The freeform writing style of social networks like Twitter and Facebook is changing the way people communicate, and causing students to fail English. That’s the claim of a piece out this afternoon from the Canadian Press. According to the article “(at) Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, one in 10 new students are not qualified to take the mandatory writing courses required for graduation.”
Research such as this always leads me back to questions about Information Literacy and student preparedness. As technology continues to become more powerful, available and easy to use, the importance of guidance for navigating the digital world becomes elevated.
Since it is unlikely that students will simply decide not to participate in online communities moving forward, are any steps being taken to change the way writing courses are taught?
Click through this fascinating presentation on technology and education by Rodd Lucier. (@thecleversheep) Thanks to @courosa for bringing it to my attention.
With the current structure of education, there are significant hurdles preventing educators and students from capitalizing on the convergence technology is capable of providing. How students learn is evolving to include new media, while teaching methodologies are slow to adjust.
This presentation calls for change, but not for change’s sake, rather, because the possibilities of impacting millions of learners around the world are limitless.
When it comes to weird and wonderful designs, Daizi Zheng is right up there with the best of them. Her latest design is Nokia cells phones that are powered by Coke; this is done by using a new Bio Battery. It is not just Coca-Cola that can power the phone but any sugary drinks.
According to the designer, the new Nokia phones battery would get its power from enzymes, it is those that will generate the electricity from carbohydrates and will last three to four times as long as conventional lithium batteries. Not just that, but this power source is also biodegradable.
Zheng was asked by Nokia to design an eco power source alternative for its handsets, she knew that current cell phone batteries were not only expensive, but uses valuable resources throughout the manufacturing process. Coming up with a cheaper, greener choice is something worth solving.
As mobile devices continue to look for the next killer app, or the fastest processor, I am always encouraged to see evidence of research that is looking for new ways to continue to improve technology while striving to protect the environment. I’m not sure of the practicality of this, nor the necessary shift in the manufacturing ecosystem that would need to take place in order to help push this along, but it is still nice to see companies investigating alternative power sources.
Twitter usage at the top 100 colleges and universities in the country (as determined by U.S. News and World Report 2010 rankings) was studied by UniversitiesAndColleges.org.
Here are some highlights of the study, which looked only at Twitter accounts affiliated with school administrations:
The University of Florida had the greatest number of accounts with 24. The University of Georgia came in a close second with 22. The average number of Twitter accounts per college was 8.4.
Of the colleges with the fewest number of accounts, the University of Denver and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry headed the list with just one each.
Harvard University had the most Twitter followers — 18,955. Stanford University came in second with 10,873.
Although Harvard had the most followers, the university itself follows about only 39 other schools.
The College of William & Mary followed the most accounts — 6,056.
Who tweets the most? George Washington University, which sends out about 58 tweets each day. Second place goes to the University of Washington with 49.8. Most schools average between zero and 20 total tweets per day.
If you’re wondering what schools are tweeting about, the study determined usage falls into six basic categories:
Delivering news updates
News updates within the universities’ schools and departments
News about student services
Staying in touch with people outside the university community, such as alumni associations
Updates on research and campus extensions
News from university media
To see the methodology and results of the entire study, click here.
It’s interesting to look at institutional uses of social media, however, it’s important to consider that there are a lot of faculty not obviously affiliated with their institutions using twitter for their course work. Student organizations are also using it for a variety of purposes. I would be curious to see more studies that focus on the impact of Twitter and other social networks on student engagement both with course work, and with the university communities.
The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'
