Tag Archives: education and technology

Do Warning Labels on Social Media Miss the Mark?

Blog, News, ,

A recent article by Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D., M.B.A., Professor and Director of the Media Psychology Research Center at Fielding Graduate University, challenges the recent recommendation by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy who called for warning labels on social media platforms, similar to cigarette packaging.

Dr Rutledge recommends that “digital literacy will protect kids better than fear and restrictions.”

The current mental health crisis among young people is real and few would dispute that many children and adolescents are currently experiencing serious issues dealing with social media. Dr R. highlights that “the emphasis of the proposed warning label emphasizes public concern over empirical evidence, encouraging the troubling trend of ignoring research findings in favor of emotion but most of all, it neglects the preventative power of digital literacy.”

While there is no such thing as the “healthy use of cigarettes.” Social media, however, includes hundreds of platforms with numerous features and widely varying uses (like education, and creating, and sharing content). “Like swimming pools, social media poses a risk when kids don’t know how to use it safely and in healthy ways.”

Placing warning labels on social media is less likely to change teen behavior and may do more harm than good if it results in restrictive regulations that ignore the need to teach kids the skills they need. Kids are far more interested in being social than assessing future risks due to their developmental stage and brain maturity. Social media is an important part of how they connect with others and participate in popular culture; they will find a way to go online. “Our goal should be to provide kids with clear guidance and the necessary skills and understanding to use technology (including social media) well rather than keep them from using it at all.”

Social Media is Here to Stay

Warning labels cannot make social media (or mobile devices) safer. People are afraid and angry. A seemingly easy solution that restricts access and enables lawsuits won’t help. Expecting social media companies to screen users without violating privacy and remove all inappropriate content and misinformation from billions of posts daily is unrealistic. And even if that were possible, there are risks of being online outside social media. All web activity can be subject to personal information collection, and kids can be targets of cyberbullying or hurtful video circulation.

Preparation and Education is Needed

Dr R suggests, if we want to protect kids from the negative impact of digital devices without depriving them of benefits, we must teach them essential skills. “There will be times when restrictions are off, and parents aren’t around. Kids have been able to change attitudes and behavior from classroom digital literacy training. It is important not to underestimate their competence and resolve when kids have been taught digital literacy skills, including:

  • The self-awareness to build self-control and accountability and to make healthy choices.
  • The ability to identify their personal values, like honesty, empathy, kindness, and respect for others, and apply them to their on and offline actions.
  • Conflict resolution and coping skills.
  • The ability to think critically about information and evaluate source and content quality.
  • An understanding of how persuasive technology can hijack their attention.
  • The skills to recognize how content styles, messaging, algorithms, and notifications manipulate their emotions and behavior.
  • The confidence and courage to set personal boundaries and protect their privacy.”

Guidance and structure are needed for healthy technology use. “You wouldn’t give your kids the keys to the car without driver’s training nor throw them in the deep end of a pool without teaching them to swim. The goal of parenting should be to prepare kids for the world they will live in.”

Encouraging specialized campaigns for phone-free zones at school are great ways to limit distractions in the classroom. As with all technology in general, it is important to encourage kids to spend more time outside and in offline activities. “Household technology rules are essential, but healthy technology behaviors are for everyone, not just kids, and all family members should be accountable.”

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positively-media/202406/why-warning-labels-on-social-media-miss-the-mark

World’s Leading Technology Associations Publish Comprehensive Curricular Guidelines for Computer Science

Blog, News, ,

Published this month, ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, has joined with the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) to develop “Computer Science Curricula 2023” (CS2023). CS2023 provides a comprehensive guide outlining the knowledge and competencies students should attain for degrees in computer science and related disciplines at the undergraduate level.

Educators in technology believe that it is essential to establish uniform curricular guidelines for computer science disciplines to maintain an ongoing vitality of the field and the future success of the students who study it. The availability of a shared global curricula ensures that students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed as they graduate to become industry practitioners, researchers, or educators. Additionally, by supporting consistency in the field across the world, the curricular guidelines enable efficient global collaboration—whether among professionals working across borders for an international company, or among academics from different nations coming together for a research project.

Growing importance of artificial intelligence reflected in CS2023 Curricular Guidelines

Traditionally, these guidelines are updated every ten years. CS2023 builds on CS2013, the most recent global curriculum framework developed by ACM and IEEE-CS, the world’s two largest associations of computing professionals. ACM and IEEE-CS have consistently focused on curating content from the world’s foremost experts for the creation of curricular guidelines, and with the rapid expansion of AI since CS2023, the addition of AAAI to the developing body was both essential and welcome.

New and Noteworthy additions of the CS2023 report include:

  • The addition of AAAI as a core partner of CS2023 reflects the growing importance of artificial intelligence as a discipline, as well as how AI is disrupting the teaching of computer science.
  • Because computing touches so many aspects of personal and public life, CS2023 goes beyond simply outlining technical competencies to include a knowledge unit called Society, Ethics, and the Profession (SEP) and incorporating it in most other knowledge areas to encourages educators and students to consider the social aspects of their work.
  • To meet the disciplinary demands of artificial intelligence and machine learning, mathematical and statistical requirements have been increased throughout CS2023, but individually identified for each knowledge area so that educators can accommodate the needs of students with varying levels of mathematical background.
  • CS2023 is designed to be a primarily online resource at https://csed.acm.org/, both for utility and so the curricular guidelines can be updated more frequently to keep pace with the rapid changes in the field.

The Committee Chair explained that “So much has changed in computing since we issued the last curricular guidelines in 2013. While the core skills and competencies that we outlined in 2013 form the foundation of this new work, we were painstaking in our effort to make sure that we reflect where computing is today. We also tried to emphasize a whole solution approach in terms of addressing issues of Society, Ethics, and the Profession, and a whole person approach in terms of emphasizing the need for students to develop professional dispositions. Finally, from the outset, we envisioned this report as a living document that will be regularly updated and can be accessed by computer science educators on an ongoing basis.”

The revised Guidelines for the Computer Science Curriculum is designed to be a primarily online resource for easy access and so that the curricular guidelines can be updated more frequently to keep pace with the rapid changes in the field.

Link to the Computer Science Curriculum: https://csed.acm.org/

Source: https://www.acm.org/media-center/2024/june/cs-2023

Research Shows: Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

Blog, News,

OLD SCHOOL versus NEW SCHOOL

Handwritten notes may seem ‘old fashioned’ in today’s educational facilities compared to typing or using other digital technology to transcribe recorded class notes. However, research continues to point out that the process of taking notes the traditional way—with pen and paper or even stylus and tablet—is still the best way to learn, especially for young children.

A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology investigated how digital devices have been progressively replacing traditional handwriting and evaluated the implications for the human brain.

Previous research suggested that when typing notes on a computer keyboard, ” It goes in through your ears and comes out through your fingertips, but you don’t process the incoming information.” When you take notes by hand, you need to be selective and prioritize, consolidate and relate it to previously learned facts. We consciously build onto known concepts and add new concepts.

The Study

Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array.

When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning.

Results

Study findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning. It appears that the movements related to typewriting do not activate these connectivity networks the same way that handwriting does. Researchers urge that children, from an early age, need to be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning. Although it is vital to maintain handwriting practice at school, it is also important to keep up with continuously developing technological advances. Therefore, both teachers and students should be aware of which practice has the best learning effect in what context, for example when taking lecture notes or when writing an essay.

Post-research Commentary

In a Scientific American interview with Dr Sophia Vinci-Booher, an assistant professor of educational neuroscience at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the new study, says these findings are exciting and consistent with past research. It does not mean that technology is a disadvantage in the classroom. Laptops, smartphones and other such devices can be more efficient for writing essays or conducting research and can offer more equitable access to educational resources. The problem is that difficulties can occur when people rely on technology too much. People are increasingly delegating thought processes to digital devices, an act called “cognitive offloading” which is using smartphones to remember tasks, such as taking a photo instead of memorizing information or depending on GPS to navigate. While it may be helpful and easier, the constant offloading means it’s less work for the brain. If we’re not actively using these areas, they may deteriorate over time, whether it’s memory or motor skills.

Link to study

Van der Weel FR and Van der Meer ALH (2024) Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom. Front. Psychol. 14:1219945. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945