Jeremy Paxman, legendary BBC journalist, speaks about the changes in broadcast media as it relates to the blogosphere.
We’ve become obsessed with how the copper wire is organized and we have forgotten about the electricity.
And a very related bonus clip:
I have been wanting to jump onto the topic of edupunk for quite a while now, but I am happy that I waited. Since Jim Groom’s initial post, there has been a lot of debate around the term … but I won’t get into that. This post is really not about entering into that conversation. The term resonated with me, so please let me indulge in this bit of selfish, and very incomplete, introspection.
D’Arcy Norman proclaimed me an edpunk, and I am in excellent company. This proclamation resulted because of the work I did with my recent graduate course, EC&I 831 where I (with the help of Rob Wall) broke a lot of rules regarding course “delivery”. I have spoken about the course quite a few times since it has formally ended, and the question I am asked most often is “how did you get away with that?”. To Rob and I, the facilitation model came naturally, it made sense to be open and transparent. I hardly remember there being another way. Yet, I do not fully understand how I came to see the world this way.
The term edupunk comes to me at an ideal time. It is a term more relevant to me than most people would realize. I spent my teen years and early 20’s heavily into the punk scene, and I have vivid memories of these times. I have met dozens of punk and alternative band members over the years, many of whom are still my rock heroes. This post is not about generalizing what edupunk means to any one else. I am writing because I want to better understand how these musical, political, cultural, and social experiences have influenced the educator I am today.
So, here are the things I learned from punk, and why I embrace the term, edupunk.
Non Conformity – Yea, I know, I am a professor at a University, with several degrees including a terminal one. What would I know about non-conformity? But I wasn’t always this way, I was the kid with a mohawk in Grade 10. I spent a lot of time in the principal’s office. I missed a LOT of school. I had a list of speeding and traffic violations before I turned 17. I didn’t do anything bad, I just wanted to be noticed, and I wanted to be different. Well, different enough to get noticed. I was also very lucky to have been born gifted both academically and musically. I excelled at everything I attempted and my grades were at the top of the class even though I missed a lot of school. But I was bored, so incredibly bored.
And while I could go on and list dozens of punk rock anthems that deal with non-conformity, I’ll take a turn here. Rather, I’ll refer to Angelo Patri’s “A Schoolmaster of the Great City”, a book I read a few months ago. Even in the early 1900’s, Patri saw the issues of school conformity and student engagement.
Many parents believe that this is education. They covet knowledge, book knowledge for their children. Rich and poor alike want their children done up in little packages, ready to show, ready to boast of. They fear freedom, they fear to let the child grow by himself. Because the parents want this sort of thing, the school is built to suit – a book school – one room like another, one seat like another, each child like his neighbor. (p. 37)
I could not be sedated then. And while I have conformed in many ways to trade off the security that comes with this, I better understand dissent in society. And I rebel and innovate when I feel it is best for the learning experiences of my students, and for my own personal and professional growth.
Do-It-Yourself Culture – If I were to use one phrase to describe my approach to the design of courses, it would be DIY. While DIY culture was not born specifically of the punk movement, this is where it was exposed to me. My University gives tremendous support for course design and development. And while I do lean on these terrific people from time to time for graphic and multimedia design, I have done almost all of my course development myself. I am what Bates would call a Lone Ranger. And I have thought about it from time-to-time. Why don’t I just get the help available to me, to produce some really nice course materials? Why do I resist?
From Wikipedia:
According to Holmstrom, punk rock was “rock and roll by people who didn’t have very much skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music”. In December 1976, the English fanzine Sideburns famously published an illustration of three chords, captioned “This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band.”
When it came to course design, this is how I felt. I didn’t have the skills to begin with, but the more I pushed myself, the better I became. I learned, discovered my art, had fun, and witnessed my students learn along with me. And this I discovered in bands like the Ramones, where none of the members were talented in any technical sense, but the band was able to influence the music scene and forever change the world.
Critique of Power Relationships … – For my PhD dissertation, I defined the term open thinking as follows:
… the tendency of an individual, group or institution to give preference to the adoption of open technologies or formats in regards to software, publishing, content and practice. Open thinkers critique, question and seek to reject technologies or formats that compromise the power of adopters, especially in the freedom to use, reuse, edit and share creative works and tools. Open thinkers value group-based problem solving and give preference to tools that enable social collaboration and sharing. Open thinkers actively strive to replace adopted technologies and formats with open alternatives. Open thinkers advocate for the adoption of open technologies and practice. (2006)
For the past 7 years, I have been a strong proponent of free and open source software, and then later, free and open content. As you can see in the definition above, my approach has been to critique and question the tools, content, and formats educators use on a daily basis, and to look for free and open alternatives. While much of this influence comes from more contemporary sources (e.g., Stallman, Torvalds, Raymond, Lessig, Downes, Lamb), for me this is only a reawakening of ideas I first discovered through punk rock.
In closing this post, I am going to take Jen’s advice seriously when she says about edupunk “Don’t dissect the metaphor“. Edupunk, if nothing more, has got many people talking, exploring their beliefs around education, and in some cases, reminiscing of day’s long past. The educational community is much too diverse, as it should be, for anyone to cling on to one single metaphor for meaning. I learned the lesson of community complexity when I studied meaning within open source communities. Gabrielle Coleman’s quotation still resonates with me:
The meanings, aims, visions, and aspirations of the open source community are difficult to pin down .… closer inspection of the movement reveals a cacophony of voices and political positions: anarchic ideals of freedom, “tribal†gift-economy rhetoric, revolution, Star Wars imagery, web manifestos, evangelization to the corporate sector, the downfall of the “Evil Empire†(a.k.a. Microsoft), grass roots revolution, consumer choice and rights, community good, true market competition, DIY (Do it Yourself) culture, science as a public good, hacker cultural acceptance, functional superiority, and anti-Communist rhetoric are but a number of the terms, images, and visions promulgated by and attached to the open source community.
The discussion around edupunk has forced me to think, and inspired me to write. Whether you agree with the term or not, it’s brought you this far with me. Thanks for reading.
Can you relate?
Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.
I certainly can. Read this article, that is, if your attention span allows it.
The title on this Youtube video reads “the girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes”. This is Severin Suzuki, daughter of David Suzuki, speaking to the United Nations at the age of 13 in 1992 on behalf of ECO (Environmental Children’s Organization). This is a wonderful speech, spoken beautifully, emotionally, and truthfully.
This is worth the six minutes to watch, and so much more. Pass it on to your colleagues and your students.
I just read a story about the business practices of Zappos, an online shoe retailer. The company seems incredibly focused on customer relationships through the hiring and nurturing of engaged employees. The following paragraph reports a very interesting and unique approach to their initial training and hiring process.
It’s a hard job, answering phones and talking to customers for hours at a time. So when Zappos hires new employees, it provides a four-week training period that immerses them in the company’s strategy, culture, and obsession with customers. People get paid their full salary during this period.
After a week or so in this immersive experience, though, it’s time for what Zappos calls “The Offer.†The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.†Zappos actually bribes its new employees to quit!
While this is interesting in itself, I am also drawn to the larger policies and philosophies apparent in the management of this company. Take some time to listen to the following video, an interview with Bill Taylor who has recently studied the company. In your mind, try to replace customers/employees with students/teachers. There is something powerful that education can learn within this framework.
Microsoft has launched a campaign to promote the use of Windows OS in ultra low-cost PC notebooks. However, the company is asking hardware manufacturers to limit the hardware capabilities of these machines as to avoid cannibalizing sales of higher-end notebook computers.
Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage them to use that OS instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs (ULPCs). To be eligible, however, the PC vendors that make ULPCs must limit screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80G bytes, and they cannot offer touch-screen PCs.
GNU/Linux has found a niche in this market, as it has been available on the XO, the Eee, and others. ULPCs have great potential to solve problems around access and affordability to technology in the classroom. It’s unfortunate that the true potential of computers like this will not be realized due to manipulation of the marketplace by companies like Microsoft.
An animated short about the evolution of man through the perspective of two rocks on a hillside. The movie is in German with English subtitles.
Project Tomorrow has released its “Selected National Findings“, an analysis of data from online surveys, focus groups and interviews of parents, teachers, school leaders and students in the US. Project Tomorrow touts itself as “the nation’s leading education nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world.”
These findings were particularly interesting to me.
Re: Filters (both technical and human) –
Students’ frustration with school filters and firewalls has grown since 2003, with 45% of middle and high school students saying now that these tools meant to protect them inhibit their learning. And since 2004 we have heard repeatedly and more strongly each year, students’ discontent with school rules that limit their access to technology at school and rules that prohibit them from using at school the very technology tools and devices that they use constantly outside of school (cell phones, email, IM, Text messaging) in all aspects of their lives. That discontent factor has grown by 46% over the past four years. The other major obstacle today is the teacher – over 40% of students in grades 6-12 cite their teacher as an obstacle since it is the teacher who increasingly is limiting the “when and where†of using technology at school.
Re: Personal Learning –
When asked how their school could make it easier for them to work electronically, almost 2/3rds of middle and high school students said “let me use my own laptop, cell phone or other mobile device at school.†50% would like to be able to access their school work related software applications and projects from any computer in the school network and have unlimited Internet access on campus. Students also would like tools to help them communicate with their classmates (45%), their teachers (34%) and to organize their schoolwork (42%).
Re: Emerging Technologies –
Over 50% of students in grades 3-12 would like to see more educational gaming in their 21st century school; only 16% of teachers, 15% of administrators, and 19% of parents endorse that concept. While 53% of middle and high school students are excited about using mobile devices within learning, only 15% of school leaders support that idea. Less than half as many parents as students see a place for online
learning in the 21st century school. And even fewer teacher, parents and school leaders want students to have access to emails and IM accounts from school.
Re: Student-Directed Change –
As one high school student in a recent focus
group told us, his vision for the ultimate school is a school where the teachers and the principal actively seek and regularly include the ideas of students in discussions and planning for all aspects of education, not just about technology. As the student so eloquently said, “This is about our future after all. Our ideas should count, too.â€
There are many familiar themes here, yet the same barriers exist. While it is great to see another report supporting much of what is written daily in my corner of the edublogosphere, I am looking forward to reading a report that describes the results of a project in an educational context where many of these barriers have already been addressed.
This is exciting! (via Paul)
New Design High appears to be a school where educators are implementing a bold vision that moves the context for learning beyond typical traditional boundaries. There is also evidence in the video to suggest that 21st century technology is being used appropriately and effectively to support learning and creativity. This is exactly as I believe technology ought to be used in all schools.
When Victory Baptist School, a small private school in Millbrook, Ala., was struggling to keep its computer network together last year, an 11-year-old student named Jon Penn stepped in as network manager.
This sounds like an interesting learning experience for the young student. Although, if I had his email address I would try to get him to switch to Linux.
Bob Cringely of PBS (thanks Keith) recently wrote something that resonated with me. His was one of those articles you find every once in a while that helps your mind coalesce scattered fragments of thought and helps to give clarity to an important idea. He begins:
There is a technology war coming. Actually it is already here but most of us haven’t yet notice. It is a war not about technology but because of technology, a war over how we as a culture embrace technology. It is a war that threatens venerable institutions and, to a certain extent, threatens what many people think of as their very way of life. It is a war that will ultimately and inevitably change us all, no going back. The early battles are being fought in our schools. And I already know who the winners will be.
Now without reading the article, do you know what he is talking about? Do you see it? If you are reading this, you are likely closer than most of your colleagues to understanding it. Now read this:
Here, buried in my sixth paragraph, is the most important nugget: we’ve reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools.
Now read it again. The idea has been an underlying notion in the edublogosphere for a number of years, and of course, it has a much longer philosophical history. Whether the approach is schooliness, deschooling or School 2.0, I do not think we are anywhere near in understanding what the future holds for the education of our children, and theirs.
And I think there is something big here for me. After reading this article, it wasn’t that I was surprised. I felt guilty. Really guilty. As a professor of edtech and media, i have the opportunity to effect hundreds of preservice and practicing teachers. I have typically focused on helping improve technological competency, media literacy and instructional practice with these individuals. This seems OK, doesn’t it?
But what if you know it is just a band-aid? What if you know deep down that schools need to change drastically or cease to exist at all before there will ever be any significant change? What if you feel you are just prolonging the inevitable, and simply giving temporary life to a model that is clearly in its death throes?
It is about honesty. It is about being truthful to our students about the flaws of our educational system. It is essential that we open a dialogue with our children to help them design their educational processes. Together we can do more than simply patch the existing system, and we need to do it soon.
The walls are crumbling, but it’s OK. The future is in good hands.
Related: While you are here, check out Mr. Winkle Wakes, “an amusing, animated retelling of a popular educational story”. Thanks Matthew, this is a nice conversation starter.
I find this quite interesting. Parts of this video make me feel like we have come a long way in these past 13 years, while others make me question if things have really changed in any significant way. via Waxy Links.
Lately, I’ve started collecting old VHS tapes about the Internet from the early- to mid-1990s. While most of these are pretty corny — think Gabe and Max’s Internet Thing — they also inadvertently captured pieces of the web that don’t exist anywhere else. The Internet Archive’s earliest snapshots were in late 1996, so anything before that is extremely sparse. The videos, silly as they are, still represent valuable documentation of the early web.
I spent most of the day yesterday working on a workflow to digitize VHS tapes, settling on VCR to MiniDV camera my Macbook Pro with Firewire. These tapes are pretty worn, so the quality’s not great, but that almost adds to their charm.
See many other related videos here.