Students, Internet, eLearning and Web 2.0

An investigation into the students’ use of internet services, media types and e-learning preferences tried to find out if students today are interested in the use of Web 2.0 methods for learning. More than 2.000 students participated in the survey conducted by the international architecture company DEGW and the author. The data of the survey are compared to the results of a parallel study by HIS GmbH that was answered by 4.400 students. The results of both studies throw a critical light on the popular discussion about the net generation or the so-called digital natives and may lend themselves to a more cautious or careful introduction of Web 2.0 methods in teaching and learning accompanied by instructional and tutorial assistance.

The Gloss and the Reality of Teaching Digital Natives

Characterizations of youth growing up with the Internet as Digital Natives have begun a revolution in teaching, but have also been problematized in the literature, opening up significant questions about stereotypical assumptions made by teachers about students in the classroom. Research indicates that a continuing gap exists between “power users” and “digital strangers,” which has broad implications for educational priorities and classroom practice. Evidence is also mounting that heavy internet and concurrent media usage impacts both students’ ability to focus and their evolving habits of mind as the brain responds to new sources of positive reinforcement. This chapter explores some of these tensions in characterizing and responding to Digital Natives, and seeks to identify a responsive pedagogy of classroom practices that tap into student passions, offer students some techniques to learn focus, attention, and other important skills for both digital and “analog” environments, and address persistent skill gaps between students.

From the Digital Divide to Multiple Divides

It is widely acknowledged that the label “digital divide” can be partially misleading, because it emphasizes a binary dichotomy (“haves vs. have nots”) and a mere technological dimension (in terms of physical availability of devices or conduits). Behind the dichotomous model, however, lie different use and adoption strategies. People cannot be described as being either in or out. Evaluating the complex relationships between technological, social, and human factors raises a number of questions, mainly related to the role of technology in social development. Moreover, we should also reconsider what is commonly meant by information and communication technology. In this chapter, I will try to introduce a multilevel model for analyzing the digital divide, focusing on effective access and new media literacy. The focus will be shifted from technology to humans. In every ICT for development project, local context and local needs should be regarded as the key factors.

New Perspectives of Andragogy in Relation to the Use of Technology

This chapter examines technological factors that influence the conditions and processes of adult learning, and how adult educators can deal with those changes effectively. Technology can reinforce and enhance adult learning, providing a learning environment with tools and resources that the learner can explore and control, thus fostering more independent, adult-centered learning. Adult learning changes because of the need to learn how to use technology tools, the opportunity for expanded access to resources, the variations in designing and experiencing learning experiences, and the expanded opportunities to engage with these resources and with other learners. Several issues contextualize the realities and challenges of adult learning as impacted by technology: workplace learning and learning organizations, informal learning, distance education, globalization, the Digital Divide, and older adult learners. Emerging trends are also mentioned.

The Evolution of the Digital Divide across Developing Countries

This chapter aims at investigating the evolution of the digital divide within a set of developing countries between the years 2000 and 2005. In doing so, it moves away from the traditional analysis of the digital divide, which compares developed countries and developing countries, and examines the existing gap within a relatively homogeneous group of countries. On the basis of the theoretical and empirical contributions from scholars in different disciplines, we select a series of socioeconomic and technological indicators and provide an empirical assessment of the digitalization patterns in a set of 51 low income and lower-middle income countries. By means of cluster analysis techniques, we identify three emerging patterns of the digital divide and derive a series of policy implications, related to the implementation of an effective strategy to reduce digital backwardness. The characteristics of each pattern of digitalization can be also usefully employed to understand whether past interventions, especially in the area of competition policy, have been successful in addressing country-specific issues.

Exploring the Notion of ‘Technology as a Public Good’

This chapter aims to explore the historical, sociological, and economic factors that engender inequities related to digital technologies in the East Asian educational context. By employing critical social theory perspectives, the chapter discusses and argues for the notion of “Technology as a Public Good” by examining the Chinese, Japanese and Korean societies’ digital divide. This chapter examines how East Asian societies are exhibiting similar yet different problems in providing equitable access to information communication technologies to the less advantaged due to previously existing social structures, and discusses the urgency of addressing these issues. Based on the analysis of the digital divide in the East Asian context, this chapter also proposes and argues for the notion of “technology as a public good” in public and educational policies for information communication technologies. Finally, the chapter invites policymakers, researchers and educators to explore a more active policy approach regarding the digital divide solution, and provides specific future research recommendations for ICT policies and policy implementation in digital divide solutions.

Empowering Students to be Scientifically Literate through Digital Literacy

The objective of this chapter is to discuss the relationships between the three literacies that are mentioned above: digital literacy, science literacy and multiple literacies. The chapter will define digital literacy and scientific literacy and argue that being digitally literate would enhance the development of scientific literacy. It will look at the similarities in skills required for the two literacies (i.e., skills derived from learning science and learning to use digital technology). These are skills at both the operational and conceptual levels. The chapter will draw on these similarities to discuss how being digitally literate could better support the independent and personalized learning of science in the development of individuals who are scientifically literate. The use of multiple literacies pedagogy, the multimodal means of learning and communicating, as bridging the two literacies will be made. Specific examples will be used to illustrate the objective of this chapter. The chapter will conclude with a conceptual framework for the development of digital literacy in empowering students to become scientifically literate.

Catering to the Needs of the “Digital Natives” or Educating the “Net Generation”?

In this chapter, the authors explore perspectives on the notion of “digital natives” and present a case in which Web 2.0 technologies were introduced to students. They discuss studies critical of the generational metaphor, and argue that it should not be uncritically assumed that there is a generation of digital natives, but that young people may need to develop skills often associated with the digital natives. The authors present a case reflecting these pedagogical aims, involving an online Web 2.0 learning environment called Ekademia. The findings of the case reflect a gap between the researchers’ intentions and the actual outcomes. In particular, the learning environment failed to provide sufficient scaffolding for the students, who needed more support than was assumed. It is therefore suggested that educational use of social software technologies should have stronger connections to curricular activities, involve a more concerted pedagogical effort, and be supported by a higher degree of institutionalization.

School in the Knowledge Society

Implementation of ICT in Danish and Nordic schools is gradually changing from an industrial to a knowledge society school paradigm. At the same time ICT, digital literacy and the school’s physical and social organization are constantly negotiated. In schools that proactively meet the challenges, new designs for teaching and learning emerge while teacher-student relations transform and the children and young people’s competencies are resources in the processes of learning. This chapter presents research based on the proactive schools and exemplifies possible outlines of the school, in the knowledge society. Finally, the findings are extrapolated into a vision of a future local global school in the knowledge society.

An Ecological Approach to Instructional Design

The confluence of collaborative and social technologies, with the phenomenon of digital natives, creates new opportunities for learning environments, which, in turn, demand innovative instructional design strategies. An ecological approach to instructional design can yield rich learning environments that provide learners with authentic experiences. These learning experiences can be challenging, engaging, and effective, and provide students with deep appreciation of underlying processes, principles, and relationships. It’s a learner-centered design that features collaboration, authentic experiences, and complex environments. Designing for these complex systems requires thinking outside the boxes of traditional approaches. The ecological approach requires identifying the key contextual factors and interactions that are central to understanding and performing complex intellectual tasks. This non-linear process involves selecting appropriate technologies and social interactions, appropriate levels of scaffolding and support, and giving learners increasing levels of responsibility for their own successful outcomes.