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what a joke this app is now

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Wed, Nov 1 2023 6:03 AM

  @IamNicklaus

  I absolutely agree with you. Thanks for sharing the link. I'll be sure to check it out.

• IamNicklaus 496 Posts

  Wed, Nov 1 2023 6:16 AM

  Robert1893:

  @IamNicklaus

  I absolutely agree with you.

  This could be the answer to the question " what is the most unlikely thing you will ever read on the internet ? " ......i knew this day would come ...lol 

  On a serious note , interested to hear what you think of the reply in that link , when you have the time .

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Wed, Nov 1 2023 6:35 AM

  IamNicklaus:

  This could be the answer to the question " what is the most unlikely thing you will ever read on the internet ? " ......i knew this day would come ...lol 

  That's totally fair! 😀

  Later today, I'll probably circle back to this. 

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Wed, Nov 1 2023 7:43 PM

  IamNicklaus:

  On a serious note , interested to hear what you think of the reply in that link , when you have the time .

  As mentioned in the link you shared, I think one of the biggest issue is a lot of our conclusions really seem based on anecdotal evidence. We need more large-N studies of digital natives. As the research develops, I think we'll see two things.

  On the one hand, we'll see the mean level of computer literacy to be fairly low. On the other hand, I believe the variance will be quite high. In other words, we're likely to see some type of bi-modal distribution (individuals clustered at either end of the computer literacy spectrum).

  At this point, all I know is (every semester), I have students who will say to me, "I'm just not good at computers." And the tasks we're talking about are fairly basic.  

• IamNicklaus 496 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 4:58 AM

  Robert1893:

  IamNicklaus:

  On a serious note , interested to hear what you think of the reply in that link , when you have the time .

  As mentioned in the link you shared, I think one of the biggest issue is a lot of our conclusions really seem based on anecdotal evidence. We need more large-N studies of digital natives. As the research develops, I think we'll see two things.

  On the one hand, we'll see the mean level of computer literacy to be fairly low. On the other hand, I believe the variance will be quite high. In other words, we're likely to see some type of bi-modal distribution (individuals clustered at either end of the computer literacy spectrum).

  At this point, all I know is (every semester), I have students who will say to me, "I'm just not good at computers." And the tasks we're talking about are fairly basic.  

  So i guess the most important question would be , does a low level of computer literacy seriously impact on a students academic achievements compared to people at the other end of the spectrum ?. Or is it the case that the difference between the two overall  is negligible but it requires more resources from education providers in the form of assistance with the computer tasks ?  

  I have no idea if basic computer literacy is built into either your curriculum or ours...if it isn't , then it should be ...and if it is , and there is a significant amount of students who are clueless and disinterested in it , then i guess you could form the conclusion that they believe they can achieve what they require primarily with the use of a smartphone.

  I remember many, many  years ago when my partner was teaching me how to do the basics on a computer and her showing me how to do an email.....and me genuinely saying  " why the hell would you want to do this , when you can just write a letter " ....and i meant it ..hilarious thinking back to that, at this point in time  :) 

   

• ct690911 7,205 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 8:15 AM

  Robert1893:

  IamNicklaus:

  On a serious note , interested to hear what you think of the reply in that link , when you have the time .

  As mentioned in the link you shared, I think one of the biggest issue is a lot of our conclusions really seem based on anecdotal evidence. We need more large-N studies of digital natives. As the research develops, I think we'll see two things.

  On the one hand, we'll see the mean level of computer literacy to be fairly low. On the other hand, I believe the variance will be quite high. In other words, we're likely to see some type of bi-modal distribution (individuals clustered at either end of the computer literacy spectrum).

  At this point, all I know is (every semester), I have students who will say to me, "I'm just not good at computers." And the tasks we're talking about are fairly basic.  

  I find this astounding as the younger generation basically grew up using computers.

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 8:48 AM

  IamNicklaus:

  So i guess the most important question would be , does a low level of computer literacy seriously impact on a students academic achievements compared to people at the other end of the spectrum ?. Or is it the case that the difference between the two overall  is negligible but it requires more resources from education providers in the form of assistance with the computer tasks ?  

  I have no idea if basic computer literacy is built into either your curriculum or ours...if it isn't , then it should be ...and if it is , and there is a significant amount of students who are clueless and disinterested in it , then i guess you could form the conclusion that they believe they can achieve what they require primarily with the use of a smartphone.

  I remember many, many  years ago when my partner was teaching me how to do the basics on a computer and her showing me how to do an email.....and me genuinely saying  " why the hell would you want to do this , when you can just write a letter " ....and i meant it ..hilarious thinking back to that, at this point in time  :) 

  With respect to the impact on students' academic performance, to some extent, it does depend on the instructor. While I try to help students navigate through some of the stuff they don't know, other instructors might just tell the student "you're on your own."
  
  Here's an example of what I mean.
  
  This semester I have a number of high school (dual enrollment) students in my online courses. They're using Chromebooks. Many seem not to know how to share a document (it's set up for them automatically with their high school instructors) or how to download a Google document as either a Word document or PDF. The latter is important because some high schools appear to have prohibited sharing of Google docs outside their institution.
  
  So, I took the time to walk students through that with a short video I created. Another instructor may have just told the student, "You're on your own. If you don't submit it in a way I can access it, then it's a zero."
  
  While we do have a computer literacy requirement as part of our general education requirements, there's a couple of problems there as well. Students both compartmentalize their knowledge (for example, think "I only need this knowledge for this class") and/or have trouble transferring/applying that knowledge to other courses.
  
  The real problem, however, is dual enrollment. In the state I teach, dual enrollment is huge. I'm seeing high school students (as young as freshmen) in my online courses. A lot of this stuff, they simply haven't been taught. That makes teaching difficult because it's up to me to decide if I'm going to take the time to teach them some computer basics. I try. But finding the time to teach that along with the substance of the course (for example, American Politics) is difficult. Students who are more proficient are at a bit of an advantage.

• Robert1893 7,722 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 9:26 AM

  ct690911:

  I find this astounding as the younger generation basically grew up using computers.

  But it's how they used them. They know their games and apps. But a lot of them seem not to know the basics of just organizing their files on a computer.

  One time I was helping a student, and he showed me his laptop. The kid literally saved every document of any kind to his desktop. The desktop was littered with files on top of files. That was his "workflow." 

  Imagine a desktop that looks something like this but only X 10:

  

• craigswan 31,832 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 10:59 AM

  At my wife's work people use to volunteer to go on a six sigma course . Apart from a higher profile they were usually promoted and got a higher pay .

  Most of them struggled to do facetime meetings during covid .

  Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement.

  It was introduced by American engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986.

  Six Sigma strategies seek to improve manufacturing quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes.

  This is done by using empirical and statistical quality management methods and by hiring people who serve as Six Sigma experts.

  Each Six Sigma project follows a defined methodology and has specific value targets, such as reducing pollution or increasing customer satisfaction..

• craigswan 31,832 Posts

  Thu, Nov 2 2023 11:02 AM

  Personally speaking i cannot do Discord .

  And i don't want to learn it either .