John Palfrey of the Berkman opens the conference by looking at the digital age from the point of view of students,

Students: “It’s not about being digital. It’s about students who are born digital.” This is a profound difference, JP says. He points to four traits of students,always on and always attached.

1. Digital Identity. The natives assume they have ’em.

2. Natives arre multi-taskers “but in ways heretofore unseen.” The Socratic method changes when every student has a laptop in front of her. Everyone has multiple IM sessions going. “It’s not necessarily a good thing” but it’s the fac.
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3. Natives assume media comes in digital form, and thus is malleable. And it’s searchable. “Research now means a Google search.”

4. Natives are creators. “This is a huge shift from previous generations.” From consumers to creators.

These changes are not all good, JP says. Henry Jenkins has identified the “participation gap” (an effect of the digital divide). There are ethics challenges and transparency problems (“who created what”).

Teachers:

1. Digital identities: Should faculty members have Facebook accounts? Is your teacher your friend?

2. Emergent tools: “How do we capture this extaordinary move from consumers to creators?” Should teachers start using wikis, e.g.?

University: What about it ought to be reborn?

1. Digital ID: What does it mean for Harvard to have a digital ID? now that both students and info are born digital, how does a university understand its identity?

2. Digital info: JP points to Dan Gillmor’s Center for Digital Media as a site trying to figure out what things like accuracy and fairness mean. He also points to PLoS.

3. Open Access: One Laptop Per Child,Access to Knowledge , OpenNet Initiative and many others are responding to this need. The “Open to Harvard ID Holders Only” badge is up in front of Harvard’s digital information, and it doesn’t need to be, says JP.

Now JP raises “hard questions.”

What is the relationship between the university and say, Reed Elsevier, Google, RIAA, MPAA, Second Life? Should the U be striking exclusive deals with Google? Should the U deliver the RIAA’s cease and desist letters?

“What is the best way to invest in libraries in a digital age?”

“How do we fund and sustain the generation of digital knowledge?” Should we be looking at funders, or should we be adopting a business model like Google’s or Times Select’s?

“How does this generation of new library scientists learn?”

“What is the impact of an outdated copyright system?” Should the U be taking a leading role in improving the system? [Tags: is2k7 john_palfrey]

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