Pew recently conducted a survey of 895 technology “stakeholders,” comprised of both technology experts and individuals who represent the Internet savvy public. The survey presented “potential-future scenarios to which respondents [reacted] with their expectations based on current knowledge and attitudes.”  According to Pew,

“Respondents to the Future of the Internet IV survey, fielded from Dec. 2, 2009 to Jan. 11, 2010, were asked to consider the future of the Internet-connected world between now and 2020 and the likely innovation that will occur. They were asked to assess 10 different “tension pairs” – each pair offering two different 2020 scenarios with the same overall theme and opposite outcomes – and they were asked to select the one most likely choice of two statements. The tension pairs and their alternative outcomes were constructed to reflect previous statements about the likely evolution of the Internet.”

To complete the study, Pew based their survey on the following five questions.

Pew’s first question addresses the widespread concern that the Internet is adversely impacting people’s thinking skills. In 2008 Nicholas Carr, writing for the Atlantic Monthly, wrote a provocative piece with the cover line, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr argues that the nature of online searching and reading are limiting people’s ability to concentrate in a way that promotes “The kind of deep reading that a sequence of printed pages promotes is valuable not just for the knowledge we acquire from the author’s words but for the intellectual vibrations those words set off within our own minds.” Carr’s argument has touched off a firestorm in academic circles. In response, Pew decided to probe Carr’s concerns as part of their study. Is the Internet making us stupid? According to the survey,

“Google won’t make us stupid: 76% of these experts agreed with the statement, “By 2020, people’s use of the Internet has enhanced human intelligence; as people are allowed unprecedented access to more information they become smarter and make better choices. Nicholas Carr was wrong: Google does not make us stupid.”

Pew’s second question focuses on the impact the Internet will have on important literacy skills. According to the report,

“Reading, writing, and the rendering of knowledge will be improved: 65% agreed with the statement by 2020 “it will be clear that the Internet has enhanced and improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge.” Still, 32% of the respondents expressed concerns that by 2020 “it will be clear that the Internet has diminished and endangered reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge.”

Pew’s third question is interesting: Will the technologists be able to effectively identify important trends in innovation? The survey found the following:

“Innovation will continue to catch us by surprise: 80% of the experts agreed that the “hot gadgets and applications that will capture the imaginations of users in 2020 will often come ‘out of the blue.’”

Pew’s fourth question addresses an important concern of most educators: Will information continue to flow freely and with minimal regulation of the Internet? Again, the respondents to Pew’s survey provided interesting insight.

“Respondents hope information will flow relatively freely online, though there will be flashpoints over control of the internet. Concerns over control of the Internet were expressed in answers to a question about the end-to-end principle. 61% responded that the Internet will remain as its founders envisioned, however many who agreed with the statement that “most disagreements over the way information flows online will be resolved in favor of a minimum number of restrictions” also noted that their response was a “hope” and not necessarily their true expectation. 33% chose to agree with the statement that “the Internet will mostly become a technology where intermediary institutions that control the architecture and …content will be successful in gaining the right to manage information and the method by which people access it.”

Pew’s final question addresses an important concern most technologists have with the growing threat to online anonymity. According to the 895 respondents,

“Anonymous online activity will be challenged, though a modest majority still think it will possible in 2020: There more of a split verdict among the expert respondents about the fate on online anonymity. Some 55% agreed that Internet users will still be able to communicate anonymously, while 41% agreed that by 2020 “anonymous online activity is sharply curtailed.”

What will the Internet look like in 2020? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

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According to Pink,

“What’s alarming is that our business operating system– think of the set of assumptions and protocols beneath our businesses, how we motivate people, how we apply our human resources– [is] built entirely around these extrinsic motivators… [This] is actually fine for many kinds of 20th century tasks, but for 21st century tasks, that mechanistic, reward and punishment approach often doesn’t work and often does harm.”

Because extrinsic rewards narrow human focus and concentration, they seem to work really well for tasks that involve a simple set of rules and a clearly defined result. But when the task involves utilizing creative thinking and complex problem solving skills, extrinsic motivation seems to hinder productivity. The problem, says Pink, is America’s economy requires the sort of problem solving skills that are based on creative thinking. In other words, today’s problems require the sort of conceptual, the sort of creative thinking that extrinsic rewards seem to hinder.

If we accept Pink’s argument, then what should businesses do? Pink suggests building a new management system based on intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation. Moreover, this new operating system, should be based on three important psychological principles:

1. Autonomy– The urge to direct our own lives
2. Mastery– The desire to get better and better and something that matters
3. Purpose– The yearning to do something in the service of something bigger than ourselves

I spent the past few days thinking about how Pink’s argument might be applied to education. I think most educators would agree that today’s educational model is based almost entirely on what Pink would call an extrinsic motivational model. Simply put, students are rewarded for good behavior and specific types of productive academic performance and punished for poor behavior and specific types of unproductive academic performance.

A potential problem with this model, at least in today’s context, is its educational focus is too often narrowed to discrete and, often times, simplistic forms of learning outcomes. At a time when today’s global employers expect their employees to possess the sorts of problem solving skills that involve complex thinking, innovation, and creativity, our students are participating in a learning model that promotes 20th century thinking skills. Rather than learning how to effectively integrate complex pieces of information into meaningful arguments, quickly process information, or creatively solve real-world problems, too many public school students are stuck in 20th century classrooms surrounded by chalkboards, wooden desks, and unimaginative teaching. This classroom promotes a different set of life skills that may have been beneficial during the industrial age, but today’s economy demands a different set of skills, one that is appropriate for today’s information age.

Perhaps what is most alarming about the learning model prevalent in most public schools today is its reliance on extrinsic motivation to foster the development of 20th century skills. In the age of NCLB, schools are being forced to narrow their academic focus in order to meet the myriad of state and national accountability standards. As government accountability efforts pressure schools to demonstrate improvement, schools are tempted to rely on the types of extrinsic motivators outlined in Pink’s lecture.

If Pink is right, how might we apply his analysis to public education? I think the answer is our schools need a different educational model, a new type of management system based primarily on intrinsic motivation. This new teaching  and learning approach should emphasize a radical notion of self direction. In other words,the 21st century learning model should build effective learning experiences that incorporate student autonomy, learning mastery, and individual purpose. Learning experiences that incorporate these skills tend to foster a healthy sense of motivation and individual purpose for the learner. In a time when the extent of student apathy and disengagement seem to threaten the very success of many of our schools, a new model that promotes motivation, self-direction, and individual responsibility couldn’t come soon enough.

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I’ve compiled a short list of a few TED Talk favorites.

John Wooden on True Success: “With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father’s wisdom.”

Bill Gates on Mosquitos, Malaria and Education: “Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.”

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity: “Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.”

Jimmy Wales on The Birth of Wikipedia: “Jimmy Wales recalls how he assembled “a ragtag band of volunteers,” gave them tools for collaborating and created Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, never-finished online encyclopedia.”

Clay Shirky, How Social Media Can Make History: “While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.”

Pranav Mistry: The Thrilling Potential of Sixth Sense Technology: “At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data — including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he’ll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.”

Danial Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation: “Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.”

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1. Who can see the things you share (status updates, photos, videos, etc.)?

“Probably the most critical of the “privacy” changes (yes, we mean those quotes sarcastically) was the change made to status updates. Although there’s now a button beneath the status update field that lets you select who can view any particular update, the new Facebook default for this setting is “Everyone.” And by everyone, they mean everyone.”

“If you accepted the new recommended settings then you voluntarily gave Facebook the right to share the information about the items you post with any user or application on the site. Depending on your search settings, you may have also given Facebook the right to share that information with search engines, too.”

“To change this setting back to something of a more private nature, do the following:

• From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.Click “Profile Information” from the list of choices on the next page.
• Scroll down to the setting “Posts by Me.” This encompasses anything you post, including status updates, links, notes, photos, and videos.
• Change this setting using the drop-down box on the right. We recommend the “Only Friends” setting to ensure that only those people you’ve specifically added as a friend on the network can see the things you post.”

2. Who can see your personal info?

“Facebook has a section of your profile called “personal info,” but it only includes your interests, activities, and favorites. Other arguably more personal information is not encompassed by the “personal info” setting on Facebook’s Privacy Settings page. That other information includes things like your birthday, your religious and political views, and your relationship status.”

“After last month’s privacy changes, Facebook set the new defaults for this other information to viewable by either “Everyone” (for family and relationships, aka relationship status) or to “Friends of Friends” (birthday, religious and political views). Depending on your own preferences, you can update each of these fields as you see fit. However, we would bet that many will want to set these to “Only Friends” as well. To do so:

• From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.
• Click “Profile Information” from the list of choices on the next page.
• The third, fourth, and fifth item listed on this page are as follows: “birthday,” “religious and political views,” and “family and relationship.” Locking down birthday to “Only Friends” is wise here, especially considering information such as this is often used in identity theft.
• Depending on your own personal preferences, you may or may not feel comfortable sharing your relationship status and religious and political views with complete strangers. And keep in mind, any setting besides “Only Friends” is just that – a stranger. While “Friends of Friends” sounds innocuous enough, it refers to everyone your friends have added as friends, a large group containing hundreds if not thousands of people you don’t know. All it takes is one less-than-selective friend in your network to give an unsavory person access to this information.”

3. What Google can see– Keep your data off the search engine.

“When you visit Facebook’s Search Settings page, a warning message pops up. Apparently, Facebook wants to clear the air about what info is being indexed by Google. The message reads:

‘There have been misleading rumors recently about Facebook indexing all your information on Google. This is not true. Facebook created public search listings in 2007 to enable people to search for your name and see a link to your Facebook profile. They will still only see a basic set of information.’ ”

“While that may be true to a point, the second setting listed on this Search Settings page refers to exactly what you’re allowing Google to index. If the box next to “Allow” is checked, you’re giving search engines the ability to access and index any information you’ve marked as visible by “Everyone.” As you can see from the settings discussed above, if you had not made some changes to certain fields, you would be sharing quite a bit with the search engines…probably more information than you were comfortable with. To keep your data private and out of the search engines, do the following:

• From your Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at the top right and click “Privacy Settings” from the list that appears.
• Click “Search” from the list of choices on the next page.
• Click “Close” on the pop-up message that appears.
• On this page, uncheck the box labeled “Allow” next to the second setting “Public Search Results.” That keeps all your publicly shared information (items set to viewable by “Everyone”) out of the search engines. If you want to see what the end result looks like, click the “see preview” link in blue underneath this setting.”

Although taking these three small steps may not seem very important, they are certainly worth considering. If educators are utilizing Facebook to interact with parents and students, it’s important they fully understand how information is being disseminated by Facebook. Furthermore, as educators we have a special responsibility to to protect the privacy of our parents, students, and staff members.

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Here is a Sports Illustrated mock-up on a tablet by Time, inc. that really demonstrates the potential power. Imagine the opportunities that this device could provide for learning. What are your thoughts?

One more note, it appears Verizon has briefed its managers to expect a busy day tomorrow. Hmmm…

Lichtenberg believes social media technology is certainly here to stay. Not only is it connecting millions of people in a very unique way, but social media technology is being woven into the very fabric of our online experiences. In fact, Lichtenberg thinks it’s already

“impossible to separate social media from the online world. Facebook reached 350 million users last month — 70% of whom are outside the US — and it accounts for 25% of the Web’s traffic, according to Pew nearly one in five people on the web use Twitter or some other service to check status messages, and 94% of enterprises plan to maintain or increase their investment in enterprise social media tools. The social media conversation is no longer considered a Web 2.0 fad — it is taking place in homes, small businesses and corporate boardrooms, and extending its reach into the nonprofit, education and health sectors. From feeling excitement, novelty, bewilderment, and overwhelmed, a growing number of people now speak of social media as simply another channel or tactic.”

Most teachers are beginning to see the potential benefits Web 2.0 technology has for improving instruction in the classroom. The kids are anxiously waiting for the next learning transformation to take place, and with some anxiety teachers are wondering how to lead this technology-oriented revolution. What will the Web 2.0 classroom look like? What does the future hold for social media technology? What will being “connected” mean? What will the social Web experience be like during 2010? To help answer these questions, Lichtenberg identifies ten ways he thinks social media will change over the next year. Below I’ve highlighted three transformations I think will cause the most significant disruptions in education.

1. Social media will involve a personalized,  cohesive online experience that will utilize the  interoperable nature of Web 2.0 technology to connect our online and offline activities and technologies.

According to Lichtenberg, “By this time next year, social media will no longer be “social media” — it will be an integrated, unquestionable component of your online and offline experience. Last year we spoke of cross-platform integration across media sites. Open APIs and OpenID made that possible, and even LinkedIn announced last month that it too will finally open its APIs. 2010 will be about integration and a single, cohesive experience across platforms as well as across products and devices — Web, mobile, TV, and video — will become near-inseparable experiences.

Users will access content from any device or platform, co-create and mashup their photos, videos and text with traditional content while interacting with each other. Publishers will create new kinds of content for the connected world, and the last years’ lull in good entertainment will finally be lifted. This trend will cut across all of our activities — from playing games to shopping to emailing and texting — nothing will be lost; everything we do will be gathered and streamed together, allowing people to view their world of activities as if it were projected in front of them, open to change, review and input at any point in time from any device or online tool.”

2. Mobile technology will take center stage. According to Lichtenberg,

“Worldwide, the iPhone alone accounts for about 33% of mobile web traffic and IDC predicts the number of mobile web users will hit one billion by 2010. As the technological barriers come down, people will increasingly use their phones on-the-go to access social networks, search, read content and find location-based information. Our phones will be used as a central hub and beacon — enabling a slew of new capabilities and experiences.”

I think this part of the Web 2.0 transformation will have a significant impact on curriculum and instruction. The fact that most high school students, for example, are carrying around personal computers called smart phones will force classroom teachers to rethink how they teach.

3. Businesses will shape the next generation of social media. According to Lichtenberg,

“It was easy to forget that enterprises and large institutions are the originators of some of social media’s pillars: listservs, forums, intranets and collaboration tools. As social media became a public domain, enterprises have been cautious participants, predominantly in the product space, with few visionary leaders like Zappos, IBM and Dell. But cautionary they are no more. With a reported average of 25% increase in funds allocation toward social media activities, in 2010 we will see a surge in adoption of social media across product, services and solutions companies.

Having the need and the funds, enterprises will determine the next generation of social experiences. They will push enhancements that meet their needs, specifically around monitoring, automation, alignment with the sales cycle and integration with existing systems, expanding social “media” to encompass the ecosystem of social computing across solutions, and making them actionable for the company. Jive, blueKiwi, Remindo and Sharepoint support companies internally. Most recently, Salesforce.com released Chatter, designed to turn the corporation, and CRM, social. With its APIs opening later this year, “Chatter can become a new layer over its Force platform, already being used by 68,000 customers, enabling companies and developers to leverage the Salesforce infrastructure in a secure environment,” said Bruce Francis, VP corporate strategy Salesforce.com.”

As more an more teachers utilize social media technology, the demand for simplicity, uniformity, and cross platform integration will only increase. Open source software and independent social networking sites are great. But, teachers want to know how these different technologies can be integrated into a single, cohesive program. This is where enterprise will help.

The potential benefits for social media technology in 2010 are very exciting. As this technology continues to evolve in its traditional market– social networking, etc.– it will also begin moving into nontraditional markets, most importantly public education. As this technology begins disrupting the education market, teachers need to be ready for the transformation.

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Touché!

Students use cellphones to solve math problems.

In a recent piece in THE Journal, Bridget McCrea spoke with a group of technology experts in order to compile a short list of technology trends educators should look for in 2010. Here’s McCrea’s list:

1. eBooks will gain traction in the K-12 market during 2010. According to J. Gerry Purdy, chief analyst for the business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in Atlanta,

“The eBook phenomenon is gaining ground in the consumer space, where people are using them to read both fiction and non-fiction,” said Purdy. “The way the stars are aligned, it won’t be long before someone adapts eBooks out of the consumer space and makes textbooks available on these portable devices.”

2. Netbook functionality will improve enabling many districts to move closer to the goal of one-to-one student access. According to McCrea,

“One-to-one computer initiatives are proliferating throughout United States schools and are expected to become even more popular in 2010 as netbooks become even more affordable. Priced at $200 to $300, these small, inexpensive computers are helping to bridge the technology divide that exists at those schools where individual students don’t have access to their own laptops.”

3. More teachers will use interactive whiteboards. With the huge infusion of federal stimulus funds into public education, experts perdict more and more teachers will use these funds to outfit classrooms with interactive display systems. According to Sheryl Abshire, chief technology officer for Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, LA.,

“Large, interactive display systems that allow teachers and students to work together in ways that traditional blackboards could not are gaining ground in the K-12 environment. Expect the trend to continue this year.”

4. Personal devices will infiltrate the traditional classroom.

“Sometimes barred from the classroom owing to perceptions of security risks and student “distractions,” smart phones and iPods are now making their way into the K-12 space, and with teachers’ and administrators’ blessings,” says McCrea.

5. New technology will enable educators to specifically tailor curriculum and more effectively differentiate instruction.

“On educators’ and administrators’ wish lists right now is an easier, tech-based way to assess, record and track individual student performance in the classroom. David Stienes, principal with private equity fund LLR Partners in Philadelphia, said those wishes could come true this year, courtesy of several emerging companies that are working on new student assessment tools.”

2010 looks to be another very exciting year for educational technology.