Taste of Tech

For the last 20 years, I’ve had this love-hate relationship with computer programming. I took a high school programming course at the suggestion of a math teacher, and found that I enjoyed it and was relatively good at it. I liked the idea of controlling the machine — deciding what I want it to do, and giving it the commands to do it. I was the puppeteer. I was pulling the strings.

This led to taking a structured programming class as an elective my first year in college, which led to my adding “computer science education” as a major.

Unfortunately, at that time, nobody really had any idea what a computer science education major should know, so they basically just told me to get a minor in systems analysis. I took data structures. That was kind of fun. I learned about stacks and queues and linked lists and trees and all sorts of things I don’t understand anymore. I learned Cobol (why?) and Fortran (why?) before finding out that I had inadvertently skipped the first class and had to go back and learn BASIC. Then it was on to IBM mainframe assembly language.

None of this had any real relevance in the world of education. No schools had IBM mainframes. I might get to teach a little BASIC and Pascal. If I was really fortunate, I could teach C (which, oddly, was about the only language that wasn’t required). The college of education predicted that we were going to leave the university and get jobs teaching high school computer science, where we’d be using the only computers schools had available — the Apple IIe. So in our methods courses, we learned 6502 Assembler, how to build analog-to-digital converts to interface with the Apple II, and how to program in LOGO. (The programming part of LOGO, not just the turtle graphics stuff).

By the end of all this, I had had enough of programming. I got a job teaching middle school computer applications. I was teaching students to use productivity applications. The closest I got to programming was writing spreadsheet formulas. Two years later I switched jobs, and inherited another middle school course that had previously been a programming class. “Irrelevant,” I declared. “The kids don’t need to know this stuff.” I taught productivity tools, some Internet basics, and the concept of hypermedia. The closest I got to programming was teaching them HTML from scratch. Now that I look back on it, I’m amazed at what those kids could do, simply because they didn’t know it was supposed to be hard.

I eventually did get a job teaching high school programming. I taught Visual Basic for two years. I always felt it was an awkward language, and that it doesn’t serve the students very well. I’ve been disappointed twice that they’ve kept the same language in place when revising the courses of study. While I can’t say I didn’t like teaching programming, I also wasn’t too sad when my duties shifted into other directions.

I’ve always advocated for teaching kids to use technology to be productive in non-technical ways. Use email and the Internet as communication tools. Use word processors to make your writing better, to simplify editing, and to make professional-looking documents. Use spreadsheets to organize data, answer “what-if” questions, and draw conclusions based on the numbers. Use presentation tools to augment the message you’re delivering in the presentation. There have been many variations on this theme, but I’ve never strongly advocated for learning about the machine for its own sake. So I’ve never really pushed programming.

Apparently, I’m not alone. According to Carnegie Mellon University, the number of computer science majors declined by more than 60% between 2000 and 20004. In the same time period, the number of females majoring in computer science declined by 80%. Some point to the lack of emphasis on the more technical side of computing as a major contributor to this decline. People like me are de-emphasizing how computers work in favor of an emphasis on how we work with computers.

Two recent projects are aiming to change this. Scratch is a programming environment designed for 8- to 16-year-old students by the MIT Media Lab. In it, kids combine graphics, pictures, video, and audio in new, innovative ways. At the same time, they can snap programming blocks together to control how the elements are displayed, or how the computer user can interact with them. Windows and Mac versions of the free program are available on the project web site. There are also lots of teacher resources and an envrionment for students to share their creations.

For older students, Carnegie Mellon has developed the Alice environment. It can be used to create 3-D animated worlds, with characters that move around and interact. It’s a great way to tell a story, create an interactive game, or make a video to share online. It’s targeted especially toward the middle school and high school crowd, with an emphasis on attracting girls. Like Scratch, it’s easy to use, allowing you to drag and drop the various elements to determine how they interact on the screen.

The thing that’s striking about both of these tools is that they’re teaching programming while doing other things. They’re teaching kids to be good problem solvers, innovative thinkers, and collaborators. That’s meeting half of the 21st Century Skills. If they happen to learn a little programming while they’re at it, and maybe decide that they like telling machines what to do, so much the better.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a closer look at both of these tools.

“The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.”

– Elbert Hubbard

In the first part of this series, we tried to cut through some of the irrational fears about online safety and put the issue into perspective. In part 2, we looked at some tips for parents to help keep their kids safe online. Now, it’s time to turn our attention to teaching children to protect themselves.

As children grow, they become more independent, gain more freedom, and take on more responsibility. When my daughter was a preschooler, she decided she was going to visit her friend. The friend lived six houses away, on the same side of the street. She knew that if she just followed the sidewalk, she’d get there, so off she went. Mom, of course, wasn’t very happy about this when she found her daughter halfway down the street. Now, she’s bigger. She can go to her friend’s house by herself (when she’s not grounded). She can go to the park that’s a few backyards away. She can’t yet go to the high school that’s slightly farther away. As they grow, the kids gain new freedom. The boundaries and limits change. But they also have to take the responsibility for their behavior along with it.

In my house, we recently instituted a change in how the TV is managed. Previously, we had several different profiles on the satellite receiver. The default one, which the kids used, only had access to about half a dozen channels, and there were pretty serious rating limits. Now there are more channels available, and the kids have access to DVR’d programs. But they’re much better about self-regulating, choosing appropriate programs, and limiting the amount of time they spend in front of the TV. It also helps that Mom and Dad set expectations for TV use, with rewards and consequences based on the choices they make.

The Internet isn’t much different. There are some things on the Internet that aren’t for kids. There are also some things kids shouldn’t share online. They shouldn’t tell people where they live. They shouldn’t give their passwords out to their friends. As they get older, they have to be concerned with pictures and video they upload. They also have to protect their online reputations, since most of this stuff is public. And, they have to know when to allow things to be public and when to protect it.

How do we teach this? Here are some pretty good resources:

NetSmartzKids has a number of games, videos, activities, and other resources for elementary kids. They address everything from password privacy and stranger danger to computer viruses in a compelling, kid-friendly way. For older students, NetSmartz Teens takes the privacy lessons a step further, and also addresses cyberbullying and online enticement.

Think U Know has resources for students aged 5-7, 8-10, and 11-16. The resources for younger kids include the Hector’s World cartoon series on online safety. In addition to teaching kids how to be careful online, they also address the etiquette issues of being nice to one another. For older children, the Cyber Cafe is a place to have fun while learning about online safety. The resources for teens also address mobile phone use, chatting, social networking, and blogging.

Social Safety offers a free packet on online safety for teens. It’s definitely written from the fear perspective, with the assumptions that Law & Order episodes mirror real life, and that people who contact you online are probably just trying to kidnap, rape or kill you. But in the right context, it might be a useful resource.

Safekids and Safeteens are web sites that have good resources for children and teens for staying safe online. While it’s mostly textual information, does give useful information from an authoritative source.

X-Block is another resource for older students. It’s a much more interactive resource, giving students a way to participate in social networking on a limited basis while learning the basics of online safety.

Regardless of the method used, we have to teach our children to protect themselves online. We can’t always be looking over their shoulders to protect them. We have to set expectations of responsible behavior, teach them what those behaviors are, trust them to make good decisions, and then follow up with positive and negative consequences based on their choices.

In the first part of this series, we examined the issue of cybersafety. Hopefully, we dispelled some myths and put the issue into perspective. While it’s important to protect our kids online, and it’s important to teach them to protect themselves, it is not at all likely that our children will become the victims of cybercrime, even if they haven’t been schooled on the best practices to avoid online predators. Now, we’ll start getting into the more useful stuff. This is the condensed overview — the sound byte version of how to keep kids safe online. The biggest thing to remember is that we’re balancing a lot of factors here. Consider this analogy, which comes from the Byron Review:

This is no different to how we think about managing risk for children in the offline world, where decreasing supervision and monitoring occurs with age as we judge our children to be increasing in their competence to identify and manage risks. So, when we teach our children to cross the road safely we do it in stages:

• We hold their hand when they cross the road.
• We teach them to think, look both ways and then cross.
• When we see that they are starting to understand this we let them cross walking beside us, without holding on to them.
• Eventually we let them do it alone, maybe watching from a distance at first, but then unsupervised.
• And throughout this, the environment supports them with signs and expected behaviour from others in the community – the green man, zebra crossings, speed limits and other responsible adults.

Depending on the age and experience of the child, then, you have to take measures to both protect and teach. As they become more experienced online, we also have to loosen the reins a little. Then, there are inevitably the elements of trust and privacy that will come into play as children move through adolescence. There aren’t any hard and fast rules for when changes need to take place. It all depends on the children, the parents, and the relationships between them. That being said, here are some boiler-plate suggestions for getting started:

Put the computer in a public place: If the computer is in the kitchen (as ours is) or in the family room, or in some other public part of the house, children are much less likely to do things online they know they’re not supposed to do. You don’t have to constantly look over their shoulders — you can see what they’re doing from across the room or just by walking by. It allows you to monitor what’s going on without giving the impression that you’re spying.

Give them a place to start: Set your computer’s home page to a kid-friendly starting place. Use a tool like Protopage to provide links to sites they use frequently. Embed some kid-friendly search tools. If they’re always starting with a Google search box, they could end up anywhere.

Set time limits: Just as children shouldn’t be spending hours on end in front of the TV, they shouldn’t be spending hours and hours online. Set reasonable limits based on the age of the children, other activities and responsibilities they have, and the needs of others in the family to have access to the technology.

Discuss “private” versus “public”: Children need to understand that there are some things we can share with people online, and there are other things we should keep private. Many children are confused by the online concept of “friend.” Online friends in social networks can’t necessarily be trusted as much as you’d trust a friend from school.

Monitor one-on-one communication: If your child has an email account, configure it to send copies of all of the messages to you. If you can set limits on who they can send and receive email from, do it. My first and third graders both have their own email accounts, but they can only email their parents and grandparents, and Mom and Dad get copies of all of their messages.

Learn about the technology: You can’t keep up with all of the buzzwords and technologies. You probably have some idea about Myspace and Facebook. Do you know what Twitter is? How about ooVoo? Pownce? Parents of younger kids probably have a good idea about what Webkinz is. But do you know about Bella Sara? If you’re looking for a great place to get an overview of a lot of new web tools, check out the Common Craft videos. Google has partnered with Common Sense Media to help parents and educators teach children to be safe online. This video gives a good overview of many of the issues, and provides some common-sense tips for parents and teachers:

In the next part of the series, we’ll look at some online resources to help kids learn to be safe online.

Earlier this week, I was asked to respond to an inquiry from one of our high school students. He’s writing an article for the school paper about technology in the schools, and he had several questions about how technology has changed society and school since the start of the millennium. Because this was an inquiry about the high school, my remarks are more 9-12 focused than they normally would be.

Which changes in technology have you noticed in the past 8 years?
The biggest change I’ve seen is 24/7 access to technology and networks. We’re connected now in ways that weren’t feasible just a few years ago. Look at something as simple as a phone. In the last decade, we’ve switched from the idea that phones are tied to places (home phone, work phone, etc.) to phones that are tied to people. Everybody has a phone, and it’s with them and on all the time. We’re not using email as much anymore, because it’s too slow. Now we’ve moved on to text messaging and Twitter and other more immediate forms of communication.

The other big thing is social networking. The Internet has become a much more interactive place. In the 90’s, we were talking about using the web for research. There are all kinds of resources available out there. We have to be able to find them, filter them, figure out what’s relevant, and then use them in responsible ways. Now, that’s only part of the picture. You can go to CNN and read a story and then comment on it. Or blog about it. And people read those comments and make their own comments about your comments. You can create your own music and video and upload it and share it and remix it and do some really creative things. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 2/3 of teens create content and post it online. That’s a huge change from just a few years ago. You can also keep track of what your friends are doing and reading and thinking about, and what their friends are up to. We’re building our own networks to tell us what’s important. The Internet has become interactive.

How have they affected our lives?
These changes affect where we go for information, and how we consume it. A generation ago, everyone read the morning newspaper and watched the evening news. That’s how we found out about what was happening in the world. That changed in the 80’s with the advent of the 24-hour news channels. Now, we find out about news as it’s happening. That means that we get the story in pieces. We have a hard time figuring out where the credible sources are, and who has accurate information.

That also means we tend to get inaccurate information, so our understanding of “truth” is constantly changing. On 9/11, if you were watching CNN, they were reporting that the plane hitting the North tower of the World Trade Center was a horrific — but accidental — crash. They were trying to figure out how the plane got off course, or what conditions led to this. It wasn’t until the second plane hit that anyone realized we were under attack. Of course, by the time the news came around at 6:30 that night, we knew a lot more. And when the papers came out the next morning, we had a much better idea of what was going on. But that initial rush was kind of chaotic, and, to a large degree, inaccurate.

Earlier this year, we had a gas leak at the high school, and the building was evacuated as a precaution. No one was quite sure what was going on, and the rumors started almost immediately. Lots of people have cell phones, and they started messaging each other and their parents. Within a few minutes, the high school and board office were getting calls from parents and the news media wanting to know what was going on. I think a lot of adults were frustrated by that, because no one was really sure what was happening, and the school didn’t want to give out inaccurate information. But the technology meant that it was easier to get the information out. Once the school had a handle on the situation, the AlertNow emergency notification system was used to contact parents and let them know what happened.

What technological changes have been made to the school and how have they helped us?
Looking back at the last eight years, a lot has changed. It’s actually hard to believe that we didn’t have computers in every classroom until 2003. In that time, we have also added 30 laptops to the media center, more than doubled the number of desktops in the media center, and added two computer labs. We have wireless network access in the media center and cafeteria (and sometimes outside), so students can use their own devices to access the Internet. We’re doing a lot more with online learning tools like WebAssign and Moodle. While some students see that as a bad thing, those tools help keep homework relevant and tie the work you’re doing outside of class with the things happening in class. At the same time, it helps the teacher make more productive use of class time.

The addition of SMART Boards this year has changed instruction in a number of classrooms. Teachers are excited about sharing their notes online, reviewing material covered earlier, and using some of the built-in software tools to enhance instruction.

Which changes have proven detrimental to society?
I think we’re now in an always-on society, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. If I turn everything off and get away from the technology for the evening, I return to about 40-50 email messages, 30 Twitter messages, 4-5 missed Skype conversations, and a couple voicemail messages. Sometimes we get hung up on the idea that if we’re not connected, we’re missing something. We’re not spending as much time reading and thinking and writing and interacting face-to-face. Look at this interview. I’m typing this in an email message [and, later, editing it in a blog post], and you’re presumably going to read it at some point and do some copying and pasting and rewording in order to write your article. But we’re not interacting, so we both miss the personality and spontaneity of a real conversation. So while this is more convenient, we’re still missing something.

I think we also don’t realize the permanence of things we share online. Once something’s on the Internet, it’s out there forever. I’ve found things online that I wrote in forums in 1989. From a student’s perspective, it’s hard to wrap your mind around that. How are you going to feel about that picture or video or blog post in 15 or 20 years, or what are your kids going to think about it when they find it online? When you Google your parents, you probably don’t find much. But that won’t be the same for your kids. A lot of employers (including some people in the school district) look at social networks and blogs and in all kinds of places for information about their applicants. So maintaining your online image is something you have to worry about now.

Our school?
It’s easier to hit and run. A lot of people are fooled into thinking that they can be anonymous online. So they say things about people that they wouldn’t say to their faces. Or they take things that don’t belong to them. Or they destroy or deface someone else’s work. I think we’ve seen an erosion of that sense of personal responsibility — that I am responsible for the choices I make and the actions I take.

What do you see in the future of technology?
Smaller. Faster. Cheaper. I’d like to see us stop buying textbooks. Most of your books are around $100 each. That’s a lot of money, a lot of paper, and a lot of pounds in the backpack. I’d like to see us moving toward digital books that you can put on your mp3 player, or a little laptop or pda.

I also see us doing more with connective technologies. When I was in college, I worked for a company that made auto parts. One of the pieces we made was the tail light assembly for the Ford Thunderbird. It had about 30 light bulbs in it. We would make the parts in Ohio, and ship them to Asia. There, they would pay workers a few cents an hour to put the light bulbs in. Then, they would ship them back to the US to put them in the cars. Of course, they did that because it was cheaper than paying someone here to put the light bulbs in. And that was 20 years ago. With the Asian and Indian labor markets opening up, we’re seeing a lot more of that kind of thing. Increasingly, they’re doing more skilled jobs, too.

Globalization is here. You’re going to be working with people from all over the world. Lots of people in education are talking about 21st Century Skills. We need to prepare students to be innovative thinkers and collaborators. You need to be information-literate. Technology will help with all of those. But the biggest thing it can do is put you in touch with other people who aren’t living in Ohio, or the US, or North America. I regularly use Internet telephony software to talk to people all over the US, in Canada, in Europe, and in Australia. Ironically, I can call up my friend Jason in Sydney, Australia, and talk to him for free. But I have to pay extra to call into school from home because it’s “long distance.” When this whole crisis erupted in Tibet, I knew someone who has lived there, and talked to him about it. When the wildfires were burning in California last fall, I knew someone who lived a few miles from there. It makes the world a much more personal place. And those are the kinds of experiences students need to be having too. And it’ll come.

World Have Your Say is a call-in radio program. There’s nothing special about that. Nearly every station on the AM dial has one. The hosts talk about current events, and people can call in to give their opinions. WHYS, though, takes the idea of talk radio several steps further.

First of all, it’s a global show. Originating in London, it actively seeks participation from the global audience. They regularly have callers from the middle east, and Africa, and Asia, and places where you’d think they can’t even listen to the BBC. And the perspectives of these people can differ drastically from the media we’re fed by CNN and AP and even Reuters.

The other neat thing WHYS has done is to embrace some of the interactive web technologies. They blog about the topics discussed on the show, and encourage site visitors to comment. They also solicit discussion and debate topics through the web site. And, of course, you can listen live to the show online or catch the podcast version later.

Recently, they’ve begun using Twitter to let people know about the topics they’re going to be discussing on the show. In addition to giving people a heads-up about show topics, it provides a nice, concise list of world events and issues. Here’s the recent list:

• Do you want your leader to go to Olympics?
• What’s it like being white in Zimbabwe at the moment?
• Are you worried about rising food prices?
• Should your boss know your family plans?
• Are protesters ruining the Olympics?
• Should women dress modestly?
• Can Muslims take a joke about Islam?

Nearly every day, they have a compelling question or two, and they seek input from the global audience. If we really want our students to have a global perspective, and to be able to work with people from different cultures, this is the kind of thing they should be listening to.

World Have Your Say is broadcast on weekdays at 1700 GMT. If you’re in the North American Eastern time zone, that’s 1:00 PM. You can listen online or find a station near you.