Faculty development day at Gov State, Illinois.

1. Are We Amusing
Ourselves to
Death?
With a tip of the cap
to Neil Postman

2. Barry Dahl dot com

4. Clicker Time
• Grab your clicker
• First, some
demographics.

5. Gender & Life Experience
45%
1. Female, < 40 yrs.
35%
2. Female, 40 + yrs.
3. Male, < 40 yrs.
10% 10%
4. Male, 40 + yrs.
..
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6. New Technology Adoption
50%
1.The Keen 45%
2.The Masses
3.The Stubborn
5%
s
en
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7. Take your Pick
65%
1. Cubs 35%
2. Sox
bs
x
So
Cu

8. Faculty Perspective
• For the next two clicker statements –
• Put on your faculty hat, regardless of
whether you actually have one

9. Entertaining Students is
NOT my Job
43% 1. Fact
57%
2. Whack

10. Engaging Students is
NOT my Job
4% 1. Fact
96%
2. Whack

11. Not this kind of entertainment

12. A Tupperware (or Bridge) Party

13. Who said this?
“Anyone who tries to make a
distinction between
education & entertainment
doesn't know the first thing
about either.”

14. Now
this...

15. Which of the following describe you?
61% 1. Bought 3+ things online last month
83% 2. Use online banking services
96% 3. Have Wi-Fi in your house
26% 4. You have 5+ cloud documents
48% 5. You can define the term “Web 2.0”
0% 6. None of the above are true

16. What is Web 2.0?

17. Select each site where you
have an account.
70% 1. Facebook
30% 2. Twitter
48% 3. LinkedIn
30% 4. Google Plus
57% 5. You Tube
13% 6. None of the above

18. Which of these devices
do you have?
61% 1. Smartphone
57% 2. Tablet (iPad or similar)
22% 3. e-Reader (not #2 above)
96% 4. Laptop computer
74% 5. mp3 player
4% 6. None of the above

19. The most wired are
198.18 The Keen
188.89 Female, 40 + yrs.
Team Scores
186.67 Sox
170 Male, < 40 yrs.
168.57 Male, 40 + yrs.
146 The Masses
140 The Stubborn
110 Female, < 40 yrs.

20. Now
this...

21. e-Learning Alphabet
A Z

22. e-Learning Alphabet
E-Learning Atheists
E-Learning Zealots
My images: rights reserved

23. The e-Learning Battle
E-Learning Atheists • These are the
naysayers.
• They are the non-
believers when it
comes to online
learning.
• In fact, they’re pretty
sure that it’s the
DEVIL.
23

24. Sample Atheist Comment
Online education is fake-education.
It is not "real".
Convenient? Yes.
Profitable? Yes.
Popular with students who mostly just
want a "degree"? Yes.
And it is garbage in the end.
Source: http://chronicle.com/article/How-Big-Can-E-Learning-Get-At/128809/
24

25. e-Atheists Viewpoints
1. Online students are missing the “true”
college experience.
2. Online students are lonely.
3. Online students can’t possibly learn as
much.
4. Online students are being ripped off.

26. The e-Learning Battle
• The Zealots are those
that tout the benefits
of online learning
without having any
evidence to back it up.
• Zealots begin many of
their sentences with
“one time there was
this one student …”
E-Learning Zealots
26

27. Sample Zealot Comment
• And here we are, in 2011, fer
cryin‘aloud, with dodgy naysayers STILL
kicking and screaming and throwing fits in
regards (sic) to online teaching and learning.
Get over it, already – the days of having
students seated around your flowing toga in
utter awe of your knowledge and acumen are
LONG GONE. Welcome to the present.
Source: http://chronicle.com/article/How-Big-Can-E-Learning-Get-At/128809/
27

28. A to Z Continuum
0 3 7 10

29. Your Spot from A to Z
0% A. 0
23% B. 3
64%
C. 7
14%
D. 10

30. Who said this?
“I don't necessarily
agree with
everything I say.”

31. Now
this...

32. Speaking of
Twitter …….

33. Twitter is Stupid!!!
68% 1. Twue
32%
2. False

34. Twue Enough
100 Male, < 40 yrs.
100 The Stubborn
70
Team Scores
The Keen
70 The Masses
66.67 Female, 40 + yrs.
66.67 Male, 40 + yrs.
60 Sox
50 Female, < 40 yrs.

35. Twitter makes me like people I’ve never met and Facebook
makes me hate people I know in real life. @shaylamaddox

36. Networked Learning
• Don’t Buy the Book!
• Absorb the concept.
• I learn more every day
from my Twitter
network than I ever
did in school.
• (Blasphemy, I know)

37. Now
this...

38. Some people are great multi-taskers

39. Multi-tasking is a Myth
• Great Book
• Brain Rules,
by Dr. John
Medina

40. Multi-tasking
Task Switching
Multi-distracting

41. More Brain Rules
71% 1. Male & female brains work differently
67% 2. A memory can be “made” very quickly
52% 3. Brain works better w/the body at rest
62% 4. You learn while you sleep
24% 5. None of the above are true

42. The Brainiest about Brains
100 Male, < 40 yrs.
100 The Stubborn Team Scores
92.86 Female, 40 + yrs.
83.33 The Keen
55 Sox
50 Male, 40 + yrs.
50 The Masses

43. Now
this...

44. Predictably Irrational
• Why do we splurge on
a lavish meal and cut
coupons to save 25
cents on a can of soup?
• What is behavioral
economics and where
all of these free
lunches?

45. Chocolate Break
• Lindt Truffle • Hershey Kiss

46. Which candy would you buy?
65% 1. Lindt Truffle = 15¢
35% 2. Hershey Kiss = 1¢

47. Who Wants a Kiss?
50 Female, < 40 yrs.
50 The Masses Team Scores
45.45 Sox
44.44 Female, 40 + yrs.
42.86 Male, 40 + yrs.
27.27 The Keen

48. The Power of Free
15¢ Truffles, 1¢ Kisses 14¢ Truffles, Free Kisses
27% 69%
31%
73%

49. Who said this?
“I wouldn't have seen
it if I hadn't believed
it.”

50. Now
this...

51. Neil Postman
• Public Discourse
in the Age of
Show Business
• Published 1985

52. 1985
How about a memory refresher
about what the world was like
in 1984-1985?

53. Leaders
Soviet Union

54. Leaders
Who lost to
Reagan in ’84?

55. Sports
Who lost the
World Series in
1984?

56. Television
Name the top-
rated television
shows in 1984-85

57. Television
Name the most
popular televangelists
in 1984-85

58. Television
Name the news
anchors for the
“Big 3” networks

59. Marketing
Tagline for
American Express
Traveler's Checks

60. Technology
How old was the
Macintosh
computer?

61. Amusing Ourselves to Death
• Many of the
remarks he made
about television
can be made
today about
computers and
social networking
Hey Barry! Read something!

62. Graphics by Stuart McMillen

63. Which of these books have
you read?
30% 1. 1984
0% 2. Brave New World
39% 3. Both of them
30% 4. Neither of them

70. 1 million on Facebook

73. To the videos

77. Graphics by Stuart McMillen
• All words from “Amusing
Ourselves to Death: Public
Discourse in the Age of Show
Business” by Neil Postman … a
book about the possibility that
Huxley, not Orwell, was right.

78. My Take on Postman
• Web 1.0 was just another one-way
distraction device, very TV-like.
• However, Web 2.0 goes beyond
amusement by bringing people
together and encouraging creativity.

79. Related Questions
• How does the use of emerging
technologies add value?
• If we aren’t adding value, are we
simply trying to amuse ourselves?

80. Now
this...

81. Encourage Creativity
In any and all subjects

82. Example: 1st week intros in LMS
• Why not throw away
this tired, old
assignment?
• "Please post an
introduction of
yourself to the rest
of the class on the
discussion board."

83. Example: 1st week intros in LMS
• Why not throw away • Hello!!!!!!!!!! My
this tired, old name is Barry. I live in
assignment? Superior with my
beautiful wife. I have
• "Please post an
2 ½ kids & 3 ½ dogs
introduction of
and I just can’t wait
yourself to the rest to learn all about the
of the class on the wonderful world of
discussion board." accounting!!!!!!!!!

84. Example: 1st week intros
Made for free at toondoo.com

85. Comic Strips can be Embedded in Discussions

86. Now
this...

87. Writing papers is
an important part
of learning and
of college life

88. But so is learning
to use other
modalities of
expression

89. Consider where
Digital Storytelling
might fit into your
curriculum

91. Digital Storytelling
• Bryan Alexander

92. Hey Barry, what’s the significance of
↓
Now
this...

93. Who said this?
“All media exist to invest
our lives with artificial
perceptions and
arbitrary values.”

94. Now
this...

95. Is this Innovation or Insanity?
Culture, Gender, and Identity – taught with World of Warcraft
CC Flickr photo by
glenn.batuyong

96. Is this Innovation or Insanity?
History of Rock-n-Roll Music course – taught with Guitar Hero
CC Flickr photo
By 5th Ape

97. Take your pick
84% 1.Innovation
16% 2.Insanity

98. Who said insanity?
50 Female, < 40 yrs.
22.22 The Keen Team Scores
20 Male, 40 + yrs.
14.29 Female, 40 + yrs.
12.5 The Masses
10 Sox

99. How amusing is
that?

100. Who said this?
“We shape our tools
and afterwards our
tools shape us.”

101. Now
this...

102. How Well Do You Know Your Students?
What do They Expect from
Online Learning?

103. Option 1 - PSOL

104. 2009 PSOL – Summary Statement
So far, how has your college experience met your expectations?
7=Much better than expected
Overall score
6=Quite a bit better than I expected 5.0
5=Better than I expected
4=About what I expected
3=Worse than I expected
2=Quite a bit worse than I expected
1=Much worse than expected
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

105. But seriously…

106. In so many words …
they expect

107. EASY

108. QUICK

109. SOLO

110. FLEXIBLE

111. SPORADIC

112. What is Web 2.0?

113. Now
this...

114. Who said this?
“We look at the present
through a rear-view
mirror. We march
backwards into the
future.”

115. Who said this?
“The medium is
the message”

116. Marshall McLuhan

117. Are We Amusing
Ourselves to Death?
And other book learnin’
Final word from Postman?