds.  The fact of the matter is, our little "Digital Natives" save documents and have no idea where they went or what they were called, and that's just the start of it.

The parents seem to have some vague concept that spending hours each evening on Facebook and YouTube will impart, by some sort of cybernetic osmosis, a knowledge of PHP, HTML [etc].

The parents?  How about the teachers, administrators and many involved in designing curriculum for the past decade?  Thankfully we may be out of that period now, but schooling for a while now has operated under the assumption that IT skills didn't need to be formally taught, that it could be 'integrated'.  Which meant teachers who "can't use computers" asked students who "can't use computers" to use computers in a vicious cycle of the blind leading the blind.  It even worked sometimes (because of better teachers, probably), just to muddy the waters.  But generally, it didn't and formal IT of some sort might even make a comeback soon.  Hurray!

Not really knowing how to use a computer is deemed acceptable if you’re twenty-five or over. It’s something that some people are even perversely proud of

I had to highlight this.  It's something I've noticed for a long time now.  It's usually the same person who sounds offended at the mere suggestion that they understand the thing they're using to access Facebook or Instragram.  Those that proudly espouse their ignorance like we should give them a medal for it.  These people that still think a person who can use a computer competently is some sort of 1980's stereotype, something straight out of "Revenge of the Nerds".  People I've known like this tend to extend this attitude to the knowledge of anything else they deem uncool.  These are the people Martin Luther King Jr. was talking about when he said "nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity".

Mobile has killed technical competence

Has it?  Mobile technology is still in its infancy and I really don't think it's that mature you can blame it completely.  Certainly a whole community of Android hackers was given life by mobile technology.  I will certainly concede though that the 'point, shoot, upload' mentality has dulled the average user.  This is a disappointing consequence of convenience, more than anything.  The real enemy here might be distraction.  It started with web-based games.  It's just too easy to waste time in class gaming, rather than waste time in class tinkering! ;)

Stop fixing things for your kids

Not a problem for most parents if this article is accurate.  Apparently they couldn't fix much anyway.  They probably know someone who can though, so it's a valid point and I'll certainly by trying this out with my own children when they're old enough.  "I had to fix my own computer sonny, and walk 30 miles through the driving snow in bare feet to get a copy of Asteroids, then another 30 for the joystick, then it took a week to load!".

A hundred years ago, if you were lucky enough to own a car then you probably knew how to fix it

These days, everyone should know how to install and remove software, and everyone should know how to change a tyre.  I get it.  But I 'tyre' (sorry) or the analogy, it's wheely bad (okay, I'll stop now).  Cars are probably the most recent, pervasive new technology that people can think of so they keep trying to liken computers to cars.  The fact of the matter is that computers are almost everywhere, and will be everywhere else eventually.  The need to understand them is greater.  There's a computer in my car, there's not a car in my computer!

So, I think it's evident that there's a problem.  The real question is, are we able to fix the problem, or has it got away from us?  The last decade of rapid technological change and increasing ease of use, against a backdrop of ignorant educational philosophy has probably driven the wedge too far.  I feel like we can stem the tide, but never turn it back.  Not a wholly cheerful way to end, but probably the most realistic way.

Windows 8 Apps for Education

With our new Windows 8 tablet program about to debut, I thought I'd post some resources.  The app environment for Windows 8 (through the Windows Store) has got off to a good start with a lot of new software available in the store.  There are about 100,000 apps available at the time of writing, according to metrostorescanner.com. So here are a few lists of apps relevant to education:

• Microsoft Australia, Education Blog, Windows 8 Education Apps


• Microsoft Australia again, with another list of Education Apps


• Babbel's Language Learning Apps


• Another short list from Microsoft, this time from MSDN


• A list of apps produced by the people at "teachnology"


• A list from app indexing site, Applooker


• The full list of (currently) 14,000 education apps on Metroscanner

That'll do for now.  There are more apps being added every day, I'll update with more lists as I find them.

It's All About the Pentiums

Well, it's not about the Pentiums and if it were it'd be all about the Core i5's, which makes that Weird Al song sound even more geeky (if that's possible).

What it is about actually, is the very fast and slick hardware we got our teachers this year.  That extra spend has made them eager to receive their new computer, and the brief but important introductory tutorial that goes with it.  That tutorial is key to making a Windows 8 rollout work.

Past the halfway mark with our Windows 8 rollout, and there's been no negative reactions to Windows 8 or Office 2013.  I firmly believe that's because we chose the hardware well, and understood the training that was needed.  The training has ranged from a simple 5 minute intro by the I.T. Dept. to a more comprehensive introduction by our E-Learning person.  Neither is particularly onerous, but the effect has been that Windows 8 and Office 2013 have been well received to date, and any comments we have received were positive.  Most of the positivity relates to the light and easy to carry form-factor of the Dell convertibles.  I hope that optimistic outlook continues.
So, I think we've proven something here; that Windows 8 is an easy switch with just a little bit of thought given to the user, and the right hardware (anything with a touchscreen, really).  It also proves that large amounts of the tech. press don't know what they're on about.  They might do well to stop judging Windows 8 on the old crappy desktop or Virtual Machine they're testing it on and get something it's made for.

Finally, this tentative success couldn't have been achieved without Apple and Google (and probably wouldn't have).  The acceptance they've created for touch-first interfaces lead to the initial reaction we saw quite a lot from teachers.... "oh, so it's a bit like a phone then?"

Pre-Christmas Update

Well, a little while has passed since my last update and a fair amount has happened.  So much so that it's hard to detail it all here.  For that reason I'm going to dot-point list the goings-on for the last month and a half.

- it turns out Dell salespeople wouldn't know an active stylus from an active volcano

• The big news is that we've chosen the Dell XPS-12 as our staff computer for 2013.  Samsung couldn't produce a decent machine in time (or at all) and all the other options were either problematic in some way or just plain awful.  It turns our however that there is no support for an active stylus with this machine, so we're going to have to go without or use a capacitive stylus (it turns out Dell salespeople wouldn't know an active stylus from an active volcano anyway).  A shame, but not the end of the world.  The upside is that the XPS-12 is a really nice piece of kit, it's very fast, light and small.  Our teachers seemed quite impressed with it when we demoed it to them.  So we're quietly confident that we've chosen the right device considering the options.  Now we just have to get them delivered on time and get the staff used to Windows 8!


• We'd already decided we weren't interested in the Dell XT3, but it's worth noting here that Dell shipped us a demo that was not only heavily used, but broken.  It was also an awful clunky looking machine.  It's probably best if they don't keep that line going.


• We've been in communication with our parents about the plans to run two new programs next year.  Year 11's and 12's will need to supply their own computer next year, and year 7's will have a hybrid Windows 8 tablet supplied to them.  Parents of 11 and 12 students have been told they can supply a range of devices, basically anything that's a computer or a 10" and above tablet.  We'll set them up with network access at the beginning of the year, as well as some other tips and information.


• Our iPad group will continue into 2013.  I mention this because it's relevant as I was recently accused of being anti-iPad by an influential individual associated with the school.  I find this interesting because we run an iPad program with one particular group of students, and it was my interest in the iPad that got it going in the first place (I have two iPads myself).  Rather than unsettling that group by making changes, they'll keep plugging away with their iPads into next year.  The program was a trial, and it hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but it's not terrible either.  I quite like the idea of a multi-platform approach, as long as it doesn't put to much strain on the teachers or the I.T. Department.


• Finally, after much in the way of shenanigans, we've decided on a new Learning Management System (LMS).  Originally the decision was made to delay this decision until sometime in the future, however after coming to their senses the College leadership went with the recommendation of their 1:1 Working Party (or sub-group thereof) to implement the Scholaris LMS.  This is a widely used platform run on Sharepoint which can integrate well with our existing student data systems, making it something of a logical choice.  The Working Party went to great lengths to assess varying LMS options, create a comparison matrix of features and justify their preferences.  I'm quite glad that the recommendation was taken onboard, I only wish it had been immediate, rather than second-guessing the skilled and experienced people who arrived at said recommendation.

I think that's it, now it's off for a nice and hopefully relaxing Christmas break.  I say hopefully relaxing, because with the usual workload plus a 1:1 program, BYOD program, staff tablet rollout and a new LMS 2013 is going to be a HUGE year.

BYO, but not the kind I like.

This is old news now, but I thought it worth an update here on our timeframes and requirements for 1:1 and all the rest (yup, it's grown).

I've recently notified all teaching staff of our intentions for computing going forward so here's a potted version of that.

1:1 in Year 7
Identified as our best area to target with a new program (for a variety of reasons), we'll be rolling out new Windows 8 based, touch and pen enabled PC's to Year 7 next year, but not at the beginning of the year.  This will take place mid-year at the beginning of third term.

New Staff Devices
It's time to do away with the old Lenovo laptops which are suffering badly from a higher than expected rate of hardware failure.  We're replacing these with Windows 8 based touch-enabled devices with a pen.  This will happen in December/January next year. 

BYOD in 11 and 12
Our senior students (year 11 and 12) will be asked to provide a machine of their own from the beginning of 2013.  They'll be given access to our network and some network resources and provided limited I.T. Support (ie. their connectivity will be maintainted, but not their PC).
They'll be allowed to bring anything, within limits.  Basically, anything that has a screen-size 10" or larger and has a keyboard (and probably some software requirements as well).

LMS
We've got a sub-group of our Working Party underway investigating different Learning Management Systems with a view to selecting one and running with it in 2013.

1:1 Planning Workshop

So, we've recently had our workshop on planning a 1:1 Computing rollout.

I didn't personally have a lot to take away from it, most of the content was the sort of thing I'd heard before, but I think our teaching staff really did get a lot out of it.  Our consultant (Travis) has a lot of experience with 1:1 computing and was able to articulate the need for teachers to update their teaching to coincide with the rollout.  Also, the importance of a Learning Management System was very apparent.  The key to a 1:1 rollout is students being able to learn anywhere, anytime.  If they have a device of their own this could be in class, at home, somewhere outside in the school grounds, at a friends place or anywhere with connectivity.  The best way to allow for this is with an LMS, where lesson content is stored online and is available to the student anywhere learning doesn't have to stop when the timetabled class does.

So I guess we're going to need a new LMS, or to start taking the one we've got more seriously.

The other big takeaway from this workshop was the idea of pen-based computing.  Teachers were instantly impressed by the idea that they can use a pen on the screen of a tablet PC to annotate documents and take notes.  This was identified as a requirement for new staff computers (due at the start of next year) and the 1:1 student computers, as was the need for these machines to be the same(or similar).

Windows 8 is clearly going to be a feature here next year.  Travis reinforced the advantages to that platform, meaning that we in the I.T. Dept. had better get familiar with supporting it ASAP.

Finally, I heard a great statistic that casts doubt on the efficiency of new touch-screen devices.  Apparently research has shown that you're three times more efficient using a physical keyboard than you are using an on-screen keyboard.  So typing on a touch-screen sucks... who woulda thunk it?

UPDATE:

So it's time for a budget re-visit as a result of all this.  The addition of pen-based devices adds overall cost tot he machines themselves.  Also an LMS looks like adding a mimunum $10k as well.  The biggest budget yet just got bigger!

What's the rush?

So, in a recent meeting of the College ICT Committee, the 1:1 plans were discussed, and critically, the budget for said plans has started to take shape.

The budget will be the biggest I've been responsible for putting together.  Although the idea is that we'd be asking parents to contribute to the cost of the program, it still represents a considerable dent in the College's cash-flow.  But I guess that's the price we need to pay to ge the program started.

Timeframes have also been discussed.  There was some talk of looking at kicking it off at the beginning of 2013.  I can't see how that's even possible.  There's only 1 term left in 2012 and for a normal sized rollout I'd already want to be looking at some candidate machines.  Then there's the question of our staff laptops, which are due to be replaced at the start of 2013.  I think a 2013 start is going to be pushing our luck.