Multi-culturalism in the socially networked classroom

Last week we had Prieto Loreto on campus to help us think about how we might review online courses for infusion of multiculturalism. (That sentence seems incomplete, and not structured right, but after the cold weekend, I can't figure out why.)

Anyway, during the program, I dug around a bit trying to figure out the demographic information of those who use social networks. I came across a review that Facebook did of their users last year at this time. It's interesting reading (and their comments are too, but the comments make you wonder the demographic information of those people as well.)

Not sure what we can pull from this, but it's an interesting place to start the conversation about the digital divide and incorporation of Web 2.0 and social networking into the digital classroom.

How much texting is going on in the classroom?

2 professors from Wilkes University surveyed students to find out how much texting is going on in the classroom. Their findings are not unexpected, though the students' perspective might be--from the press release: "In fact, students frequently commented on the survey that their professors would be 'shocked' if they knew how much texting went on in class."

Link includes recommendations on how to curtail texting in the class. Or it might be time to start exploring how to incorporate this ubiquitous technology into the class--engaging through the technology instead of banning it.

Educause Study on Students and Technology

Educause Center for Applied Research has release this 2010 study based on qualitative data from students at both 4-year and 2-year institutions on how undergraduate student use information technology. The study is 120 pages, but, for a shorter synopsis, you can peruse their key findings which provides information of student use of desktops versus laptops, mobile devices, learning management systems, and social networking.