Don’t creep

me out!

Patty BrownNCSU

Libby EvansUNC-CH

Overview

• Defining ‘creepy treehouse’• A little help from our friends• Let’s talk

What’s a creepy

treehouse?

No, really…

What’s creepy?

1. List an example of an activity, technology or tool that could be perceived as ‘creepy treehouse’.

2. Describe why it might be creepy.

3. Explain how you could avoid creepiness.

Questions to consider"At the same time, other LMS tools that are

more exclusively related to the traditional activity of teaching (e.g. gradebooks, online quizzing, material posting, etc) are not viewed as inherently creepy treehouse."

• Do students often feel uncomfortable when challenged by something new?

• Is the CTH effect simply because sharing personal and "work“ space is new to students?

• What are the real vs perceived dangers/issues?

More questions• What data do we have about the creepy

treehouse effect? That is, how much of what is being written is anecdotal and how much is based on research?

• If we know/assume that the Creepy Treehouse is real for some, many, or all students using some, many, or all technologies for the classroom, is that likely to stay constant? Do we have any historical trends that might help predict what the future will be like?

More questions

• At what point does an instructor using web 2.0 tools become intrusive? As advocates of educational technology, where do we draw the line?

• What are the best practices in this area?

“… it’s only a creepy treehouse is if what you’re doing with these tools is inviting students to “hang out.” The most sophisticated uses so far ... have been reflexive and critically focused. Those using the tools with a very well defined, relevant and transparent pedagogical purpose aren’t inviting students to “hang out” but engage in serious learning.

If anything, the problem is not with the tools but with our approaches. Right now, the use of these tools in education is in its infancy. As with any new technology, there’s productive and non productive use. We’re all still learning. It’s important that we all have time to experiment and make mistakes before rejecting these tools whole cloth. I myself am still learning what works and what doesn’t. Best practices are still entirely emergent.”

– Melanie McBride

Posts

http://melaniemcbride.net/2008/04/26/creepy-treehouse-v-digital-literacies/http://www.ninnypants.com/education/students-should-build-their-own-tree-house/http://fredzimny.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/social-software-e-learning-beyond-learning-management-systems/