EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASS ROOM

EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASS ROOM

Abstract

Before the industrial revolution, education mainly occurred at home or in informal schools that were often nothing more than a one-roomed school houses. Teaching was not a profession and there were no structured teaching and learning activities.  The teaching and learning materials used then ranged from making inscriptions on the walls, the ground, to slates and even more sophisticated skin or papyrus reeds for writing.  This has however changed over the years to include other teaching and learning materials from paper, to books and to the latest technology of tablets.

This study attempts to look at the evolution of education technology, from when teaching was concentrated to small communities to a modern learning environment in which may skills become obsolete nearly as fast as they are learned.

Key words: Technology in Classroom, Evolution, Modern day classroom

Introduction

Education technology has been defined as;  The study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources Richey, R.C. (2008).   According to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee, educational technology includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability.

Educational revolution for the last 200 years has seen apprenticeship change to universal school with enormous changes in technologies that have been invented in the recent years. Classroom teaching as a social activity has embraced the use of these technologies in an effort to make teaching and learning adapt to the ever changing society, thanks to the global revolution.

During the industrial revolution when formal structured school started taking place, the teacher and the pupil were limited to using a modified wall as a chalkboard where instructions were written by the teacher. The pupils on the other hand, would write on the floor and the wealthy few would scribble on a polished slate made from stone. Because of increasing disparities in income, these changes varied from place to place due to the social and cultural advantages.

These tools were seen to aid the teaching and learning activities in the formal classrooms. They were developed by the education enthusiasts. The materials used by the pupils or learners varied as a result of the above mentioned factors. Whereas in some areas, they used slates for writing, other tools such as the pen also saw significant changes from feather dipped ink pen to pencils to ink pens.

The following are tools as used in the classroom

Technology in the Classroom - 19th to 20^th century.

As stated in the Introduction, various tools and equipments have been used by both the teacher and the learner in an effort to improve the teaching and learning activities. These are;

·         Slate in the Classroom: Slate as identified by   (1976): writing slates were made of slate, which is more durable than paper and was cheap at the time when paper was expensive. It was used to allow children to practice writing .The pupils would use chalk sticks to scribble on the polished slates and the teacher would walk around inspecting the pupils work and they would wipe off the writing using a piece of cloth.  In some areas, the pupils would carry the slates home and in others they would be kept in the class.

·         Chalk board: This is identified as the earliest tool that the teacher used to pass knowledge to the learners. It was initially just a part of the wall and charcoal could be used as the medium for writing. This soon evolved to a smoothened wall and portable boards mounted on a stand. Chalkboard soon became synonymous with the teaching profession and to this modern day, it still retains the status symbol for the teaching profession.

·         Paper:  When paper was introduced into the classroom for use by pupils, skepticisms raised then were that it was not a sustainable medium for use owing to its high cost. A principal’s publication in 1815: “Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?”.

·         Textbooks: Soon after the introduction of paper into classrooms and the printing machine invention, the text books were introduced to solve the problem of determining what the children should learn, ie., they defined what should be covered in the curriculum. This helped in provision of uniformity in what the students were learning in different schools.

·         Charts: A teaching aid that became favourite with teachers who would find it difficult to write all their notes and drawing on the board. When teaching and learning activities were moved into structured classrooms, the charts would be hang around the classroom as permanent teaching learning aids. Printed charts just like text books provided uniformity of the content being taught.

·         Radio: Radio lessons were introduced into the classroom around 1917, but it’s not after the 2^nd world war that structured radio lessons were introduced to schools.  Educational technology enthusiasts then hoped that this would eventually reduce the number of teachers and ensure standardized teaching and curriculum implementation.  They however only allowed one way communication and assessment of the content was a challenge.  

·         Overhead Projectors: An overhead projector typically consists of a large box containing a very bright lamp and a fan to cool it. On top of the box is a large lens that would reflect the light. Above the box is a mirror and lens that focuses and redirects the light forward to a white surface like the wall. In the early 1980s, overhead projectors were used as part of a classroom computer display/projection system. The overhead projector as an easy low-cost interactive tool for educators became a quite useful in the classroom. Teaching materials pre-printed on plastic sheets, upon which the teacher would directly write using a non-permanent, washable color marking pen. Teachers found it to be time saving and efficient, they however could only be used where there was electricity and thus only used in developed world or privileged areas

·         Films, Television and Video:  These electronic devices are among the latest to have been introduced in the classrooms. Despite being widely criticized as being passive medium compared to reading and interacting with the teacher, they have undoubtedly played a big role in the revolutionalisation of classroom activities. In the late 1960s, the proliferation of educational programming on TV and videos helped children from different backgrounds to learn some basic skills such as phonics and counting skills.

Technology in Modern day classroom

There are various types of technologies currently used in traditional classrooms. Among these are:

• Computer in the classroom: Having a computer in the classroom is an asset to any teacher. With a computer in the classroom, teachers are able to demonstrate a new lesson, present new material, illustrate how to use new programs, and show new websites.
• Class website: An easy way to display your student's work is to create a web page designed for your class. Once a web page is designed, teachers can post homework assignments, student work, famous quotes, trivia games, and so much more. In today's society, children know how to use the computer and navigate their way through a website, so why not give them one where they can be a published author. Just be careful as most districts maintain strong policies to manage official websites for a school or classroom. Also, most school districts provide teacher webpages that can easily be viewed through the school district's website.
• Class blogs and wikis: There are a variety of Web 2.0 tools that are currently being implemented in the classroom. Blogs allow for students to maintain a running dialogue, such as a journal,thoughts, ideas, and assignments that also provide for student comment and reflection. Wikis are more group focused to allow multiple members of the group to edit a single document and create a truly collaborative and carefully edited finished product.
• Wireless classroom microphones: Noisy classrooms are a daily occurrence, and with the help of microphones, students are able to hear their teachers more clearly. Children learn better when they hear the teacher clearly. The benefit for teachers is that they no longer lose their voices at the end of the day.
• Mobile devices: Mobile devices such as smartphones can be used to enhance the experience in the classroom by providing the possibility for professors to get feedback. As opposed to previous school of thought that mobile phones use in classroom can be a nuisance, the professors are
• Interactive Whiteboards: An interactive whiteboard that provides touch control of computer applications. These enhance the experience in the classroom by showing anything that can be on a computer screen. This not only aids in visual learning, but it is interactive so the students can draw, write, or manipulate images on the interactive whiteboard.
• Online media: Streamed video websites can be utilized to enhance a classroom lesson (e.g. United Streaming, Teacher Tube, etc.)
• Digital Games: The field of educational games and serious games has been growing significantly over the last few years. The digital games are being provided as tools for the classroom and have a lot of positive feedback including higher motivation for students.

·         There are many other tools being utilized depending on the local school board and funds available. These may include: digital cameras, video cameras, interactive whiteboard tools, document cameras, or LCD projectors.

• Podcasts: Podcasting is a relatively new invention that allows anybody to publish files to the Internet where individuals can subscribe and receive new files from people by a subscription. The primary benefit of podcasting for educators is quite simple. It enables teachers to reach students through a medium that is both "cool" and a part of their daily lives. For a technology that only requires a computer, microphone and internet connection, podcasting has the capacity of advancing a student’s education beyond the classroom. When students listen to the podcasts of other students as well as their own, they can quickly demonstrate their capacities to identify and define "quality." This can be a great tool for learning and developing literacy inside and outside the classroom. Podcasting can help sharpen students’ vocabulary, writing, editing, public speaking, and presentation skills. Students will also learn skills that will be valuable in the working world, such as communication, time management, and problem-solving.

Conclusion

The consequences of the current educational revolution are just beginning to be felt. Technology driven venues of learning are springing up everywhere and technological innovations are having enormous influence outside of school system. Those who do not embrace technology must understand the possibilities of the new technologies from inside. As Don Tapscort (1998) argues, “Children are more comfortable, knowledgeable and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society, they are a force for social transformation.”

Further, Collins A. & Richard H. (2009) aver that the pressure to change the classroom with computing is coming from outside the classroom, in different forms from children and families and central office. The schools appear to be dragged reluctantly into a new technologically rich education system.

It is therefore important to rethink how education in a technological world will influence, learning, motivation, careers, leadership as well as the role of government in education. The emergence of new forms of teaching and learning outside of school threaten the identification of learning with formal schooling forged in the 19^th century. This however, will provide everyone with an equal chance to good education regardless of their social, economical or political background. 

Internet and Social Networking

Internet and Social Networking

Technological progress is increasingly influencing the way people relate, communicate, socialize, educate, and live. A recent rapid change in technological advancements has resulted in competing views about the impact of emerging technologies on social interaction, leisure behavior, and health. The utopian discourse assumes a positive influence of the internet by increasing social support, and improving mental and psychological health. Some researchers claim that internet is a social artifact and a medium of socialization that has the potential to reduce differences of race, gender, and class (Barry Wellman, 2011). There are those that view the internet as a dangerous medium that encourages deviance, social isolation, and depression. This write up looks at these contradictory views of the influences of the internet on young adults (18 – 25 years) in Kenya by assessing the relationships between the internet uses and emerging technologies on social involvement.

Although the expectation that the internet could transform social interaction and break barriers of diversity; its use has also reinforced societal and cultural values such individualism and consumerism. Technology and leisure develop from the social interactions with the environment and they become a product of the relationship between the social groups. Technology is a political tool that has the potential to reduce differences of race, gender, and class but its uses and design carry some social exclusion purposes. It has accentuated differences between those individuals with access and those who are mere spectators of technological advances. Thus, access to technology is related to power and only those with economical power can benefit from the internet uses leading to the increase of social exclusion.

Involvement in online communities does not mean lack of participation in offline community (Wellman & Gullia, 1999). The internet is a social artifact and a medium of socialization. According to Pruijt (2002), internet communication tends to complement real-world interaction and does not destroy social capital. The Internet can support and enhance communities that to some extent depend on face-to-face interaction. But at the same time computer use also tends to be an individualistic activity which is only shared in a virtual space and time. The argument remains as to whether the Internet has positive or negative influences in social interaction and social support. Kraut et al., (1998) explains that weak and strong social ties depend on frequency of contacts, feeling, and physical proximity and that the use of the Internet may shape these ties and how people maintain their relationships.

Kraut et al., also discusses the potential of the Internet in decreasing social involvement and in consequence

diminishing the individual’s psychological and physical well-being. Putnam (1995) argues that this social

disengagement is associated with poor quality of life and a decreased in participation in social activities (i.e. dinner parties, voluntary work, church, etc). Mallory and Miles (2000) suggest that emerging or disruptive technologies are innovations that have dramatic influences on how we live, work and play. These technologies have transformed leisure practices and disassociated leisure from its traditional conceptualization.

Leisure is no longer a disposition of the mind, spontaneous and genuine; it has become a disposition of the society and reduced to “empty time.” The question is:has the essence of leisure been damaged by technological advancements?

One of the major impacts of the internet has been the traditional separation of work and leisure. Technology inserts work into peoples’ lives which make it harder to keep balance and the work-leisure separation. E-mail and computers allow us to be away from the workplace but not from work. In this sense, technology has helped us feel less guilty. In consequence, secluded places for leisure experience are hard to find and technology has not liberated us for full and free enjoyment of leisure; instead, technology has enslaved us. There is a decline of face-to-face interactions due to technological advancement and at the same time there is an increase of seclusion and isolation. Mesch (2001) states that computer use is an individualistic activity; that the user is alone in a physical space while interacting with others online.

2011.07.16 ©

Challenges facing computer education in Kenya

Challenges facing computer education in Kenya

While ICT continues to advance in western and Asian countries, African countries still experience a lag in its implementation, and that continues to widen the digital and knowledge divides. In a recent study by Kiptalam et.al (2010), observed that access to ICT facilities is a major challenge facing most African countries, with a ratio of one computer to 150 students against the ratio of 1:15 students in the developed countries. Whereas results indicate that ICT has penetrated many sectors including banking, transportation, communications, and medical services, the Kenyan educational system seems to lag behind. Further, recent report by the National Council for Science and Technology (2010) indicated that computer use in Kenyan classrooms is still in its early phases, and concluded that the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators do play an important role in the use of computers in Kenyan classrooms.

Some of the challenges facing implementation of computer education in Kenya  are;

·         Lack of qualified teachers to teach ICT in schools; The demand for ICT learning has been tremendous and the number of teachers who are trained to teach ICT cannot meet the demand. There are more students willing to be taught computing skills than there are teaches to transfer the skills.

·         Lack of computers; Computers are still very expensive and despite spirited efforts by the government agencies, NGO, corporate organizations and individuals to donate computers to as many schools as possible, there still remains a big percentage of the schools unable to purchase computers for use by their pupils.

·         Many schools are still not yet connected to electricity; Kenya being a developing country, the government has not been able to connect all parts of the country to the national electricity grid. Consequently those schools that fall under such areas are left handicapped and may not be able to offer computer studies.

·         Computers are still expensive in Kenya, in a country with a GDP of $1600, majority of the individuals and schools cannot afford to buy a computer and consider it as a luxury item, more expensive than a TV. While 2^nd hand computers cost as little as $150 and branded new computers being sold at $500 or higher.

·         Broken down computers; while a good number of schools have benefited from donated used computers, they have not been adequately equipped with the same on maintenance and repair, hence its very common to see a schools computer lab full of broken down computers, some repairable and some not. This has actually been a major problem, and the government has now put strict measures on any person, NGO or corporate bodies willing to donate 2^nd hand computers. (It is seen as a dumping ground); e-waste management.

·         Burglary; the fact that computers are still very expensive in Kenya, makes them a target for thieves who usually have ready markets to another party at a much less figure. This has made many schools to incur extra expenses trying to burglar proof the computer rooms. This extra expense makes some schools shy away from purchasing computers for their students.

·         Fear by the administration; there is still a strong perception especially by the older generation that computers require highly skilled personnel to operate them, while this may not be the case, some school administrators also fear that their students will be exposed to adult sites and other undesired sites, through the use of the internet. Some also fear the infection of viruses to their computers leading to data loss, while this may be true to some extent, proper education on the safe use of computers and help alleviate some of this fears.

·         Fear by the teacher, the teacher may fear being rendered irrelevant by the introduction of computers in his/her class. The ‘feel’ that the teacher still remains an authority and a ‘know it all’ in class is something that most teachers cherish, and anything that makes them otherwise is deemed an enemy of the classroom.

·         Lack of internet or slow connectivity; most schools are not able to connect to the world wide web, due to the high costs involved in the connectivity. On average, it may cost approximately $120 per month to connect to about 15 computers on a bandwidth of 128/64kbps. This is considered as very expensive for a very slow speed.

·         Lack of initiative by the community leaders; the community leaders who are charged with looking at the interests of a given community do not see the need to purchase and subsequent installations of computers to their schools as a priority. They consider health care, provision of water and other amenities as more important than buying computers for their schools.

·         Obsolete computers lower the morale of both the teacher and the student; it is very common to find some schools using very old computers running on win98 or win 95.

·         Increased moral degradation – internet pornography, cyber bullying and other anti-social behaviors is a worrying emerging problem.

CONCLUSION

The dilemma which arises in providing educational technology stems from a lack of financial resources and a limited distributive capacity. In addition, many African countries have not been able to employ teachers, and provide resources to keep up with this demand. This brings about compromised quality of education. Further, many African governments face the predicament of educational expansion that corresponds with economic development. Despite the setbacks, access to education is a strong focus of most governments.

 Kenya as has put in place an ICT policy that aims to improve the livelihoods of Kenyans by ensuring the availability of accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable ICT services. The national policy addresses several sections, among them includes; Information technology, Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Postal services. However, it is the section on information technology that sets out the objectives and strategies pertaining to ICT and education. The relevant objective in this section states that government will encourage

 “…the use of ICT in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions in the country so as to improve the quality of teaching and learning.”

 ICT can play a significant role in equalizing opportunities for marginalized groups and communities. But the paradox is that for those groups that are unable to cross the technology divide, ICT is yet another means to further marginalize them. Education has a major role to play in resolving this problem. Thus, unless ICT becomes part of both the delivery and content of education, the disadvantage will deepen and development will suffer. But the failure to use ICT is itself a result of the digital and knowledge divides that exist, and their causes are deeply embedded in the complex historical and socio-cultural context of the country. Fortunately, with the Vision 2030 goals, the Kenyan government has begun to implement strategies that will address these paradoxes.

Class Experiment on use of Internet in Classroom - Kenya

Class Experiment on Internet in usage in class by secondary school students

In my school we had new software installed in the computer lab. The software allowed the teacher to control the students PCs from one location which we would call the “teacher control centre” (TCC). The TCC allowed the teacher to view all the students’ workstations and even take over the control of the students PC without the teacher having to physically move to the particular student. The students were not informed of the features of the newly installed software.

I sampled a group of students from form 3, they fell in the age bracket of (15-16) years. They were allowed an uninterrupted 1 hour session to browse the Internet; all the while I kept an eye on the TCC, monitoring what each group was doing.

Observation

 I did not give them any prior information on what websites to visit, within 5 minutes, of the twenty 21 computers that we had in the room (see figure 1), 11 had already logged in to a social website; facebook, 4 were on youtube, 3 were on popular European soccer clubs 1 was on an entertainment site 1 was on adult site and 1 was still googling. The computers were shared between 2 students and about 4 were shared by 3 students.

After 1 hour, I blocked the popular SNS and none of the computers could access it. I noted that a group of students affected were getting irritated and they tried logging into other sites, next I blocked youtube, the irritation now became more evident as the noise levels in the lab was raised. I next moved to block the sites of popular European teams, and the reaction was almost instantaneous, some students clicked and others started peeping at others screens, one student was even courageous to come forward and tell me that the net was not working. I feigned ignorance and told him to try other sites, I even suggested in passing.”…..try educational sites “.  The students who had initially taken over the control of the computer in their work-station gave up the mice and the keyboard and they became passive participants.

For the next 1 hour I observed that students were keen to search on educational materials in science, history, computing, career opportunities and institutions of higher learning. See the table below

Activity by the students on the Internet (Sites visited)	No. of computers observed	Activity on the students monitors after blocking “facebook”	Activity on the students monitors after blocking “Youtube”	Activity on the students monitors after blocking “Soccer teams site”
Facebook Youtube European Soccer teams Entertainment sites Adult sites Others (Google, educational sites etc)	11 4 3 1 1 1	- 9 4 3 2 4	- - 5 2 1 13	- - - 2 1 18
Total	21	21	21	21

It was very evident that social networking services (SNS) such as facebook is very popular with students. It was not possible to establish the number of students who had registered on facebook. 

Of particular concern were the students who visited the adult sites. In spite of several posters displayed on the wall, and verbal instruction given to the students, some still went ahead and browsed the adult sites. I sought to know where they had got information about those sites, and the response was almost instantaneous; “From friends”. Interestingly almost all the students knew the code name of the adult sites “gwati”. This is a clearer indicator that peer influence plays a big role in motivating the students on visiting the adult sites.

Conclusion

The above case study should however not be used to make a generalized conclusion that the same effect would be observed in a different set –up say for example a girl school, or a rural school. A more comprehensive study would probably yield different results although its only a slight deviation that would be expected.

This clearly demonstrated that, students when left on their own to use the internet will only engage in areas that seem to entertain and socialize.  Proper supervision, control and guidance will help the students unlock their potential in looking for information that will have direct impact on their academic life. Further when 2 or more students share a computer, they are more creative in terms of the information that they look search for in the net.

As pointed out, Internet appears to have some educational effects on children’s attitude towards learning. For example, Clifford Stoll(2000) argues that multimedia systems such as computers or Internet may lower or decrease children’s problem-solving ability, intellectual curiosity and motivation for learning.

However, this can be overturned by offering guided supervision to the students on the use of the Internet.

Further, implementation of “Information Moral education” is as important as using an interactive hands-on approach to moral learning. Teachers and educators should emphasize the need to balance both the positive and negative aspects of ICT.

African NRENs can expand educational opportunities across education sectors

African NRENs can expand educational opportunities across education sectors

Over the past three decades, the revolution in computers and telecommunications networks has created unprecedented changes in business, commerce, government, science, health care, and education. New jobs, new industries, an explosion in entrepreneurship, new modes of community building, increased learning opportunities, ease of access to timely information and global markets, and the ability of an extended community to interact closely across space and time: all are dividends of this revolution in network and information technology and the remarkable underlying Internet culture of change.

Yet the fruits of this Information Age are still unevenly distributed. This gap threatens to continue to cut off some populations from new opportunities. Access to new forms of education, good jobs, medical and health information, communication, and the chance to participate in the affairs of the broader society may be denied to them. For some individuals, technology brings the promise of inclusion, education, opportunity, wealth, and better health; for others, greater isolation and continuing poverty. Many look to universities and K-12 schools to bridge this gap.

Meanwhile, today’s Internet—the commodity or commercial Internet—has recognized a number of limitations. At the same time numerous opportunities and new possibilities have emerged. Some challenges, like the inability to provide workable “quality of service” or end-to-end performance guarantees needed for demanding applications such as telepresence (the current state-of-the-art videoconferencing technology) were outside the scope of the Internet’s original design goals. Challenges, such as dealing with today’s gargantuan amounts of traffic, exploding number of users and sites, privacy and security needs of users and institutions, and requirements for Internet addresses, are the consequences of unanticipated success.

Many new but challenging opportunities, like the delivery on demand of real-time, movie-quality, high definition television (HDTV) or even films over the Internet, as well as many new and experimental approaches to health care, are the product of extraordinary progress in a wide array of technology industries that are now convergent with the Internet’s evolutionary path. Other new applications and capacities are outside the focus of the commercial Internet. These innovative activities are supported best by research test-beds, the international fabric of national research and education networks (NRENs), which focus on the development and deployment of the next generation of Internet technologies.

The regular or “commodity” Internet was not designed to handle the huge amount of data transfer, the explosive numbers of users, or the interactive, media-rich applications commonly used today. For applications where reliability is critical and delay is unacceptable – applications such as real-time streaming events, access to remote scientific instruments, high definition video-conferencing, online gaming, and interactive immersive worlds and simulations – the commodity Internet is inadequate. Research and education networks were purpose-built by the research and education community to offer the flexibility, performance, speed, and advanced services that allow these applications to evolve and thrive.

NRENs serve many functions. They create leading-edge network capability for the international research community; they enable revolutionary Internet applications; they ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community; they provide a platform for sharing scientific (and other) applications and resources; they aggregate demand for bandwidth and thereby create “buying clubs,” drive down the cost of bandwidth; and they create social value by including communities outside their primary research university constituencies, like primary and secondary schools, libraries, museums, scientific and cultural institutions. In order to flourish, NRENs must focus on the technical dimensions of data networks and they must also attend to the human dimension, the creation of shareable expertise for support and collaboration across many fields of research and education.

Cyber - Bullying in the eyes of a Kenyan teacher.

CYBER BULLYING IN THE EYES OF A KENYAN TEACHER

This is a letter to a lead investigator on cyber-bullying Dr. Shaheen Shariff, a Professor at McGill University in Vancouver – Canada. The same can be seen in their website http://www.definetheline.ca/.

Dear Dr. Shaheen Shariff,

Greetings,

My name is Martin Mungai, I am secondary school teacher in a boys boarding school in Kenya – Nairobi School. I am currently in Japan, Hokkaido University of Education – Asahikawa Campus undertaking my studies in Education Technology with emphasis on Children and Information Media, under Prof. Ikuya MURATA.

In the course of my studies, I came across two of your books, Cyber Bullying; Issues and Solutions for the school, classroom and the home. And Confronting Cyber-bullying; What schools need to know to control misconduct and avoid legal consequences. I am due to make a presentation on Effects of Increased Internet accessibility to secondary school students in Kenya in August this year at Hiroshima University at a JSISE conference. I must say that your books were an eye opener into my area of study, indeed when I was coming to Japan, my motivation was driven by the need to do a research on Information technology in education having taught ICT and played the role of a systems administrator in Nairobi school for a period of close to 10 yrs. I was obviously aware of the challenges that are facing teachers, educators and administrators as well as parents in the fusion of ICT in education. I had already seen and experienced the gap in the areas of cyber-bullying and other Internet related anti-social behaviors being expressed by children in Kenyan schools.

Reading your book, Confronting cyber bullying, I could not help but draw parallels to the experiences that I have had both at first as a student and lately as a teacher. I noted with a lot of excitement that you actually went to a boarding school in Kenya! I went to a boys boarding high school (Thika High school) in the 90s and experienced bullying first hand and as you recount on your experiences in reading the book of Golding’s (1959) Lord of the flies about the tale of the ruthless Jack and the overweight Piggy, I boiled with excitement since a lot of what you said sounded just too familiar.

Again, teaching in Nairobi school has also brought me face to face with the conventional methods of bullying as well as the new version of cyber-bullying. Teaching ICT to the boys over the last couple of years, I have experienced completely new forms of bullying. I am well aware of the rapid advancement that has been in leaps and bounds in the technological field in computing and communication. Having had my 1^st exposure to computers in 1994, where Ms DOS was the best operating system, and monochrome displays was the best technology we had then, to the now fast Internet accessibility at your fingers on a cell phone. I have seen boys using 1.44mb floppy drives to save pornographic pictures to using 12gb flash memory drives where they can downloads volumes of pornographic videos which they proudly share. I have seen boys evolve from drawing a teacher in class, on the chalkboard, toilet walls and on pieces of paper, to using photoshop where they cleverly make and post on their facebook walls for their friends and the world to see through what you would call antiauthority cyber expression.

One of the driving factors in my studies is the fact that, Kenya is classified amongst the developing nations, yet modern ICT knows no boundaries. We in Kenya are however facing a huge challenge because unlike Japan, US, Canada and other first worlds we do not have solid structures on our legal systems to tenaciously and legally address these emerging issues.

My program here in Japan lasts one year after which, I hope to join another university where I can pursue further educational opportunities to help me advance in my area of study and research. I must say I am particularly impressed by your work and I hope that someday to meet and work with you some more on this very interesting area. I am looking forward to reading many more of your works.

Thank you very much for your patience.

Yours faithfully,

Martin Mungai

20.05.2011

Categories According to a Person's Relationship to Technology

Categories According to a Person's Relationship to Technology

It is important to note that there are other ways to sort people in these groups besides age. We can do so according to their attitudes towards and comprehension of modern digital technologies. Feeney (2010), Toledo, (2007) and others describe acontinuum of people's relationships to the digital world, which is not based on a person's date of birth but on their relationships, attitudes and practices in regard to digital technologies. Following are categories that differentiate people according to their comprehension, understanding and comfort with technology rather than their age.
Avoider The Luddites are true avoiders of modern technologies. They use landlines and avoid email and the Internet. The newspapers they like to read arrive via snail mail carrier, not via Internet server. Some of these ultimate avoiders are simply old digital immigrants who cannot relate to modern technology, and others are digital natives who some may call the "Neo-Luddites" who philosophically oppose the use of the Internet and other modern online technologies.
Minimalist Members of this group use technology reluctantly. They may be digital immigrant reluctant adopters or digital native minimalists. Minimalists have an email account and probably a Facebook profile (hard to avoid these days) but do not check them regularly. They have a cellphone, but do not need or desire to be online via the phone. No smartphones are necessary or wanted by this group. Like the avoiders, this group reads the newspaper in paper form.
Tourists These are the people who feel like visitors in the digital world. They pay attention to the 'local' or 'native' digital culture, learn its language, observe its rituals, and comprehend its complexities. This group keeps internal distance from technology even though they tend to use it appropriately and effectively, as needed, but not extensively. This is group stays internally non-digital in regard to preferences and values.
Enthusiastic or Eager Adopter This group has fun with technology! They enjoy the latest iPhone and talk about its features; the iPad is fascinating even if they don't have one. This group - if they do not own a new product themselves - is ready and excited to try out the product of a friend and enjoy the process. They participate in online discussions via Facebook, news sites, blogs or online education. They may write online content (a column, a blog) themselves. Members of this group check email and are online throughout the day, find technology interesting, have a smartphone, and are on Facebook. They get their news online, not via print.
Innovator Members of this group are not only enthusiastic, they work with technology to improve it. These are game developers, programmers, engineers, technology writers, professors, and (gasp) hackers. While hackers do not improve technology for the rest of us, they are affecting it, not just using it. Innovators build websites, create applications and perform other online creation functions for their fellow innovators.
Over-User or Addict As the name indicates, digital addicts are heavily dependent on technology to occupy their time. Millions of young people all over the world are in this group - many of them gamers. When digital immigrants are in this group, it is usually for gaming or porn, though it can be for social networking also. Members of this group are extremely protective of their "right" to be online, and will become upset, irate and even violent if technology is not available. This group is what many parents, educators and managers accuse average digital natives of being, but this is a mistake. Addicts include those whose physical, mental, emotional, educational, or occupational aspects of their lives are significantly, negatively affected by their excessive use of digital technologies. Examples of people in this group are gamers who play for 18 hours a day, missing school, work and home life. Other members of this group include porn addicts who do not have sex with their spouses in favor of indulging this online addiction.