OER’s, DL’s, Reuse and Culture

its about being a phd student researching digital resoures in a multicultural world.

the blog is moving: http://jargonyowords.rivervision.com

25 January 2008 at 1.26 am · Filed under it's a move.

i am moving this blog over to my own domain.   if you link here – change your links to:

http://jargonyowords.rivervision.com

see you there :)

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one laptop per child

30 November 2007 at 6.19 pm · Filed under saving the world, social justice, the digital divide

since i heard about the one laptop per child program i’ve had reservations. my reservations concern things like – environmental impact of the machines, exporting a toxic western culture, survivability of the earth if we continue to build societies like my own that are all about ‘give give give’.. stupidly i hadn’t thought about things like – lets feed them before we give them a laptop.. i had assumed that those issues were being thought about by those running the program.  apparently not.  i found this article over at the pacific research institute website:

Let Them Eat Laptops
National Center for Policy Analysis
11.19.2007

National Center for Policy Analysis, November 19, 2007

Early reviews of One Laptop per Child’s (OLPC) finished product — the XO, or “$100 laptop” — extol its many innovative features.  None of these reviews, however, mention what the XO fails to provide, such as a source of clean drinking water, abundant and nutritious food, or medicines for curable diseases, says Daniel Ballon, a Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute.

Further, the project could actually hurt developing countries, says Ballon:

  • OLPC’s business model actually requires substantial investment from the governments, diverting limited resources away from a population’s critical needs.
  • The “$100 laptop,” which actually costs $188, can only be purchased at a minimum quantity of 250,000.
  • OLPC targets countries like Nigeria, where one out of three children suffer from malnutrition; there a $50 million minimum investment could instead be used to feed more than a million children for an entire year.

Beyond exploitation, OLPC seems to feel entitled to a monopoly, shaming Intel’s rival low-cost laptop.  Apparently the non-profit group fails to understand a basic market concept, says Ballon:

  • In a free market, consumers enjoy the freedom to purchase those products that best suit their needs.
  • When governments make purchasing decisions on behalf of the people, they rob the consumer of that freedom.
  • If OLPC wished to compete in the free market, they would target their product directly to the consumer.
  • By opting instead to lobby for government contracts, OLPC ensures that the XO remains immune from market forces.

If OLPC cannot wait for a laptop market to materialize or distribute the XO exclusively by donation, there are viable alternatives for realizing the project’s mission, says Ballon. The use of cell phones is skyrocketing in the developing world.  By the end of next year, this market will include 50 percent of the world’s population.  Mobile devices are an inexpensive, tested technology, and increasingly offer access to the Internet.

Source: Daniel Ballon, “Let Them Eat Laptops,” TCS Daily, November 7, 2007.

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localization, what is it really?

21 November 2007 at 12.48 am · Filed under localization

a quick few thoughts before i head to bed.

a topic that i’ve found myself talking to two of my profs who i work with in my research group about recently is localization and how to define it.  now, i know that there is a whole body of thought out there about internationalization, and translation kind of localization, but what about closer to home?  what about deeper forms?  what about things that haven’t been planned – the kind of adaptations that take place in the classroom as a teacher is delivering instruction.  can that be thought of as localization?  or does localization involve something more?  do certain things have to take place for something to be called localization?  if so – what is the checklist?

or is localization just jargon for something that has been taking place since education started?  haven’t teachers been adapting resources on the fly in all kinds of teaching?  or is that individualization?  and if it is individualization, what is the line between localization and individualization.  i was talking to a professor outside our research group as well about this this week, a professor who has thought a lot about localization, and she felt that it becomes individualization when there is no longer a specific culture.  so, she felt that when material was adapted, localized, etc.. for a school that that was individualization  – that a school is not big enough to be thought of as a culture and so therefore it is individualizing.

personally, i think that each classroom has it’s own culture, and it becomes individualization on an individual level  – but i’m very concrete about these things and also very sensitive to the subtleties of differences in even small groups of people.

and so, what exactly is localization?  or does speaking the language really matter all that much?  is what matters understanding these different kinds of adaptations and what we can learn from how people do it so to make it easier for those that will follow?

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aea

12 November 2007 at 1.10 pm · Filed under localization, my ideals, saving the world, social justice

i just returned from the american evaluation association national conference in baltimore.  i went because i was presenting, and because it was a good chance to see my ma who lives just a few hours south in southwestern va.  i didn’t attend many sessions because i was hanging with my ma, but the last session of the conference i did go to had to do with social justice and evaluation.

now, i’m a sucker for anything that says social justice.  i’m a big ol social justice nerd – anything that may have to do with saving the world and stepping out of my white upper middle class highly educated privilege will get me to turn my head and put everything else down and pay attention.

the most interesting thing that i drew from the presentation were boxes, and how we put people in boxes on all the many different forms we fill out.  the housing folks at cornell are trying to help people bust out of their boxes, trying to understand how people define themselves, or redefine themselves.  because it isn’t until we understand this, that we can truly serve them.  and yes, there is the whole political agenda thing that comes along with those boxes – believe me, i know there is a political agenda thing attached to those boxes, but i won’t go into that here.

so, what do others think?  is a social justice agenda like this important for the field of instructional technology, or do we just move along and pretend that the status quo of how we define people suits us just fine?  and then for me there is the question of balance – how do we know when we have gone far enough, and how do we know when we have gone too far?  how do we know what the line between social justice and overreacting has been crossed?  and how do we honour the fact that for many people that line is in such different places in the sand for so many different people.

this definitely ties back to discussions of religion in the classroom – this whole idea of understanding how people view themselves and making it all relevant and respectful.

i’m starting a collaboration with someone, and i’m headed home to eugene for the winter break.  i’m definitely going to be talking about these subjects with folks back home, and maybe at some point i can find the balance, and i can understand more the questions i seek to have answered.  until then, though, i’ll just continue to play with it all, and figure out someway to bring the idea of social justice into my work as much as possible, without – i hope – turning off those people who need to hear the messages most.

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amusement at 5am.

7 November 2007 at 5.59 am · Filed under amusing

an email on ITFORUM this early morn:

You are right.  PBL and original projects are effective in combating cheating.

They also have the “side benefit” of promoting knowledge construction.

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religion, politics and itforum

5 November 2007 at 4.11 pm · Filed under culture, discourse, saving the world, teaching

over the weekend a post was made on ITFORUM, an instructional technology listserv, posing questions about discussing religion in education and how to do it. happily a thoughtful and respectful conversation followed and the original poster summarized all the points at the end of the weekend on the list, and on his weblog.

now, this morning as people get back to work the list is being hit with a lot of unsubscriptions. it is suspected that the nature of the conversation has caused the unsubscriptions. personally, i think that before the suspicion is acted upon and that those of us who participated are scolded for taking part in such a discussion, we should follow up with those folks. but, lets pretend that the suspicion is correct – the question arises – does religion belong on the forum?

well, if you read the post, you’ll see that my opinion is that yes – discussions of religion do belong on a forum about education because religion is such an integral part of people’s lives. we live in a multicultural world and if we are designing and delivering instruction for that world religion is going to be a part of that. people bring perspectives influenced by religion to their learning, and if we are to instruct in meaningful ways we have to acknowledge that.

further there’s the whole world peace issue. i know, everyone says they want it. well, it seems as though today religion and world peace are intertwined – we can’t seem to have peace unless the world religions learn to live in peace. to me it seems as though that isn’t likely to happen if a bunch of educators can’t talk about religion, especially if that conversation is about – how do we talk about the topic. how are we going to educate if we can’t talk about seemingly controversial topics?

i think (the collective) we spend too much time dancing around the difficult topics because they are difficult. how can we truly make the world a better place if we rely on only politicians to do the difficult work of talking about these topics? how are we going to educate those young politicians into older thoughtful politicians who do the talking if we continue to skirt around these issues in forums like ITFORUM?  in such a diverse world i think that if we skirt these issues we are only doing the world a disservice. we cannot continue to relegate these issues out of our offices and back to home. learning / educating is about discourse, its about tackling the hard problems, it’s about coming up with possible solutions. where can we start to tackle these issues? why can’t we talk about these issues on a forum like ITFORUM – a forum full of brilliant minds devoted to education of all ages and industries? to me, if we all want world peace, it’s got to start somewhere – we’ve got to stop brushing these topics under the rug, because they are going to come up over and over and over again, and at some point we’re going to have to look it squarely in the face. wouldn’t it be nice of a bunch of educators (define that word as you wish) could say – hey! we’ve figured out different ways to tackle these difficult problems? i think so.

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inspiration and aect.

28 October 2007 at 1.15 pm · Filed under getting a phd, teaching

i just got back from aect. it was in anaheim this year, and i was only there for 3 days. as i was getting ready to go to the conference i found myself feeling a distinct lack of inspiration as a phd student. i was feeling unfocused, and – more particularly – i was feeling the weight of all that i have to do to finish this degree here in utah. i was feeling decidedly uninspired by it all and seriously contemplating quitting and heading back home to oregon to find something to do. so, needless to say, this conference was coming at a perfect time.

i’m not going to go through day by day my experiences, but i did hear a lot of really good things, really interesting things. i got to talk a bit about the work i’m doing and hear of another resource i do need to investigate for my reciprocal mentoring project.

the last presentation i went to at the conference was one about technology integration with k-12 teachers. i went to the presentation for 2 reasons – work, and the presenter is a good friend of my chair so i wanted to see what her work was about. i went into the presentation excited to see her, interested in what she was doing, but also knowing that i had my laptop with me and that i could check email if i got bored. well, boredom never occurred because she busted the walls of the usual presentation – no talking head. she had us in groups working. in 1 hour she presented her stuff, had us brainstorm about technology and constructivism, had the groups evaluate other groups ideas, and then put together a lesson plan that incorporated her ideas. it was stunning, and i felt energized afterwards.

later i got to talk to a couple of her former students about her presentation. they told me that this is how she is in class all the time. and it lead me to realize why my favourite professor (mfp) of all times is mfp. it isn’t because of the content they teach, it is because they are inspiring. mfp  is excited about the work he is doing and teaching, and that excitement gets translated into his teaching. he gets the students excited simply because he is so excited about it. and that is what this presenter did – got us excited. she was inspiring. she motivated. she gave me just what i am so desperately seeking from my two professors this semester – inspiration.

so, of course it leads me to reflect on what an inspiring teacher is – how is it that they are so inspiring? is one professor inspiring for one set of students and not another? how do we determine that, and is it an important trait to look for as departments seek out new professors to hire? just as people explore creativity in instructional design, should there be discussions about inspiration of teaching future instructional designers and future academics? and lastly – the self reflection – if i hope for it from professors, when i am in their place, can i be it for students who are in my place right now, and how?

or is inspiration just an added bonus to the work?  should students be forced to sit and listen to decidedly uninspiring teachers day after day and just tough it out?  is uninspired teaching just par for the course, and at the phd level, one more thing we have to toughen out as a part of getting the degree?  or should we expect more from our teachers, our professors?  should we expect them to inspire, to be excited and to figure out how to translate that excitement into the classroom?

i don’t know the answers to any of the questions i pose, though i do have opinions.  my opinion is that teachers / professors should try to inspire, that they should be excited about what they are teaching, that working with students in any teaching and learning environment should be something they look forward too – not something they have to do.  if working with students, if teaching, is not of interest to someone they should simply find a research center to work for.  that is my opinion.  but, on the other side of it, people are different – what might inspire one person isn’t going to inspire another person.  me – i’m drawn to and inspired by someone who is charismatic, yet caring.  others may be inspired by the quiet person.  and, inspiration doesn’t occur everyday, yes, we are all terribly human, and i can understand someone having a bad day, or even a bad semester.

so, yeah.  this inspiration thing was the biggest thing that came from my aect experience.  not just from professors, but also seeking out inspiration in my own work, on my own.  and i am.  i’m excited for next semester and the possibilities that await.

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mess and more.

1 October 2007 at 11.54 pm · Filed under oer

this is a quick post, because it’s late. consider this more of a place holder.

i had a good time at the open education conference this past week. i made some nice connections with people, expand my own ideas, and had some ideas confirmed. it was nice to know that i’m not the only one thinking about the things i’m thinking about.

during one presentation the idea of being messy came up. social networks are messy – and thusly the social networks we hope to grow around educational content are going to be messy as well. my thought about that idea is – that when it comes to learning we really aren’t given permission to be messy. in educational settings, to be messy is to fail. to be messy is to get the grade we don’t want to get. it is the rare classroom that the messy are the top students, those that are the top students are the neat ones.

this neatness is encouraged, at least from what i’ve seen, in our formal institutions of learning. from pre-k through the phd, cleanliness is encouraged, and expected. i was talking to a friend after the presentation and i told her that the one place i felt i could be messy was in my relationship with the chair of my phd committee, but as i’m writing this, while i can be messy in that relationship, i try not to be. i try to follow the system. i try to make sure that everything i give to my chair to review is as neat as possible, is clean and doesn’t need much fixing.

so what are we to do? how are we to encourage mess in learning? how do we let people that yes, it is okay to be messy? well. then there’s the whole discussion of changing our own thought patterns about learning, which will eventually begin to change our institutions of learning. i know that there are people who are already doing this, and it needs to become more wide spread. i need to accept that i can be messy in my learning.

as i’m writing this i’m watching a documentary on the whirling dervishes. very very cool. she says at one point that at the beginning of silence is chaos. i think there may be something we can learn from this chaos, from this chaotic meditation, the trance of the dervishes. the mess that this meditation looks like. through this chaos they are able to reach a place of complete peace. this chaos leads them to a place of great knowledge and understanding. pretty cool, eh?

i’ll leave you with this final, not at all related thought, just because it is so beautiful:

i discovered that the roots of hate and destruction emanate from the human mind, not from god. with the power of faith, no force or tyrant can stop anyone from following their hearts. ~ the narrator of the documentary ‘the mystic iran’

hmm. maybe this wasn’t just a place holder, eh?

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permaculture.

24 June 2007 at 10.41 pm · Filed under permaculture

I just added a new blog over on my blogroll -> The Green V. It’s the blog of a fellow I know through my participation in the Heart of Now Community. He’s got an interesting mix of personal, social, sustainability, and net-life commentary. It’s good stuff. One interesting bit of content he’s working on is his ‘PermaClips’, how to videos on permaculture. I’m not sure if he’ll be charging for access to the content or not.. I hope not, because it promises to be some good stuff (I got to see one of the first ones last year). And important dissemination of information to those of us who can’t seem to get to Lost Valley’s Ecovillage Permaculture Certification Program, or other workshops of similiar content.

At this point I don’t know much about permaculture, just that it’s a movement towards living more sustainably with Mother Earth. I do think though, that any movement that is that focused on Sustainability can lend something to others of us looking to build sustainable models around business, education, etc. At some point during this PhD process it is my intention to take time to head to LVEC for at least their 2 week course, though I’d rather go longer, so I can figure out what the links are between sustainable open education and sustainable living with Mother Earth.

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no, it’s not the final answer

10 May 2007 at 12.38 pm · Filed under culture, localization, metadata, reusability

it seems to me as though if we could do a few things as far as metadata around culture that could help with reuse for that particular element.

  • define how much cultural context is embedded within an object
  • define the specific cultural context of the material, and – at this point – limit that definition to the major sub-cultural groups within the united states (euro-american – the dominant one, hispanic, asian american, african american, native american), with an understanding that, yes, there are more cultures in the united states.. and also with the understanding that just like there are languages with different dialects, there are different expressions of culture based on a lot of factors that i won’t go into here. {edited to add.. throw in the folksonomy work here.}
  • define the size of the object.. by doing this the finder of the object has an idea of what kind of task they have ahead of them as far as reusing the object.

yes. its just a beginning. i’ll test the ideas around here, see what people think.

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