Mertler, Craig A.

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Bowling Green State University: ScholarWorks@BGSU

Mid-Western Educational Researcher Volume 20 Issue 1 Article 2 2007 Reflections on MWERA 2006: Teaching and Researching in an Electronic Era Craig A. Mertler Bowling Green State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/mwer How does access to this work benefit you? Let us know! Recommended Citation Mertler, Craig A. (2007) "Reflections on MWERA 2006: Teaching and Researching in an Electronic Era," Mid-Western Educational Researcher: Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/mwer/vol20/iss1/2 This Featured Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mid-Western Educational Researcher by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. 	 Mid-Western	Educational	Researcher  Volume 20, Number 1  · Winter 2007I am writing this reflection one week after our 2006 An-nual Meeting. I must admit that, in my opinion, this year’s theme—Teaching	and	Researching	in	an	Electronic	Era—seemed to work very effectively. In addition to our Thursday and Friday Keynote Addresses and the Presidential Address, 43 additional presentations dealt in some way with the topic of technology across education. This figure represented ap-proximately one-fourth of all accepted proposals. While it is impossible for everyone’s research agendas to “fit” a given conference theme, I would like to thank our membership for contributing so strongly to this year’s theme.Dr. Ron Owston of York University in Toronto kicked off our Annual Meeting with his Fireside Chat and Thursday Keynote Address, where he discussed the impact of the World Wide Web on instruction and learning. He shared with us the vision of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, developer of the Web and “author” of the first-ever website—that it serve as “an infor-mation space through which people can communicate…by sharing their knowledge in a pool” and that the Web should not be “a big browsing medium,” nor “a glorified television channel.” As we examine the multitude of uses for the Web, I believe that all of his visions—the good, the bad, and the ugly—have certainly come to fruition! As an aside, how interesting was it for us to learn that Berners-Lee’s original presentation of his “research” was presented as a poster!As educators, the Web has had an impact on all of us, in terms of what we do and how we do it. However, I believe that it is crucial to remember that Web browsers have only been with us since 1993—a mere 16 years! We simply do not have that much information about teaching and learning with the Web. Dr. Owston posed three questions, possible answers, and follow-up questions, to the audience:1. What are the inequalities	of	access	to	learning and can they be overcome? We don’t need more research on the access gap itself, but we need strategies and programs to overcome the gap which should then be evaluated.2. What do we know about costs	 of	 learning with the Web? Cost-effectiveness studies have not yielded very convincing results. However, one thing we do know is that hardware costs have plummeted, especially with the advent of the $100 computer.3. What about improved	learning? What is needed is not more research comparing the Web with face-to-face learning, but to study ways of designing Web-based learning in order to maximize its relative benefits.Of course, the issue of “digital natives” versus “digital immigrants” will certainly begin to play an important role in these issues, as Rodney Greer also discussed at length in his Presidential Address. Related to this notion, Dr. Owston concluded his presentation with a substantial challenge: How to make classroom learning as engaging as games. Of course, this is all too relative. My idea of video games includes Space Invaders and PacMan (I realize I’m now di-vulging my age!)…which would undoubtedly bore today’s youth to tears!!In his Friday Keynote Address, Dr. Fred Conrad, of the University of Michigan’s  Institute for Social Research followed up on Dr. Owston’s notion of various uses for the Web. He focused on the interactive capabilities of the Web when used for the collection of data, specifically resulting from Web-based surveys. A multitude of interesting issues arose during his presentation, including various formats for progress indicators during survey completion as well as the accuracy and timing of those indicators, keep the inclusion of definitions for respondents (and the various formats that can be used to provide these definitions), and the use of computer-generated human interface technology (how many of us logged on to Ikea’s Web site to pose a question to Anna in the week or two following our conference!? C’mon…be honest!). Dr. Conrad’s discussion of the impact of different forms of survey completion progress indicators, the effectiveness of various forms of respondent-initiated definitions (and the relative amount of “work” required of respondents to access those definitions), and the notion of a respondent’s inactivity that prompts an action by the survey itself shed an entirely new light on Web-based surveys. His address really brought to the forefront some cutting-edge technology and advances resulting from his research, in the area of Web-based surveys. It truly seems that Web surveys, due to their interactive na-ture, are somewhat akin to a “self-administered interview,” in that they combine the best features of an interview and a self-administered survey. Rodney Greer (along with his colleague Dr. Lance Ternasky) touched on many issues raised by our Keynote Speakers during his Presidential Address. He discussed the changing face of instructor–student and student–student communications—or was it the changing “faces” of students, nowadays often blocked from their instructors by their lap-top screens! I truly found Rodney’s discussion of “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” to be very intriguing. That discussion has already encouraged me to look at my undergraduate students a bit differently over the past week than I had in the past.These individuals touched on so many issues critical to “teaching and researching in an electronic era.” I know that, from a personal perspective, they provided me with so Reflections on MWERA 2006:Teaching and Researching in an Electronic EraCraig A. Mertler, MWERA Program ChairBowling Green State UniversityVolume 20, Number 1  · Winter 2007	 Mid-Western	Educational	Researchermuch to contemplate—e.g., how to more effectively integrate technology into my instruction, how to “engage and not enrage” our students, and how to redesign and redirect the focus of my work in survey methodology. I came away with so many ideas! I only hope that the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association had a similar impact on those of you who attended.Let me close by stating an obvious fact, followed by a perhaps not-so-obvious fact. Clearly, serving as Program Kimberly Allen*­ University of Missouri – St. LouisSonja Bagby Carrollton City Schools, Carrollton, GABambi Bethel-Leitshuh*­ University of Missouri—St. Louis Patricia Boyer University of Missouri – St. LouisKelly	Bradley	University of KentuckyEmily Bouck*­ Michigan State UniversityYun Chi-Chen*­ Pennsylvania State UniversityTom	Cody	Western Illinois University Steven F. Corfman*­ Antioch CollegeSharon	Damore	DePaul University 	Matthew Davis  University of Missouri – St. LouisAdrienne Dixson The Ohio State UniversityRos Duplechain University of West GeorgiaStacyanne Headley*­ The Ohio State UniversityCher Hendricks University of West GeorgiaMary	Beth	Henning		Northern Illinois UniversityRichard	Hofmann		Miami UniversityJan	Holt	Northern Illinois UniversitySema	A.	Kalaian	Eastern Michigan University Barbara Kawulich  University of West Georgia Charles E. Kline Purdue University Dorothy Kupsky*­ The Ohio State University Chair was a great deal of work to which any of my prede-cessors can attest. At the same time, however, I can honestly say that it has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career thus far in academia! MWERA continues to be a fabulous organization filled with great people! Let’s carry on this 30-year trend by continuing to support our organization and participating in our 2007 Annual Meeting in St. Louis! See you there!Mid-western Educational Research Association Reviewers for 2005-2006We	want	to	thank	the	individuals	listed	below	who	served	as	reviewers	for	the	past	year	for	the	Mid-western Educational Researcher.Names	in	italics	are	Editorial	Board	members*­ indicates graduate student reviewersMary	Leahy		College of DuPageDonna	McCaw	Western Illinois UniversityGlenda Moss Indian University—Purdue University Fort WayneTimothy	Murnen	Bowling Green State UniversityIsadore	Newman		University of AkronJim Olive*­ University of DaytonLynn Papenfus*­ Kent State UniversitySung Choon Park*­ The Ohio State UniversityKelli Paul*­ Indiana UniversityJohn Poster University of MichiganHema	Ramanathan	University of West Georgia Jill Reddish  University of West Georgia Ronald S. Reigner  University of West GeorgiaTom	Smith		Northern Illinois UniversityCathy Spidell*­ University of AkronKathleen	Sullivan-Brown	University of Missouri – St. LouisJennifer Weber*­  University of KentuckyKathryn	Wiggins	DePaul UniversityE.	Jane	Williams	The Ohio State University  (retired)Ted Zigler  University of CincinnatiJudith Zimmerman  Bowling Green State University

Reflections on MWERA 2006: Teaching and Researching in an Electronic Era

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Reflections on MWERA 2006: Teaching and Researching in an Electronic Era

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