“A Vision of Students Today” (Video)

As usual, before discussing today’s topic (“Internet as a tool for inquiry”), the lesson was started with an in-class video observation. Instead of following our usual assignment, in which we are required to watch, examine, and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of a particular video lesson, we were presented with two separate Youtube videos that we were asked to compare and contrast.

The first video, entitled “A Vision of Students Today,” was created by Michael Wesch and the students of his “Introduction to Cultural Anthropology” class (during the spring of 2007), at Kansas State University. Opening with a quote from Marshall McLuhan (1957), the tone of the piece was instantly set. Through quick and creative introductions to questions (such as “…if students learn what they do…what are they learning sitting here?”), Dr. Wesch was able to build up to the main focus of the video, “What is it like being a student today?” To answer this question, students were given the opportunity to express their opinion on the subject, and gave over twenty different responses (such as “18% of my teachers know my name…We are multitaskers… only get seven hours of sleep each night”). As I watched this video I not only enjoyed the characteristics mentioned by his students (which I were often able to relate to), but the artistic approach (used signs instead of spoken words), captivating music, and relatable setting.

The second video, entitled “A Vision of K-12 Students Today,” was written and produced by B. Nesbitt and focused on a similar subject. Much like the first video, “A Vision of K-12 Students Today” opened with a mood-setting statement that led into the explanation of why each of these students is “…a 21^st century learner.” Using erasable white boards as signs (which was similar to the approach used by Michael Wesch and his class), the students, without speaking, questioned their current education, encouraged the use of technology in the classroom, and begged educators to “engage” them. I really enjoyed hearing the passionate statements and shocking statistics mentioned by the students, and was impressed by this video’s ability to capture my attention.

After rewatching these presentations, I was actually surprised at how similar these two videos really are. Even though there is a large age difference between the students in each video (K-12 vs. College), they both mentioned similar concerns about their education (“By the year 2016 the largest English speaking country will be China! There are more honor students in China than there are people in North America!”). Also, the students from both groups seemed to believe they knew more about technology than their teachers, constantly used technology in their lives (“Listened to 5 hours of Harry Potter,” “…will read over 2300 web pages and 1281 FB profiles”), desired a more “hands-on” approach to learning (“If we learn by doing…what are we learning sitting here? How do you learn?”), and believed that their future employment does not yet exist. Both groups desire to have technology utilized more often in the classroom, and simply hope to be inspired to learn. It has been suggested in the past that “…technology (alone) can save us,” but only the future can tell.

Although there are many similarities between these videos, there are also a few differences. While the college students seemed frustrated by the lack of attention from their professors as well as the outrageous costs of school (“…average class size of 115, complete 49% of reading assignments with 26% being relative to my life, waste money on textbooks that are never used”), the K-12 students were mainly concerned with becoming more digitally engaged. Also, compared to the K-12 students, the college students tended to abuse their technological privileges more often (“I Facebook through most of my classes, I bring my laptop to class but I’m not working on class stuff”).