Assignment 8, Literature Review

Introduction
This collaborative research project was designed to study the prevailing attitudes of both students and teachers regarding the use of new technologies in education. The purpose was to determine whether the new technology was a benefit, as hoped, or a hindrance, as some myths contend regarding the misuse or even abuse of technology. Different articles that were reviewed focused on different aspects of the multiple relationships between these novel devices, the teachers and the students. One of the objectives was to discover how to utilize the new ‘portable’ technology with which younger students are so adept, and incorporate it into the Instructional Design process.
In order to accomplish this lofty goal, it is necessary to understand its place in education since there is a wide gap between the competencies off the teachers and the students, and the balance of that bias is in favor of the students. First, we need to determine if the benefits truly outweigh the costs.
Considering that students, especially younger students who have grown with these devices, are at an advantage, while the teachers have to catch up with their students. The fact that these devices are already widely used by many students nearly eliminates the necessity of teaching tem to use. These studies, while varying widely in their specific subject matter, all have one goal in common: to understand the reality that confronts us as educators.
The problem is that the teachers do not know how to use it nearly as well. This leaves much room for the technology to be abused. This is the focus of the study myths regarding negative aspects of podcasting by Luanne and Martin in 2007.
However, if we can dispel these myths, and understand it better, we can use the students’ greater knowledge to everyone’s advantage. Like gravity, we don’t have to understand it to use it ! Students may not truly understand the device the devices that they use, but they know how to use them, and we can use that to our mutual advantage.
Andragogy vs. Pedagogy – Adults and Children Share the Stage
These studies focused primarily on older students at colleges and universities, as well as professionals in corporate settings, and fewer studies involving children at middle school ages were studied, at least in the articles reviewed. However, this does not seem to pose as great a problem as earlier studies that had assumed a dichotomy, incorrectly, that (only) young people knew about the Internet and that older people were resistant.
This was shown to be less of a problem than self perceived efficacy, in light of at least one study by Yixin Zhang (2005) that looked specifically for statistically significant differences regarding among gender, age, and education levels and levels of Internet anxiety and usefulness. According to the results of Zhang’s study, citing a prior study by Bandura in 1977, “Self-efficacy theory suggests that those who feel their capabilities inferior to the task they are confronting would cease their effort prematurely, while those who have stronger self-efficacy are willing to persist in coping with difficulty and achieving their goals.”
Another study that may help support the competence–balancing factor in favor of the older student is that by Neuhauser, who found “no statistically significant differences between online and face-to-face classes with respect to sex, age, or ethnicity.” In a study of 216 Doctoral students who were given seven years to get familiar with the technologies involved.
The current set of articles under study in this project seem to show a correlation between competency and age that may help to offset the apparent competence of younger students, as indicated in a study by J. Richardson in 2006. Richardson’s findings concluded that there was a “bi-directional causal relationship between variations in students’ perceptions of their academic achievement and variations in their study behavior.” This may be the real reason for younger students’ efficacy, that they simply practice more, an aspect that deserves further study.
New Devices in Instructional Media – The Tables are Turned
In a study by S. Witte in 2007, it was discovered that a students who showed little interest in writing projects in class, became prolific when using blogs, despite setbacks resulting from restrictions on blog usage that was imposed by the school administration.
Weller, Pegler and Mason (2005) assert that blogs are the fastest growing technology, in their study of several different types of blogs, audio conferencing, and the “Rotisserie” blog, developed at Harvard University that is used to ensure participation (using a series of ‘rounds’ during which participants must respond.) This study reviewed the perceptions of the 55 participants, only 3 of whom found the technology frustrating, difficult, unreliable and time-consuming.
Fozdar and Kumar initiated another study in India in 2007, due to the great distances that impede education there, where most households, if they have Internet access at all, have dialup connections at speeds typically in the 28 kbs range. Therefore, there has been an explosion of cell phone usage, ranking India 5th in the world in terms of mobile phone ownership. This new medium has a great potential for distributed “open distance learning” (OSL), which can take full advantage of Rogers’ tents ‘knowledge’ and ‘persuasion’ since there are familiar already with the ubiquitous devices. Their data indicated a preference for the flexibility of the widely available mobile learning devices, the cost of learning would be low compared with the cost of face-to-face classes in such an open country. The only drawback, which I believe will be son overcome with advancing technology, is the need to keep learning packets small, and primarily used for dissemination of feedback, schedules, grades, and important dates, whereas larger textual material was considered undesirable.
Some of the devices that were investigated were software, such as phone conferencing, cell phones, iPods and MP3 players to play instructors’ lecture, which some students thought as funny to hear to their teacher on their music player, and therefore relegated such downloads to their home computers, so as not to “mix business with pleasure” (Luanne and Martin, 2007), and tablet PCs, as described in a survey by Wang, Gould and Fulton in 2007, transmitting content to students’ tablet PC “to switch students focus from copying notes ... to learning content [instead] and to increase collaboration.”
Software investigated was Instant Messaging (IM) and various versions of web logs (blogs). Chat rooms, listservs, email and of course, the Internet.
Social Presence – Strangers in a Strange Land
The study by S. Glogoff in 2005 dealt with the aspect of anonymity that is inherent in online learning that allows students to be more open in sharing ideas and thoughts that they may otherwise be reluctant to share, and accept feedback more effectively. Glogoff also discusses the advantages of using Instant Messaging (IM) to create bonds with students with appropriate feedback to enhance the understanding specific to the student.
Glogoff also emphasizes the importance of collaborative, interactive learning where students are free to comment on ach others’ work through blogs, although concerned with the plight of the non-participant, which anonymity may also foster. However, overall, Glogoff found that students seemed to push harder in hybrid classes than in purely online classes, supporting web-enhanced classes.

Bibliography:

Bandura, A., 1977. Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review 84, pp. 191–215.

Fozdar, B.I., Kumar, L.S. (2007) Mobile learning and student retention. International Review of Research in Open and Distance 8, Learning ,http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/345/927

Glogoff, S. (2005). Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input. Innovate, 1 (5), 1-6. http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=126

Luanne F., Martin M., (May 2007). Plugging into Students’ Digital DNA: Five Myths Prohibiting Proper Podcasting Pedagogy in the New Classroom Domain. Vol.3, No 3. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no3/mehl.htm

Neuhauser, C. (2002).Learning style and effectiveness of online and face to face instruction. American Journal of Distance Education. 16, No. 2, 99-113.

Richardson, J.(2006). Investigating the relationship between variations in students' perceptions of their academic environment and variations in study behavior in distance education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 867-893

Weller, M., Pegler, C., Mason, R. (2005). Use of innovative technologies on an e-learning course. The Internet and Higher Education, 8(1), 61-71.

Witte, S. (2007). That's online writing, not boring school writing: Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 51, 92-96.

Zhang, Yixin (January 2005). Age, gender, and Internet attitudes among employees in the business world. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 1-10
http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VDC-4BVPRK4-2&_user=521812&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2005&_alid=646969629&_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_orig=search&_cdi=5979&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=1&_acct=C000059573&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=521812&md5=b42c03e065eaf3c81f36b30aceef2b83