Monday, February 26, 2007
Information explosion
There is plenty to read on the Web. There's also plenty of detail on the Web. An article on the Chicago Tribune's website http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0702260082feb26,1,1134512.column?page=2&coll=chi-news-hed has plenty of detail on the story in 2 pages. Also, the use of links in text leads the reader in a lot of places (s)he might want to go. If you want to know how to do it yourself, there's plenty of help. A Google search yielded, among others, www.webreference.com/content/writing/ and www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving/. Of course, if you want to know what not to do, go to www.webpagesthatsuck.com and check out some of the 10 worst sites. All bad design, but some bad writing, too.
Dumbing Down of America II
After I posted my comments, I returned to my e-mail. I had received from Prof. Knapp a copy of an article on nationwide high school test results.
Many of you received the article, but for those of you who didn't, I'm posting a few paragraphs. As I stated, there are a number of factors contributing to America's lack of understanding of complex issues. Here's another factor in the complexity of this issue itself:
New York Times --February 23, 2007Grades Rise, but Reading Skills Do Not
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22
High school students nationwide are taking seeminglytougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills arenot improving through the effort, according to two federal reports released here Thursday that cite grade inflation as a possible explanation.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam commonly known as the nation's report card, found that the reading skills of 12th graders tested in 2005 were significantly worse than those of students in 1992, when a comparable test was first given, and essentially flat since students previously took the exam in 2002.
At the same time, however, grade-point averages have risen nationwide, according to a separate survey by the National Assessment, of the transcripts of 26,000 students, which compared them with a study ofstudents coursework in 1990.
Theres a disconnect between what we want and expect our 12th graders toknow and do, and what our schools are actually delivering throughinstruction in the classroom, David W. Gordon, the superintendent ofschools in Sacramento, said at a news conference announcing the results.
The reports offered several rationales for the disparity between rising grade-point averages and tougher coursework on the one hand and stagnant reading scores on the other, including grade inflation, changes in grading standards or the possibility that student grades were being increasingly affected by things like classroom participation or extra assignments.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered theyardstick for academic performance because it is the only test taken allacross the country. The test of 12th-grade achievement was given to a representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005.
It showed that the share of 12th-grade students lacking even basic high school reading skills meaning they could not, for example, extract data about train fares at different times of day from a brochure rose to 27 percent from 20 percent in 1992.
Many of you received the article, but for those of you who didn't, I'm posting a few paragraphs. As I stated, there are a number of factors contributing to America's lack of understanding of complex issues. Here's another factor in the complexity of this issue itself:
New York Times --February 23, 2007Grades Rise, but Reading Skills Do Not
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22
High school students nationwide are taking seeminglytougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills arenot improving through the effort, according to two federal reports released here Thursday that cite grade inflation as a possible explanation.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam commonly known as the nation's report card, found that the reading skills of 12th graders tested in 2005 were significantly worse than those of students in 1992, when a comparable test was first given, and essentially flat since students previously took the exam in 2002.
At the same time, however, grade-point averages have risen nationwide, according to a separate survey by the National Assessment, of the transcripts of 26,000 students, which compared them with a study ofstudents coursework in 1990.
Theres a disconnect between what we want and expect our 12th graders toknow and do, and what our schools are actually delivering throughinstruction in the classroom, David W. Gordon, the superintendent ofschools in Sacramento, said at a news conference announcing the results.
The reports offered several rationales for the disparity between rising grade-point averages and tougher coursework on the one hand and stagnant reading scores on the other, including grade inflation, changes in grading standards or the possibility that student grades were being increasingly affected by things like classroom participation or extra assignments.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered theyardstick for academic performance because it is the only test taken allacross the country. The test of 12th-grade achievement was given to a representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005.
It showed that the share of 12th-grade students lacking even basic high school reading skills meaning they could not, for example, extract data about train fares at different times of day from a brochure rose to 27 percent from 20 percent in 1992.
Dumbing Down of America II
After I posted my comments, I returned to my e-mail. I had received from Prof. Knapp a copy of an article on nationwide high school test results.
Many of you received the article, but for those of you who didn't, I'm posting a few paragraphs. As I stated, there are a number of factors contributing to America's lack of understanding of complex issues. Here's another factor in the complexity of this issue itself:
New York Times --February 23, 2007Grades Rise, but Reading Skills Do Not
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22
High school students nationwide are taking seeminglytougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills arenot improving through the effort, according to two federal reports released here Thursday that cite grade inflation as a possible explanation.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam commonly known as the nation's report card, found that the reading skills of 12th graders tested in 2005 were significantly worse than those of students in 1992, when a comparable test was first given, and essentially flat since students previously took the exam in 2002.
At the same time, however, grade-point averages have risen nationwide, according to a separate survey by the National Assessment, of the transcripts of 26,000 students, which compared them with a study ofstudents coursework in 1990.
Theres a disconnect between what we want and expect our 12th graders toknow and do, and what our schools are actually delivering throughinstruction in the classroom, David W. Gordon, the superintendent ofschools in Sacramento, said at a news conference announcing the results.
The reports offered several rationales for the disparity between rising grade-point averages and tougher coursework on the one hand and stagnant reading scores on the other, including grade inflation, changes in grading standards or the possibility that student grades were being increasingly affected by things like classroom participation or extra assignments.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered theyardstick for academic performance because it is the only test taken allacross the country. The test of 12th-grade achievement was given to a representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005.
It showed that the share of 12th-grade students lacking even basic high school reading skills meaning they could not, for example, extract data about train fares at different times of day from a brochure rose to 27 percent from 20 percent in 1992.
Many of you received the article, but for those of you who didn't, I'm posting a few paragraphs. As I stated, there are a number of factors contributing to America's lack of understanding of complex issues. Here's another factor in the complexity of this issue itself:
New York Times --February 23, 2007Grades Rise, but Reading Skills Do Not
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22
High school students nationwide are taking seeminglytougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills arenot improving through the effort, according to two federal reports released here Thursday that cite grade inflation as a possible explanation.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam commonly known as the nation's report card, found that the reading skills of 12th graders tested in 2005 were significantly worse than those of students in 1992, when a comparable test was first given, and essentially flat since students previously took the exam in 2002.
At the same time, however, grade-point averages have risen nationwide, according to a separate survey by the National Assessment, of the transcripts of 26,000 students, which compared them with a study ofstudents coursework in 1990.
Theres a disconnect between what we want and expect our 12th graders toknow and do, and what our schools are actually delivering throughinstruction in the classroom, David W. Gordon, the superintendent ofschools in Sacramento, said at a news conference announcing the results.
The reports offered several rationales for the disparity between rising grade-point averages and tougher coursework on the one hand and stagnant reading scores on the other, including grade inflation, changes in grading standards or the possibility that student grades were being increasingly affected by things like classroom participation or extra assignments.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered theyardstick for academic performance because it is the only test taken allacross the country. The test of 12th-grade achievement was given to a representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005.
It showed that the share of 12th-grade students lacking even basic high school reading skills meaning they could not, for example, extract data about train fares at different times of day from a brochure rose to 27 percent from 20 percent in 1992.
The Dumbing Down of America
I found the Morkes and Nielsen article both interesting and a little frightening.
One of the negative effects of the Web (and USA Today before it) is the decreased understanding of complex issues. Ironically and sadly, as the world becomes more complex, the willingness to consider issues in depth and gather sufficient background to make informed decisions has reached an all-time-low threshold. Life is more complex than ever. The Internet has connected the world in ways that were unimaginable before its invention, which requires a greater understanding of the cultures we are now allowed to directly interact with. The technologies we use are complex beyond belief, and due to corporate greed, are "upgraded" with an unnecessary rapidity that is impossible to keep up with in terms of finances, much less comprehension.
Supposedly, we have more information available than ever before. But the quality and depth of that information have decreased dramatically. I was a journalism student when USA Today launched, and we discussed the fear that, in the effort to compete, newspapers would present shorter and shorter articles with less background and less analysis. That fear has definitely come to fruition. Information on the Web is even worse. Sure, it's possible to find basic, low-level information on almost anything instantly, which is great if one wants to, for example, look up an unfamiliar name used on a news report. But it is so difficult to find anything that provides any kind of in-depth information on anything that I forbid my writing students to use Web pages in papers. The "mile-wide-and-inch-deep" nature of Internet information does not provide a true understanding of much of anything.
Of course, this problem is as complex as any other, and it's wrong to attribute it to Web and newspaper design. Part of the problem is the one I have constantly been harping on: technology has provided an avenue for people to be in constant contact with people placing conflicting demands on their time and energy, so no one really has time to consider anything in depth, anyway. Which came first: the need for down-and-dirty information created by increasing demands on and decreasing patience by readers or the technology and layouts that permit it? It's impossible to say, but it has become a situation that feeds on itself. The result is a downward spiral in the understanding of the complexity of the world around us as the world becomes more complex.
Meanwhile, those who have a vested interest in the public NOT thinking and reacting in knee-jerk fashion -- politicians, corporations, employers, etc. -- are laughing with glee. The less we understand the complexitities of situations, the less we think critically, the easier it is for them to convince us that we should vote for them by relying on meaningless catch-phrases, the easier it is for them to convince us that we need products to solve "problems" that don't exist (do we NEED a new Windows operating system? Are the little hair follicle bumps under our arms such a problem that we need a deodorant that decreases them?), the easier it is for them to convince us that eating up every minute of our lives with their demands is an acceptable way to treat employees.
It's all overwhelming. Of course, in my case, it could just be that it is a function of age to think that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. My views are probably skewed.
One of the negative effects of the Web (and USA Today before it) is the decreased understanding of complex issues. Ironically and sadly, as the world becomes more complex, the willingness to consider issues in depth and gather sufficient background to make informed decisions has reached an all-time-low threshold. Life is more complex than ever. The Internet has connected the world in ways that were unimaginable before its invention, which requires a greater understanding of the cultures we are now allowed to directly interact with. The technologies we use are complex beyond belief, and due to corporate greed, are "upgraded" with an unnecessary rapidity that is impossible to keep up with in terms of finances, much less comprehension.
Supposedly, we have more information available than ever before. But the quality and depth of that information have decreased dramatically. I was a journalism student when USA Today launched, and we discussed the fear that, in the effort to compete, newspapers would present shorter and shorter articles with less background and less analysis. That fear has definitely come to fruition. Information on the Web is even worse. Sure, it's possible to find basic, low-level information on almost anything instantly, which is great if one wants to, for example, look up an unfamiliar name used on a news report. But it is so difficult to find anything that provides any kind of in-depth information on anything that I forbid my writing students to use Web pages in papers. The "mile-wide-and-inch-deep" nature of Internet information does not provide a true understanding of much of anything.
Of course, this problem is as complex as any other, and it's wrong to attribute it to Web and newspaper design. Part of the problem is the one I have constantly been harping on: technology has provided an avenue for people to be in constant contact with people placing conflicting demands on their time and energy, so no one really has time to consider anything in depth, anyway. Which came first: the need for down-and-dirty information created by increasing demands on and decreasing patience by readers or the technology and layouts that permit it? It's impossible to say, but it has become a situation that feeds on itself. The result is a downward spiral in the understanding of the complexity of the world around us as the world becomes more complex.
Meanwhile, those who have a vested interest in the public NOT thinking and reacting in knee-jerk fashion -- politicians, corporations, employers, etc. -- are laughing with glee. The less we understand the complexitities of situations, the less we think critically, the easier it is for them to convince us that we should vote for them by relying on meaningless catch-phrases, the easier it is for them to convince us that we need products to solve "problems" that don't exist (do we NEED a new Windows operating system? Are the little hair follicle bumps under our arms such a problem that we need a deodorant that decreases them?), the easier it is for them to convince us that eating up every minute of our lives with their demands is an acceptable way to treat employees.
It's all overwhelming. Of course, in my case, it could just be that it is a function of age to think that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. My views are probably skewed.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Might the Internet impact print media?
Because it was written in 1997, I wonder how relevant the findings related to usability/conciseness explained by Morkes and Nielsen are now that we are ten years ahead. Perhaps I've been spoiled by broadband at work and at home, but I doubt the waiting for pictures and search results users did in '97 is comparable to what I currently experience. Even pages with lots of Flash animation and HQ images load relatively quickly for me.
Likewise, technology has probably changed the end-users' willingness to scroll down. I doubt many people had scroll wheels on their mice ten years ago, but I wouldn't think of buying a mouse without one now. Therefore, I'm not picky about whether I am required to scroll down or not. On the other hand, I would abhor scrolling sideways (using the same techniques a user in '97 would do to scroll down) without my Mighty Mouse. Since most of us don't have them, I imagine that's why it's considered rude to pull a Whitesnake.
Judy Gregory mentions that we've always scanned print media--brochures and leaflets are probably the best examples--but it's more a question of genre than whether it's written in code or not. Yet she is hesitant to make the same claim about novels and newspapers, which I find interesting. I have a hunch that we might be able to at least include the latter in scannable texts.
Take the Wall Street Journal. Wait, I'm sorry--WSJ 3.0. I remember the old style--extra wide pages, long columns of text with few pictures (even then, generally black and white illustrations). Now it more resembles the USA Today-style format that is chunkier, more aesthetically pleasing, and, of course, easier to scan. Is this just an isolated example, or is it indicative that we as a public are less patient when it comes to getting information?
Likewise, technology has probably changed the end-users' willingness to scroll down. I doubt many people had scroll wheels on their mice ten years ago, but I wouldn't think of buying a mouse without one now. Therefore, I'm not picky about whether I am required to scroll down or not. On the other hand, I would abhor scrolling sideways (using the same techniques a user in '97 would do to scroll down) without my Mighty Mouse. Since most of us don't have them, I imagine that's why it's considered rude to pull a Whitesnake.
Judy Gregory mentions that we've always scanned print media--brochures and leaflets are probably the best examples--but it's more a question of genre than whether it's written in code or not. Yet she is hesitant to make the same claim about novels and newspapers, which I find interesting. I have a hunch that we might be able to at least include the latter in scannable texts.
Take the Wall Street Journal. Wait, I'm sorry--WSJ 3.0. I remember the old style--extra wide pages, long columns of text with few pictures (even then, generally black and white illustrations). Now it more resembles the USA Today-style format that is chunkier, more aesthetically pleasing, and, of course, easier to scan. Is this just an isolated example, or is it indicative that we as a public are less patient when it comes to getting information?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Possibilities
While reading through the DeVoss and Porter article, I kept thinking about the way that my current clinical is run here at NIU. We use the Microsoft software Sharepoint, a bundled addition to Office 2003 and 2007. The software is pretty interesting in the sense that it enables users that have the same login to immediately "publish" or save their work to the website created for the users of that particular setup of Sharepoint. No doubt that this was originally intended for business users. Rather than constantly swapping revised memos and business papers through email (which can become damaged or lost), users can log in to their setup site and edit/review anything anyone else with web access and a login id may have posted to the company's site.
This could easily work its way into education, as well, even at the Middle and High School levels. If students were given access to the same "website" (which really isn't a website, but rather a remote login like they would login at their school's library), they could post ideas on a blog set up through the site and also, their papers and assignments as they were to complete them. Essentially, this is what we're doing for my clinical class. As we complete each assignment and save it, we choose a special extension that automatically links and posts it to the Sharepoint site that our Coordinators have access to, cutting out the need for paper and even for emailing.
Now, I know how everyone feels about Microsoft, but I imagine it will not be long before a competitor creates something similar. In fact, as brought up in a previous class, Google Documents is very similar.
Sorry, this is not completely related; it just kept coming to mind as I read through their article.
This could easily work its way into education, as well, even at the Middle and High School levels. If students were given access to the same "website" (which really isn't a website, but rather a remote login like they would login at their school's library), they could post ideas on a blog set up through the site and also, their papers and assignments as they were to complete them. Essentially, this is what we're doing for my clinical class. As we complete each assignment and save it, we choose a special extension that automatically links and posts it to the Sharepoint site that our Coordinators have access to, cutting out the need for paper and even for emailing.
Now, I know how everyone feels about Microsoft, but I imagine it will not be long before a competitor creates something similar. In fact, as brought up in a previous class, Google Documents is very similar.
Sorry, this is not completely related; it just kept coming to mind as I read through their article.
Response to DeVoss and Porter
One of the most exciting and eye opening things about the "Napseter" article is the elucidation of Andrea Lunsford's assertion that students need to "own up" to their writing (and to their use of sources), as opposed to "owning" it. For me, this implies that plagerisim as an act is a function of a larger system of ownership of ideas, and that plagerisim and the punitive reactions to it are both products of a system of thought that privideges personal ownership of ideas over practical use. In this sense, I need to ask, as composition teachers, if our philosophy about the way ideas are exchanged are actualy leading to plagiarisim... if students didn't believe that they needed to exclusively own their texts and be responsible for all of their ideas as sole originator, would they be so inclined to pass off ideas and text as their own? (I'm not advocating the immediate removal of all anti-plagerisim safe-guards, but I am suggesting that, just as those safe guards (as they are) will fail to function practically in a composition classroom, the practices they were created to prevent may eventually become equally as irrellevant.)
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