Is an Online Exam Harder?

Last Fall, I offered my undergraduate students a choice: the could take the exam on paper OR the could take it online. The questions would be identical. The only difference would be the "medium". I was surprised to discover that more than 50% of students opted for paper. I tried the experiment again this semester -- with the same result.

This experience left me to wonder: Why would a so-called millennial student choose paper over a computer?

Below are my theories based on casual conversations with students and my observations during the exams:

• Students like to hold the exam in their hands to gauge the length of the test and to have indicators of space to determine the length of individual answers.
  
• Students like to flip through their exam to check their answers. Some students flip through 3 or 4 times before handing in the exam. While they can do this on the computer, it somehow doesn't "feel" the same to them.
  
• Students don't like the countdown timer ticking away the minutes. Even with a clock in the room where they take the paper exam, they don't feel as intimidated as they do looking at a digital clock telling them how much time is left.
  
• Students don't trust the technology. My guess is that this is the biggest barrier. They are afraid that they system will "crash" and they will lose their work and have to start over.
  

I wonder if this will change with the coming generations? Is it similar to my desire to hold a book in my hand and my reluctance move to an e-reader?

14 Days of Twitter Part One: “I Hate Twitter”

Image Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/love-hate.jpg

The back story: I teach a course on social media & web2.0 (called Social Networking & Business http://sixdegrees.wikidot.com). For the first time this semester I required students to use Twitter. I borrowed the idea of “14 Days of Twitter” from Karen Miller Russell. She wrote about “48 Hours of Twitter” http://snipr.com/756jg on her blog. (Yes, I’m an overachiever. 48 hours just wasn’t enough.)

I used class time to have students sign up for Twitter accounts (only 1 already had an account) and then we walked through the process of following all the other students. They spent a little time learning about direct messages, @replies, and having fun writing silly things. They also selected companies and individuals to follow using this excellent list of Twitter accounts http://snipr.com/757lk. (For those interested, the complete “lab” is available here: http://sixdegrees.wikidot.com/14twitter)

I walked into class after 14 days of my students using Twitter excited to hear what students thought. I started the discussion asking for quick reactions. The first student to raise his hand (we’ll call him “T”) said “I hate Twitter”. Wow. Where do you go from there?

Reaction 1: “I just don’t get it”

“If you don't need to get out of jail and don't witness an accident or catastrophy, what is the point about Twitter?” Day 1 from “J”

“still not fond of this site Day 1 from “T”

“so how many hours a day do you think ppl spend tweeting?” Day 1 from “T

“still not excited about Twitter” Day 1 from “T”

“Oh god this twitter thing is really hard” Day 3 from “D”

“I hate this twitter thing, but it would be nice for a political debate: keep all answers to 140 characters or less!” Day 10 from “F”

“I do not still like twitter...it is a little bit bothering me.” Day 13 from “G”

“Last day of tweeting. I can't wait to go back to the normal blogging. Missed the weekly blog posts.” Day 14 from “O”

Reaction 2: “This is hard!”

“I thought it would be breeze posting 3 tweets a day but it's starting to get difficult. How do i get through the remaining time?” Day 4 from “Y”

“@Y I also think the same. This is an alternative Facebook and it's beginning to wear me down posting updates” Day 4 from “B”

“I think twitter is the shorter, faster, easier version blog, but sometimes disturbing.” Day 5 from “R”

“well, It is pretty tough to post 3 comments everyday, isn't it?” Day 10 from “G”

Reaction 3: 140 characters, Really?

“I mourn the day when people form their political opinions around simplistic 140-character Tweets.” Day 14 from “B”

“Next, we need to have debates over chat, IM, or even twitter, that way the message is short, clear and easy to ignore. Day 7 from “F”

“Blaming myself for enjoying developping my thoughts in more than 140 characters. Do u think a blogpost shouldn't exceed 2 tweets?” Day 9 from “L”

Reaction 4: I can’t get this thing to work!

“I cant get my phone to work with this thing!” Day 5 from “B”

“T tried to text message twitter as a post but failed. I need figure this out again. Day 12 from “T”

“was trying to fix twitter on my phone without any success” Day 2 from “Y”

“need to set up the text messaging option for twitter” Day 12 from “N”

“this twitteriffic client is pretty glitchy” Day 5 from “X”

“the twitter app on the iPhone keeps crashing... how frustratinggg Day 9 from “F”

Have something to add? Comments welcomed. Want to hear more? This is one of a pair of posts. The other (will be) titled “14 Days of Twitter Part Two: I Love Twitter” and will include a summary and plans for next semester. Stay tuned.

3 Tips for Presenting to an Empty Room

A few days ago, I created a 'pre-recorded webinar'. I sat in a room by myself and talked to my computer for 35 minutes. It was hard! I tried to put myself in the seat of the person who would have to listen and watch. Here's what I did to spice it up:

1. Humor
   
   I introduced myself and then pretended to introduce others who were attendees. I found some fun photos of people who I could introduce and welcome. Later on, I took questions from the audience and used silly photos (someone sleeping, for example) to make it fun.
   
   
2. Video
   
   I used my webcam at the beginning, middle, and end to make it more personal. Admittedly, the quality of the video and synchronization with my voice (in the recording) leaves a bit to be desired. However, I felt the visual connection with the participant outweighed these drawbacks.
   
   
3. Props
   
   I didn't think that a "talking head", some photos, and an occassional webcam video was enough to keep participants engaged. I went for "props" as a way to change things up. In the session, I discussed various microphones and headsets to connect to a computer. For props, I held different types of headsets and mics up to the webcam to "show versus tell". I also considered writing things on paper, using sticky notes, and other props that could be used at intervals but didn't try it this time.
   

What do you think of these techniques?

And what other ideas do you have for me to try the next time I pre-record a workshop, seminar, or class?

Flickr and Fun

On Wed, students in my "Social Networking & Business" course competed (I do use that term lightly) in a mobile phone photo safari. They were asked to act like kids in grade school who are given a list of items to find and photograph. As you'll see from the winners, they had no trouble finding their inner kid.

Second KSB Mobile Photo Safari

"A Strange Hat"

"Something Blue"

"That should have been thrown out looonng ago"

"Now what did I forget?"

"Morning Hair"

The So-Called Millennials

They call them "Millennials" and they tell us that they are the "first generation to grow up with the Internet." While this may be true, I would argue that they are less equipped for our digital world than generations past.

The first generation to be introduced to the telephone understood party lines, tone dialing, and long distance operators (yes, I am showing my age.) The next generation simply picked up the handset and pushed the buttons -- and it worked.

The first generation to be introduced to the television understood rabbit antennas, UHF versus VHF, and snow on the screen after midnight. The next generation keyed some numbers on a remote -- and it worked.

• If you belong to the Millennial generation, tell me what you think. Do you worry about the expectations of future employers with respect to your technology savvy?

• If you work with the Millennials, tell me about your experiences. Did they have the skills you expected them to have?

Photo Credit: Mike McGregor Photography http://www.mikemcgregor.com/