Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
regarding what type of NDM communication to use with their teachers: rather than
sending an instant message to the teacher, they instead choose to email questions
when they arise. Educators on the whole appreciate the freedom and time flexibility
associated with the exchange of asynchronous messages with their students.
Despite the asynchronous nature of most student-educator online communica-
tions, expectations relating to response times differ significantly. Students often
spend their evenings online listening to music, live chatting with friends, watch-
ing videos, playing games, and other related activities, and they tend to expect that
their teachers will also be online to answer their queries very quickly. Educators, on
the other hand, report markedly different practices relating to evening engagement.
While some participate in online practices similar to their students, the major-
ity report less engagement online in the evenings and spend more time offline.
Educators report receiving student emails about the following day's assignment late
the prior evening. One science teachers at a boarding school had to instruct his
students to not email him after 8 pm and not to expect an immediate response.
Despite its convenience, email and similar online communications can often
prove problematic. The absence of social cues and misinterpretations of language
can easily lead to misunderstandings between parties. In this context, too, expec-
tations differ between educators and students. About a quarter of our educators
claim that students do not acknowledge the need to use a different voice when cor-
responding with them, and that in general, students “don't think about tone” and
“need to distinguish [tones] for different recipients.” Some educators enjoy the more
casual nature of more informal email correspondences versus previous, more for-
mal exchanges with students. Others, however, interpret overly casual emails from
students as showing a disregard for the educator's professional role.
Changes Outside of the Classroom
. The standard definition of the term “home-
work” conjures up a lone individual attempting to master a set of assigned tasks.
He/She is likely supported by some external supports such as paper and pencil,
books, perhaps a calculator, or a typewriter. In this conception of homework, third-
party support from a parent or tutor is considered acceptable, but allowing others to
complete one's assignments is considered a form of cheating.
This traditional definition of homework, however, is challenged by the introduc-
tion of the networked computer in the workspace. Our educator participants report
that a majority of their students are online while they work at home to complete
school assignments, either finding information on the web or collaborating with
peers. In response, many educators have attempted to design homework assignments
less amenable to collaboration. Others have dispensed with homework altogether.
Students not collaborating on homework assignments with peers may be chatting
online instead, or simultaneously engaging in homework and socializing.
Changes in Classroom Participation
: In the past, a teacher might have struggled
with a slide carousel, the VHS player, or the overhead projector, and either asked
for assistance or accepted an offer of help from a student. Today's digital tools,
however, are increasingly present, more complex, and often used by students in
their free time. In nearly all the interviews we conducted, educators describe their
students as “technically savvy”: most students are capable of remedying problem
