Week 7: Would I use Data Driven Learning? (20 February 2008)

I found this week’s lecture extremely interesting and an eye-opener in many aspects. When I was trying to make sense of the assigned reading, Corpus Linguistics and Second Language Instruction, I looked up the word “corpus” in the Oxford dictionary. It was defined as – body, collection especially of writings on a specified subject or of materials for study; e.g. linguistics – a collection of examples of spoken and written language. I thought that was a fairly apt definition. Imagine my surprise, when during the course of the lecture, I realised how the dictionary was compiled and that it had gone unchallenged up until 1987! This did level some of the absolute trust I used to have in dictionaries. The irony is that this is the first time I had actually used a dictionary with regards to the readings.

To the question: would I use data driven learning and adapt it for my context? the answer is “yes!”

I found the Key Word in Context (KWIC) exercise in constructing a low tech concordance with the word “economic” very viable. Here the learners are used as resources as we generate examples that contain the key word. Thus data are from the learners. From the examples collected and the way they were presented, aspects of the word and its collocation became apparent. In this case, words used in connection with “economic” were inflation, forecast, impact, recession, etc. For starters, I would use a simpler word for my students.

The mid-tech activity of a Multiple Context Cloze (MCC) was quite engaging, and this is what we want to do – engage students in their learning. To find the key word as the cloze sentences unfold requires hypothesising and activating prior knowledge. It encouraged rethinking of hypothesis and revisiting context, development of inference skills, and will lead to deeper understanding of the word and its usage in different contexts. There will also be self-correction if and when grammatical errors occur.

The Death of Cyberspace (28 January 2008)

After the last entry on the 3 interfaces and augmented realities, it was quite a reverse this week to talk about the death of cyberspace. ‘Cyberspace’ means a type of fantasyland where an individual can take on cyber-identities and engage in virtual reality.

Warschauer (2001), suggests that the concept of cyberspace is slowly dying out, because the significance of online communication lies not in its separation from the real world, but rather in how it is impacting nearly every aspect of the real world. Therefore, information technology is transforming our societies, our lives and eventually our minds, rather than creating alternative worlds.

So, if we believe that there is no separation of cyberspace, and realised instead the important impact of online communication on real life; then the logical course of action would be to teach (read, write and communicate) our students to use this important medium of the 21^st century.

Educating the Net Generation (16 January 2008)

It’s been a while, quite a hiatus, since the last entry; but I have not been idle. In fact, it has been one assignment after another and as a breather – I am blogging! What a change.

Educating the Net Generation was central to our lecture that day. Who are in the Net Generation? Apparently anyone younger than 21 in 1999 is part of this generation. Well, that counts me out! Years ago, having a desktop computer in the home was such a novelty and it was with great apprehension that it was finally turned on. Then with great trepidation it was put to use. Nowadays, I wonder how I ever worked or lived without my laptop. So, although I am not part of this Net Generation, I have come to appreciate what this marvelous thing called a computer, coupled with the internet, and other technological devices can do. So, imagine the impact this technology and media have on children who virtually (pun intended) grew up with them.

Dede (2005), in his article, Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles: Implications for Investments in Technology and Faculty, pointed out how technology and media used by children during their formative years do have an influence on how they learn. He talked about 3 complementary interfaces that will shape how people learn over the next decade, which I thought were spot-on. I am witnessing these phenomena now…

First, he called the familiar “world to desktop” – such as through the internet to access distant experts and archives, like the way we would access on-line e-database and e-journals. It also enables virtual communities of practice. I likened this to our e-learning exercises or collaborative group work on assignments which distance and time do not permit us to meet physically to discuss, so we work on-line.

Secondly, is the “Alice in Wonderland” multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs), which is linked to all the advances in internet gaming, providing the participants with interactions in a computerised digital virtual context. Taken to the extreme, this MUVEs existence has created problems to parents whose children have become addicted.

And thirdly, is ubiquitous computing. In the real world, we see the infusion of mobile wireless devices with virtual resources everywhere.

According to Dede, the Net Generation learning styles stem primarily from the world-to-desktop interface; with a growing prevalence of interfaces to virtual environments and augmented realities.

Being aware of these interfaces now, how should I (who am not part of this Net Generation) react to those whom I teach (who ARE the Net Generation)? It would be foolish to react like the proverbial ostrich by burying my head in the sand and hope this will all go away, because it is not going to happen. I reckoned the best course of action is to try to embrace these realities, get to know the users better and try to understand bit by bit from their perspectives. It would go a long way if we show some appreciation too for some of their accomplishments, rather than oppose them and arrive at a stale-mate or a no-win situation.