Author: grabe

We went to Fargo today. I mostly spent the time in in Barnes and Noble and then the food court of the mall reading. Today, it was Tapscott’s new book – “Grown Up Digital”.

After getting back home, I decided to read and grade a few student papers. The first paper I read has me pretty agitated. I think it was first reading Tapscott (and some of the endorsements – e.g., Lessig). In the early stages of the book, Tapscott notes the writing of several authors who are concerned with some of the values and skills of the “net generation”. He pretty much dismisses the concerns of these writers (e.g., Bauerlein) with the exception of the concern that students reveal too much private information and this may come back to haunt them.

Anyway, I am one paragraph into the first paper and I immediately am concerned that the student did not write what I am reading. I Google a unique phrase from the first paragraph and locate the original source as the first hit. Unbelievable, I think. I turn the page of the paper and at the bottom of a two page section is the reference. OK, so this technically was not plagiarism. What do you call it when a page and a half is copied and pasted into a four page paper? Perhaps Lessig would describe this as “Remix”.

I asked students in my educational psychology class to identify an identifiable study strategy that they have never used, apply it in a course of their choosing for two weeks, and then write a 4-5 paper describing their experiences and evaluating the strategy. I tried to be fairly specific in outlining what I wanted in the paper. The first item on the list – explain the strategy you selected. I am assuming this is what prompted the cut and paste. Do you think a sophomore in college really assumes the instructor wants the actual words from the original source? If this would have been a hard copy paper instead of a digital file perhaps the first couple of pages would have been photo copied.

I really meant – explain the strategy. TRANSLATED – I want to be able to evaluate if you understand the strategy in the same way I understand the strategy. Should I really have to take the time to explain that I will not know if you understand the strategy if you give me the same thing to read that you read. Way back when I learned Bloom’s taxonomy (the original one), I was told that the way to evaluate “comprehension” was to seek an appropriate translation in the student’s own words.

I do understand some of the areas in which “remix” makes some sense. However, in promoting the constructive “use” of parts of the works of other people there is an important assumption that the nuances of using such works will be appreciated. As I have said before, what I fear is that such nuances are never taught or of even greater concern that a vague awareness of such nuances becomes an excuse for taking short cuts.

I sent the paper back and requested a redo. Perhaps I should have requested a remix.

The Wall Street Journal presents some data on recent iPhone sales that is quite intriguing.

Ownership of the iPhone rose 48% from June 1 to the end of August among households earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year, compared to 21% overall …

Some speculated that Apple would be differentially harmed by an economic downturn because of the focus on more expensive products. Perhaps more expensive is better if one product can substitute for many.

I must add my usual complaint. North Dakota is part of the U.S. – it would be nice if we could buy iPhones too.

USA Today just published a piece indicating that:

“Colleges and universities are entering into very difficult financial times — and access and quality are likely to remain at great risk”

I had a sense this was coming. Tuition has been going up consistently and we hear more and more criticism from the public. In the past, I was not that sympathetic to complaints about tuition increases. It really depends on how you crunch the numbers. Tuition dollars represent only a fraction of what it costs to fund public higher education. As states offer less money, students and parents must pick up the slack. The total cost per student changes far less drastically than one might assume from watching the increase in tuition. Lower taxes and the burden for higher education falls more heavily on the families of college students. As pressure from those most directly impacted mounts and the system within any given state becomes noticeably inferior to other states, one hopes that those who make such political decisions intervene. What happens, however, when everyone goes into a recession?

Explaining why a pay as you go system is unfair and why higher education offers broader advantages to a state and the nation than is directly manifest through those who benefit as students is difficult. Part of the explanation concerns equity and the unfairness to bright individuals who happen to grow up in families with limited means. We all don’t start life with the same chance to be happy and productive. Part of the explanation concerns the general value of the relatively inexpensive research and scholarship that drives economic development, medical advances, and cultural opportunities. Business and industry do R&D within a very narrow range and even this commitment is one of the first thing cut when budgets are threatened. 

Public institutions in North Dakota are competing for a shrinking pool of in-state students. Distance education offers some opportunities, but most institutions have looked to this alternative at about the same time. Let’s hope that student loan money is part of the “bail out”.

Daughter Kim spent the summer + working in Ketchikan and continues to follow developments in Alaska even though she is now back in MSP in graduate school. She just sent me a link to a Newsweek article authored by the mayor describing the “bridge to nowhere”. I kind of met the mayor. Actually, he was heading into his favorite bar while I was walking past. We passed within a few feet. Close enough to meeting a politician for me.  According to my daughter, the mayor is very approachable and it would have been fine to start a conversation.

I understand the position of the mayor. When your there is described as nowhere by so many, it must be irritating. Perhaps living in North Dakota has encouraged this level of empathy.

I even understand where the bridge was supposed to be. We arrived on the island across the water from Ketchikan on the last flight of the evening. We boarded the boat (translation – a ferry) with the other passengers, pilots, crew, and airport workers and headed across. If the bridge to nowhere went to somewhere, I could have taken a taxi.