The Digital Dilemma
Naturally, everyone sees the benefits that technology brings to education. The rapid rise of eLearning options has thrown open the doors of flexibility, convenience, and access for students of all ages and abilities. Consider, for example, that over 80% of online postsecondary students are working adults and that the number of military students is increasing steadily. Most of these students would not be able to take college courses if not for the technology.

Furthermore, the Learning Management Systems (LMS) continue to move forward from their original awkward, text dominated forms into more user-friendly applications that allow for increased adaptive learning, engagement, and communication. Many of these LMSs are even heavily utilized by instructors in courses that meet face-to-face, and an increasing number of universities are racing to provide more computer space in classrooms, libraries, and other common areas of campus.

Given the pedagogical opportunities that technology makes possible and the demand of employers that graduates are tech savvy, educators aren’t suggesting technology not be used in courses. Rather, they are suggesting that occasional breaks from technology may be beneficial. Here’s why.

Laura Ingalls
Sometimes we rush forward so quickly that we forget to see what has been left behind. I remember being given the opportunity to move my departments over to a brand new building in a new section of campus being constructed about a mile from the main one. There, our classrooms and offices would be equipped with the latest and greatest technology, so my faculty and I jumped in feet first and moved. The first semester was a dream come true; at the beginning of the second, however, there was a total system crash. For a variety of reasons, we could not even access the Internet from the building, and there was little room for retreat back to the main campus. This went on for eight weeks. In an effort to stem the tsunami of discouragement and frustration, our humorous rallying cry became, “W.W.L.I.D.? (What would Laura Ingalls do?).

Forced into this difficult situation, my faculty and I put our heads together to brainstorm how we could work around the lack of technology that had become so ingrained in our curriculum. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we also started to find there were some benefits to being forced to take a break from technology.

Reconnecting
The human factor is one area that tends to be forgotten in the technology rush of the last couple of decades. It is often pointed out, for example, that a good teacher will be effective with or without technology. Similarly, technology is a tool for learning that may or may not be the best approach possible depending upon the circumstances and goals. Dr. Tony Bates, in presenting the results of a recent study (January, 2012) that showed “there is a slight tendency for students who study with technology to do better than students who study without technology” quickly explains that readers should not read too much into such results; in layman’s terms, he comments that discussing studies of the benefits technology has in education is a bit like trying to decide whether to drive somewhere or walk. There are a lot of variables to consider that may influence the decision about how to travel.

Recently, both faculty and students have started to share similar sentiments. A recent New York Times article by Matt Richtel on resistance to Idaho’s new laws requiring all high school students to take two courses online to graduate and school districts to supply teachers and students with laptops, expresses concerns nicely (3 January, 2012). In summation of the report, some educators feel that being forced to use technology in a certain way that may or may not be conducive to good instruction, places both teachers and students on the sidelines. There is concrete evidence for this also in that the money to purchase the technology will mostly come from reduced teacher salaries and computer-aided approaches that place teachers on the sidelines of the learning process. There is a tendency to start replacing terms like ‘teacher’ and ‘professor’ with ones like ‘facilitator,’ misconstruing that the role of an education professional is merely to assist with making the use of the technology more user-friendly rather than actually teaching. The teachers shared with Richtel their basic concern that student progress and teacher evaluations will be based more on how often they use technology rather than learning. The students themselves are protesting with statements like: ““We need teachers, not computers” and “I’d rather learn from a teacher.”

Clearly, there is a need to reconnect to the importance of the human element in education.

Additional Benefits
Are there additional benefits to going tech free in a class? Kentaro Toyama recently wrote that most of the benefits of not rushing in may be summarized by:

Quality primary and secondary education is a multi-year commitment whose single bottleneck is the sustained motivation of the student to climb an intellectual Everest. Though children are naturally curious, they nevertheless require ongoing guidance and encouragement to persevere in the ascent. Caring supervision from human teachers, parents, and mentors is the only known way of generating motivation for the hours of a school day, to say nothing of eight to twelve school years. (Educational Technology Debate, 6 January, 2011)

I would add this extends to postsecondary education as well. With a large non-traditional student population, many are intimidated by higher education or various subjects like composition and math. The human element is needed to ease their anxiety and lessen attrition.

Additionally, faculty who go tech free for a day or a semester report that students are more focused and that good person-to-person social skills can be modeled. Writer Jeffrey Young of The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on several faculty who went tech free in their courses (8 August, 2010). One of these was literature professor, Mark James, of the University of West Florida jettisoned his own use of technology and forbade students from using laptops, cell phones, or any other type of technology. The result he says: “The students seemed more involved in the discussion than when I allowed them to go online…They were more attentive, and we were able to go into a little more depth.” Another professor, Barry Leeds, interviewed by Young still makes students write essays in blue books as he did as a student more than 50 years ago. His rationale is that his students find the connection between the mind and hand unencumbered by technology to be more revealing, to improve critical thinking more.

That the importance of basic human communication skills is lacking and important is easily documented not only by the frequent studies showing that good communication is one of the top soft skills employers are looking for, but also in this actually becoming a requirement for college admissions. As reported in the New York Times, medical schools like Virginia Tech are requiring that students pass a series of in-person social skills tests prior to being admitted to their medical school because a doctor’s bedside manner can influence patient survival rates (Harris, 10 July, 2011).

The bottom line appears to bode well for education and technology both. Faculty and students welcome the use of tech tools but only if they truly aid in the teaching/learning process. Both students and faculty also more highly value human interaction. In fact, it appears that no matter how advanced technology becomes, computers will never replace humans.

• Secretary-designate for the N.M. Public Education Department, Hanna Skandera, offers a wake-up call to the residents of her state that “It’s Time to Embrace Education Reforms.” Her main point is that the passion the people of New Mexico have for learning is not being fully realized in educational attainment.

• Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber also argues for education reform in his state. His main concern: the low graduation rate.

• http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/?p=10788 History has provided us with a multitude of branches spreading from the tree of knowledge that is known as education; yet, rarely do these branches touch. Just as the limbs of a tree come in different shapes, sizes, and strengths, various forms of instruction also have their own uniqueness. Somehow getting various types and approaches to teaching to connect would make each branch stronger. For example, what insights can theologically-based institutions share with public postsecondary institutions to help strengthen their pedagogical approaches for the benefit of students?

Pastoral Education
About a decade ago, I remember walking into the weekly meeting the department chairs of my college had with the dean. The science department chair was dramatically waving her arms in the air declaring: “…and that’s why I am a scientist. It means ‘one who knows.’ I want to know things.” As her fans—the other chairs and dean—nodded in agreement, I couldn’t help but reply: “Personally, I hope more for the wisdom to use what I know wisely.” The comment didn’t go over well, but this illustrates the philosophy that is at the core of pastoral education without tying it to a specific faith. Secular education emphasizes more the teaching of facts, skills, and basic survival (e.g., how to earn a good paycheck). Pastoral education focuses more on the wisdom that lies beyond this knowledge, the wisdom to know what to do with knowledge.

Howard Hendricks writing on this topic a few years ago, stated that public education tends to focus more on the present whereas pastoral education also focuses on what it all means and what should be done with that knowledge tomorrow. He explains with a rather stark analogy that secular learning teaches the sort of knowledge that equates with our animal nature, basic function and survival, but pastoral education also seeks to connect us with all that sets us above the animals. Another analogy Hendricks provides fits in nicely here as we have all probably experienced the professor who drones on, reciting the knowledge of his/her field of study almost like a cyborg; there’s little engagement on the part of this faculty member or the students. “One who knows” such as this fits in with public education perhaps better than with the philosophy of pastoral education.

If this is broken down more concretely, there are at least three interrelated characteristics of pastoral education that need to become more deeply engrained within public education: Mission/Purpose, Service, and Metacognition.

Sense of Mission/Purpose
One of the chief characteristics of pastoral education is a sense of mission or purpose. The knowledge that is taught is done so within the context of a higher purpose. For example, Hendricks states: “The knowledge we communicate affects more than the minds of our hearers; it should change lives… what goes into the head must move to the heart.” Simply knowing is not good enough in pastoral learning.

Educators must guide students along a path of self-discovery; then provide the help and means of fitting this into the bigger picture of their communities and the world. Hendricks said, “Everyone has a unique personality, gifts, and calling; I want to teach each person to make the most of that uniqueness.” Although for theologically based schools, this is tied into their specific faith, there is no reason even a secular school, devoid of all religious association, can’t place the knowledge it is providing into a big picture mission of using what has been learned wisely and for the betterment of community.

Service
One way this is done is to completely link the curriculum to service learning within that higher purpose. Granted, the component of connecting learning to action (also known as ‘experiential learning’) is not unheard of in secular education. For instance, writing programs at all levels of education have used a writing assignment to send students off to interview an elderly person and then write up a biography of that individual. However, what is missing is the higher purpose, a deeper engagement and transformation than simply creating a composition for points.

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education provides a solid example of how to place learning and knowledge within the context of global engagement. Members of a variety of faiths come together to learn both in classrooms and clinical settings where faith tends to be a component, a need. These include healthcare facilities like hospitals, retirement communities, and rehabilitation centers; they serve children, veterans, and others in need. Their textbooks, the organization’s website explains, are the “the living human documents,” the students, faculty, and ones being served within these experiential learning activities. Lives are changed as students discover how they fit into this higher purpose and those served are aided in their transformation to a better life.

Metacognition/Reflection
This is certainly no easy task. To find the higher purpose, pastoral education provides a greater abundance of metacognitive components. Students, with the guidance of faculty, spend time reflecting on both the knowledge being learned and its wise application. A few main suggested strategies are:

• Using a constructivism approach whereby students are guided into building their own learning experience and its application.

• Encouraging reflection and self-questioning

• Scaffolding activities so that one helps to build the next experience

• Engaging heavily in discovery learning where students are allowed to find the knowledge and how to apply it in their own lives and communities

• Coaching peers to aid in the development of soft skills like communication and critical thinking

Granted, secular universities may make use of some of these techniques, but rarely is it seen at the level of pastoral education, especially in regard to a sense of mission and engagement in purpose. Although some may also make arguments about separation of church and state, this is not about infusing public universities with any particular faith. Rather it’s about bringing together the successful pedagogical approaches of the individual branches of higher education to better serve our students and ultimately our world.

• Kiley’s colleague, Paul Fain, shares information on a proposal to make community college resources and support system usage mandatory for students to help improve their completion rates.

• New graduates should check out the piece in the U.S. News “Money” section by Miriam Salpeter who shares “5 Tips for New Grads Entering the Job Market” from Jennifer Lasater, Kaplan University’s executive director of National Career Services.

• California Southern University is offering a new group discount to military students and their families. [Note: Military students and their spouses should always ask about this at any institutions of interest.]

My low tolerance for naysayers and problem finders often forces me to stop reading some books before I’m fully immersed. I just feel the tone and instinctively know I’ll find of little value in the rest of the audio or text. However, it always brightens my outlook when I am fortunate enough to stumble upon a book that connects my work to the world beyond my browser or app. Recently, I’ve been on a winning streak of great tomes and want to share these works, which have put me in a place to realize new initiatives and pushed me to find ways to improve education and online learning.

• Inevitable: mass customized learning
  My latest read is this gem from Chuck Schwahn and Bea McGarvey. It has been clear to me for some time that education is a customer service industry, but from kindergarten to graduate school, meeting the individual needs of the learner has been overlooked. If we are going to prepare all learners for a future, that is more dependent on adaptability than fixed skill sets, so educators need to embrace the ideas in this book.
• Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns
  This is another publication that delivers on its mission by sharing strategies, pathways, and powerful designs for effective educational technology integration. Like Inevitable, this book makes a solid case that educational software will provide the conduit for the next evolutionary stage of learning. The authors also dive into the growth of online learning, making the case that more than half of all courses will have an online component by the end of the decade. Initially, I had trouble grasping this rate of growth, but now I agree. In fact, I believe we will see even quicker growth in online learning.
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
  I certainly could recommend A Whole New Mind just as easily, but Daniel Pink struck a chord with me in this work. Drive, as summarized in this video, helped me understand the reasons why I love teaching and why I value the growth of my students as much as anything in my professional life. If education is going to impact future learners the way we intend, every educator and learner should understand and reflect on their own motivation – this book provides abundant examples of how and why we are “driven.”
• Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
  The word “innovation” gets used far too often, and sometimes is just part of the buzz. Educators have written and built careers around the concept of innovation and how it is used in our schools. But Johnson frames the idea of innovation in a way that clearly defines what gets us going. The insight and examples that he shares can help learners visualize how change happens and help educators build innovation into their practice.

• Next, see the information and links provided by Grad Hacker at Insider Higher Ed.

• Another excellent resources is Digital Learning Today sponsored by EdGate Correlation Services.

• Laura McMullen of U.S. News offers “3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom” to guide educators looking for a way to celebrate.

• Blogger William Landers shows a unique way that educators can celebrate and help feed the hungry. This is also something you can try at home!

1. Walter Lewin, Professor of Physics Emeritus, MIT

   Dr. Walter Lewin is a physics professor at MIT and a Dutch-American astrophysicist. Let’s be honest, just mentioning that someone is an astrophysicist automatically gives them cool points. But clearly, Lewin does not need them. He has become famous through MIT’s Open Courseware and Academic Earth’s educational videos as the professor who makes physics come alive through demonstrations that leave students wildly entertained. His lectures are downright awesome, and interesting enough to make even the not-at-all-scientific among us watch with delight. If you haven’t been lucky enough to catch Lewin’s antics yet, please do take a moment to check out his promo including some of his greatest moments. Shooting a rifle in class, swinging on a ball like a schoolkid, and pulling elephant bones out from under a table are just a few of the delights Lewin shares with his students. We just love this guy, and with his crazy hair and awesome accent, we think he’d be perfect playing himself in a superhero comic.

2. Scott Metzger, Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Texas San Antonio

   Professor Metzger certainly isn’t the first professor to drink or even brew beer, but he’s on a very short list of professors that currently own and operate a commercial brewery. (Note: Cal Poly professor Raul Cano owns Fossil Fuels Brewing, which brews with ancient yeast extracted from 25 million- to 45 million-year-old amber. Really, just like Jurassic Park. We bet he’s a cool guy, too.) But Metzger isn’t just an economics professor who goes home to play with calculators or whatever it is that regular economics professors do in their free time. He applies his economics knowledge to real life in his own small business, San Antonio brewpub Freetail Brewing Company, which by itself is pretty darn impressive. Metzger also created an economic analysis for the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, Economic Impact and Potential of the Texas Craft Brewing Industry, to prove why, in a nutshell, beer is good for Texas, and even shared his insight into how business concepts from craft beer might be useful in other industries through TEDx. But perhaps the coolest thing Metzger has done lately is write a cease and desist response that made its way around the Internet, in which he drew a T-Rex waving a white flag and carbon copied the Flying Spaghetti Monster, winning the admiration of thousands of beer nerds on the Internet. Oh, and apparently he has a “hot” rating on Rate My Professors.

3. Missy Cummings, Associate Professor of Aeronautics, MIT

   Walter Lewin is not the only cool professor at MIT; we think Missy Cummings is pretty fabulous, too. Actually, now that we think about it, Lewin and Cummins probably hang out together all the time, playing with their flying surveillance drones and batteries made out of cans and water. Cummings designs semi-autonomous flying surveillance drones operated by, get this, smart phones, which just sounds way more interesting than anything we’ve ever done in our lives. So interesting, in fact, that she went on The Colbert Report to share her work. She even makes the possibility of a robot takeover seem like it’s not such a big deal. Colbert asked her, “How do I know that this flying little robot here is R2D2 and not the HAL 9000?” Cummings responded, “Because it has an American flag on it.” We should also mention that Cummings was full of awesome before she ever started her work with MIT: she was one of the first ever female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy.

4. Dr. Mitch Earleywine, Professor of Psychology, SUNY Albany

   Dr. Mitch Earleywine’s cool professor pedigree primarily comes from his involvement with NORML, an organization working to legalize marijuana. Now, we know good and well that supporting marijuana isn’t necessarily a cool thing to everyone, but we think that anyone can appreciate a college professor who is open-minded enough to discuss typically recreational drugs from an academic standpoint. According to an interview with Capitol Outsider, Earleywine actually started out in alcohol research but quickly learned that students were more interested in marijuana, and simply followed that path. We’re really impressed that Prof. Earleywine appreciated and listened to his students enough to move from one area of research to another. You can find Earleywine delivering straight talk on the latest news and claims about marijuana, and even publishing books like the Parent’s Guide to Marijuana which by all reports, is a fair and balanced book about drugs, something we thought might not ever exist. But really, the thing we appreciate most about Earleywine is that he uses phrases like “what burns my ass” when sharing his frustration about distorted research.

5. Dr. Jesse Weiss, Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of the Ozarks

   We think that college professors can be pretty heroic. After all, they are fountains of knowledge, encouragement, and inspiration that actually take the time to share what they know with students, and for that, just about every professor out there is a hero. But Dr. Jesse Weiss made things awesomely literal by customizing action figures to represent himself and his real-life colleagues, all with the help of just a Dremel, paint, and modeling compound. What a superbly nerdy way to show your appreciation for your colleagues! Weiss’ professional profile reveals that he does a fine job applying academic appreciation to pop culture, and has even been known to use comic books and graphic novels in his teachings. Of course, Weiss isn’t all nerd; he is into sports, as a sponsor of the Disc Golf Association on campus.

6. Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California Irvine

   Criminology professor Henry Pontell is a pretty popular guy these days. His area of research focuses on white collar and corporate crime, a subject that is of increasing interest due to recent scandals in the media including Bernie Madoff’s multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme. According to a 2002 profile, Pontell has been waiting decades for people to understand just how terrible white collar crime really is, so he must be really pleased with the attention white collar crime is getting today. And thank goodness, because Pontell is now being tapped to share his knowledge with just about everyone important in Washington, working with the U.S. Senate and Department of Justice, as well as the FBI and Secret Service. We’d like to think that Pontell is moonlighting as a spy uncovering corporate crimes for the FBI, but of course, no one’s going to share that kind of classified information with us.

7. James Miller, Professor of Theater and Speech, University of Wisconsin-Stout

   James Miller has made this list because he’s an unabashed fan of Firefly, while at the same time a champion of free speech. Miller found himself in trouble with the University of Wisconsin-Stout’s police chief, who removed a Firefly poster from his office door after determining that it was a public safety threat because it included the word “kill.” And instead of just finding a new poster to put up in its place, Miller fought back, responding with killer lines including, “How dare you act in a fascistic manner and then sign your email “respectfully!” Respect liberty and respect my first amendment rights,” and in response to threatened disorderly conduct charges, “Don’t threaten me with charges that have no basis in reality — I am a committed pacifist and a devotee of non-violence, and I don’t appreciate card carrying members of the NRA who are wearing side arms and truncheons lecturing me about violence.” Strong fighting words for sure, but Miller did not have to fight back alone, and he was soon joined by FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and none other than legendary author Neil Gaiman, who came together to produce a video in his defense. After earning this support, Miller won the fight and the campus backed down, as Firefly nerds everywhere supported their right to celebrate their dearly departed show.

8. Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College

   Technically, Maria Klawe is a college president instead of a professor, but we just can’t resist giving credit where credit is due. She’s simply that awesome. Klawe has been a rising star since her grad school days: while working her second PhD at the University of Toronto, she was offered a faculty position before she even completed her studies. Pretty awesome, but we’re really in awe of her work at Harvey Mudd College, where she’s shown other women just how great it is to work in computer science. Since her arrival in 2006, she has more than tripled the number of women pursuing computer science majors, bumping the college’s female computer science quotient to an incredible 42%. Her positive changes have earned the recognition of high profile groups in tech, and she’s now on the board of both Microsoft and Broadcom. She’s also well known for her watercolor paintings, but perhaps our favorite thing about Klawe is that she skateboards around campus.

9. Mark Haub, Professor of Human Nutrition, Kansas State University

   How does professor Mark Haub stay so thin? By eating Twinkies, of course, just like any normal nutrition professor. In 2010, Haub made headlines by following a “convenience store diet” for 10 weeks, eating Hostess, Little Debbie, Oreos, and Doritos with one important rule: he could only eat 1,800 calories or less each day. He lost an impressive 27 pounds in those short 10 weeks. Haub wins the cool prize for hilariously bucking common knowledge, while proving a very important point about the role of calorie counting and portion sizes in weight loss.

10. Randy Pausch, Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction and Design, Carnegie Mellon University

    Randy Pausch is the only non-living professor on this list, but like so many other incredible professors, his legacy has lived on beyond his own life. In August 2007, Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was told he had just three to six months of good health left. The following month, he delivered an incredibly powerful lecture that has been viewed by millions, and even led to a book he co-authored before his death, called The Last Lecture. We think Pausch is one of the coolest professors in the world for taking a terminal diagnosis and turning it into an incredible opportunity to impact millions of people even after his life was over.

Regionally
Recently, the Florida Alliance for Student Action (FASA) unified basically to demand their voices be heard by state and university officials. As Jordan Culver of Tallahassee.com reported, FASA members expressed the following specific concerns:

• Only one student representative serves on the 17-member Florida Board of Governors, “populated mostly by real estate executives and CEOs.” There is also a bill before the state legislature to remove this position.

• Little or no access to university presidents.

• Tuition increases resulting from declining government and private funding.

• Support for students who are participating in or who were arrested as part of the Occupy Wall
Street movement. (2012)

FASA plans to continue seeking a voice and defining how that voice should be heard within their various institutions and externally with lawmakers and other players in education.

Similar activities are going on in California where Sean Viele of the Daily Titan shared information on the Students for Quality Education (SQE) group at Cal State Fullerton which led a their own occupy movement, by taking over part of the library for a few days (2012). The group hopes to be able to meet with the incoming president to discuss issues like a 9% tuition hike in the fall; however, they are largely pessimistic (Viele, 2012). Other administrators at the Fullerton campus are trying to work with the students to avoid some of the incidents of mild violence that have occurred at other CSU campuses (Viele, 2012). The one point everyone agrees on is that these student protests and the issues plaguing higher education will be around for some time.

Globally
The protests in favor of higher education are not limited to the United States. In countries around the world, students are voicing their views and exploring what their role in decision making should be when it comes to their education.

• In Colombia, W.T. Whitney of People’s World reported that the student group Broad National Council of Students (MANE by its Spanish initials) led a student strike though the fall of 2011 in protest of government plans to stop public funding of education in favor of a privatization plan where organizations like companies would foot the bill instead. The protests have involved over a half a million students and thousands of others (e.g., parents) who support them. The event led to the shutting down of 32 universities and trickled over into Chile. In both of these countries, students rallied for a “free, quality education” Student leaders are also gaining support among their fellow citizens by emphasizing that “defending education as a right is the business of all Colombians”(Whitney, 2011).

• In Great Britain, the Student Christian Movement (SCM) has organized peaceful demonstrations and annual conferences that not only speak to how fields of student and faith may be aligned, but also to the practical issues of defending their right to higher education in the face of tripled tuition rates and declining applications because of the resulting financial constraints (Ekklesia, 2012). Leeds University student Hattie Hodgson summarized the focus by stating: “With the current funding cuts to higher education and higher tuition fees, questions of education, faith and justice are really important to me as a Christian student” (Ekklesia, 2012).

Virtually
Protests are not limited to the physical world, however. There are issues affecting eLearning and Internet usage that have students protesting online as well. A few days ago, the editors of Vassar College’s The Miscellany News published a piece advocating that students mobilize in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) as they fear most people will forget now that the initial publicity has subsided a bit. The editors go on to explain that curtailments of the Internet and its various sites affect their demographic more than others because:

• Nearly 100% of those in the 18-29 year old age bracket and of those with college degrees use the Internet regularly.

• Students use the Internet to “enrich the academic experience” with the use of educational tools [e.g., the Learning Management Systems], the needs for conducting research and networking,

• Students use the Internet as a creative tool to explore and create (e.g., blogs and social media).

The editorial also advises continued and increased vigilance.

Conclusions
Clearly students around the globe highly value the opportunity to receive postsecondary education and all the benefits that come with it. They are to be commended for taking proactive steps to be heard and for the professional ways they are organizing their responses. Most of their activities have been peaceful and the few incidences where they weren’t have only been mildly disruptive.

The adults who are or who could support the students should provide mentoring and guidance as needed. Reading the links above, it is clear that there were moments where in spite of their motivation, the lack of life experience that comes with youth perhaps resulted in those inappropriate responses or in opportunities missed. For example, as people move through their early years, it’s not unusual for them to strike out physically when frustrated (e.g., the broken window at a CSU campus) or for them to shut down and do nothing (e.g., the FASA students walking away when giving a chance to sit in on a Board of Governors meeting).

Finally, legislators and university officials would do well to dialog with the students. They’ve shown that they can present themselves articulately and professionally; they’ve demonstrated that they care about education. Mostly, they are also the reason higher education exists.

• “Not As I Pictured” is a documentary film created by University of Florida photojournalism professor John Kaplan to share his struggles with lymphoma in the hope that it benefits others diagnosed with the disease and their families. The story has a doubly happy ending: The Pulitzer Prize winning Kaplan is now healthy, and copies of the DVD are free to those affected by cancer at NotAsIPictured.org.

• Susan Donaldson James of ABC News reported recently on Columbia University director of inclusive education programs Cecila Oyler’s donation of a kidney to a doctoral student named John Young. The two did not know one another; the organ donation was the result of what began as a casual hallway conversation in the Teacher’s College. Oyler is quoted as saying: “My joy is more about helping people — and this is just a body part.”

• Joliet Junior College photography professor Gene Alvear is donating his talents to area non-profits and inspiring his students to do the same. Jeanne Millsap of the Herald-News shares his story.

1. Vocabulary and grammar building

   In foreign language classrooms (and beyond) students learn about verbs with the help of Twitter. Through the service, students tweet verbs, their definitions, morphology, and grammatical functions, and as the tweets come in, teachers and peers fix or give hints on incorrect entries. Teachers can see how and where students make mistakes, and have them immediately corrected, while students can understand how they’re making mistakes before getting too far, offering immediate formative assessment.

2. Parent communication

   So many school districts are using both Twitter and Facebook to reach out to plugged-in parents without having to send home notes in kids’ backpacks. Lunch menus, school board meetings, and even discussions about school district decisions are being shared online. Proponents of school districts on Twitter support this move, pointing out that districts can get instant feedback, and parents can conveniently share their insights. In one Portland public school, after sending out information about swine flu and recommending that students wash their hands frequently, community members pointed out that there are unreliable faucets, and the school was able to respond with maintenance workers.

3. Backchannel discussion tool

   High school students can sometimes be quite introverted and shy in the classroom, but outspoken online. Additionally, some high school classes move through discussions quickly, and not all students find the opportunity to speak up in class. Both of these issues are addressed as high school classes encourage a Twitter backchannel discussion, in which quiet, shy, and unable-to-get-a-word-in-edgewise students are able to speak up in class without actually speaking up in class, sharing their comments, insights, and even relevant links through Twitter as the discussion goes on. Educators have found that Twitter backchannel discussions provide for more interaction not just in the classroom, but beyond, as students often enjoy further carrying on the conversation even after class time is over.

4. Professional development

   Twitter makes the education world smaller, connecting principals, teachers, and other education professionals across the U.S. and even around the globe. Principal Sheninger at New Milford High School in New Jersey started using Twitter to keep in touch with parents, but found its real value in reaching out to other educators and collaborating with them. He is able to use the tool to find new ideas, new resources, and ideas for professional development.

5. Reaching out to political candidates

   Wise politicians know that listening to the people is their most important job, and as such, so many have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to connect with constituents and voters, particularly during campaign season. One 11th-grade social studies class in Canada is using a Twitter classroom to reach out to candidates in local elections, allowing students to become more informed and feel more involved in the political process. The students send out questions to the candidates, and often, get responses right back.

6. Creating imaginative dialogues

   Illinois high school English teacher Tracee Orman uses Twitter to enrich the learning experience of Hunger Games, asking students to tweet as if they were a character from a chapter in the book. This is a fun way to engage students in the content that they’re studying, and a great practice in learning empathy and understanding of characters.

7. Review and understanding

   At Iowa’s Valley High School, Sarah Bird’s DigiTools class uses Twitter as a tool for reviewing material. After each discussion Bird asks her students to twitter their MVP (Most Valuable Point) using their classroom hashtag. This quick exercise allows students to further digest and understand the material at hand, while at the same time creating a great resource for future review.

8. Upgrading underappreciated school newspapers

   In some schools, high school newspapers just aren’t getting the attention they used to, as students are often glued to phones, tablets, and laptops much more regularly than anything representing real paper. Some school newspapers are now using Twitter as a way to aggregate news information, tweet stories as they happen, and interact with their audience through questions and polls. Freedom High student journalists in Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem Township often live-tweet updates about football games right from the stands, sharing news for those who can’t make it to the game.

9. Worldwide connections

   Adam Taylor’s class at Nashville’s Overton High School connects with students half a world away in Pakistan, and they’re quite enthusiastic about it. The two classes discuss student voices in school, cultural stereotypes, and more, learning what life is like outside of their own classroom and culture. Taylor’s idea has been quite popular, and is even such a great draw that students are willing to come in early to school for the discussions.

10. Volunteer opportunities

    One nonprofit group, Jersey Cares, targets tweets to find volunteers to fill their recruitment needs, and has found that many high schoolers answer the call. High school groups use Twitter to locate projects in their area where they can help out, since so many nonprofits are speaking out and asking for help on the social media service.

11. Concise writing exercises

    English teachers often need to teach the importance of brevity in writing, and Twitter is such a great tool for that, with its 140 character limit per tweet. Through the service, teachers assign tweets as a way to encourage understanding and efficient use of language.

12. Twitter quizzes

    In California, Half Moon Bay High School history students can actually have fun with their quizzes, which take place on Twitter. Teacher Mike Putnam uses the social media service to ask fun questions that students answer, such as, “Who would you rather have dinner with? Adams, Jefferson, or Washington?”

13. Word tracking

    As classrooms focus on a particular unit or subject, Twitter offers a great opportunity for staying up to date with learning beyond textbooks. Through Twitter, high school classrooms are tracking words, in which they subscribe to all tweets that include a particular words or phrase, like “Pearl Harbor,” or “woodworking,” returning results with insights, new developments, and more. This exercise is great for allowing students to follow current events and learn about resources they might not otherwise find.

14. Inspiration and though provoking questions

    Minneapolis English teacher Candace Boerema doesn’t use Twitter for assignments, but she does keep up the educational chatter, and encourages her students to interact with Twitter. With questions like, “Who are you in Elizabethan England?” and “Is chivalry dead?,” Boerema sparks offline discussion and interaction among her students that’s reported to be inspiring and great for keeping students connected even when they’re not in class.

15. Fundraising

    Whether it’s for sending the glee club off to regionals or shoes to South America, high schools always seem to have a need for fundraising, and they can use all the help they can get. Some schools have turned to Twitter and Facebook to get the word out, going social, and hopefully viral, in their efforts. Aided by online fundraising platforms and online payment tools, they’re able to do virtual fundraising to complement and even replace traditional car washes and bake sales.

16. Connecting with experts

    Everyone is on Twitter these days, from celebrities to the President, and some high school classrooms are smart enough to take advantage of that. In Madison County, Ala., students use Twitter to interact with historians around the world. They put together questions to ask historians on Twitter, getting answers that may not be easy to find in their history books. This sort of interaction is great for learning from experts, and teaches students the value of research beyond traditional sources.

17. Planning careers

    Another great way high school students are using Twitter connections is in preparing for their careers. Students can talk to professionals who are currently working in the paths they’re thinking about following in their future careers. Some teachers have set up assignments that have students create Twitter lists in which they can follow accounts that are relevant to their career goals.

18. Twitter scavenger hunts

    Some teachers are helping students improve their research skills by assigning Internet scavenger hunts and only allowing students to use Twitter to find their sources. Students often find this a fun challenge, and a great way to research ideas and movements through Twitter searches.

19. Real-time source evaluation

    Using Twitter, students are able to tweet sources and ask their teacher, fellow classmates, and others that they engage with on Twitter whether it seems to be a credible source or not. This is a great way to teach about the use of online resources and learning about which sources are reliable, and which shouldn’t be trusted.

20. Foreign language learning

    Students in foreign language classes are able to use Twitter discussion around the world to learn about foreign languages. They create lists that allow them to follow foreign language news resources, key Twitter personalities, and more. Students are even able to follow foreign language Twitter pen pals that they can interact with.