On "The Machine Is (Changing) Us"

"In the midst of a fabulous array of historically unprecedented and utterly mind-boggling stimuli... whatever."

This quote applies, historically, to most of history. (While we know the Renaissance as, well, the Renaissance, I'm sure the majority of the bodice-and-jerkin crowd were less interested in the evolution of artistic culture and modern reason than getting through the day without contracting syphilis -- maybe the Internet age will fare so well in history's estimation.) Great leaps in technology are, by definition, unprecedented. Still, here's a fascinating explanation of ennui and narcissism as end-products of one's anonymous existence in a physically disconnected world, especially in the context of daily-emerging technologies that forever alter the landscape of human communications. At least until the next thing comes along.

I'm looking at you, YouTube. Dr. Wesch himself offers the caveat that "over 99% is irrelevant to you," threatening the "negation of all horizons of significance." And here we are again, with me wondering how the internet evolves now from "everyone says anything all the time" to "everyone has something to say and a place to say it." Compared to dumb ol' teevee, the "cultural conversation" offered by the internet has always been multi-directional and chaotically democratic. And I agree wholly with Dr. Wesch's thesis: identity is defined by relations to others; new media allows new ways to relate to others; new media therefore allows new understanding of the self.

But does the internet merely offer the illusion of engagement? As more engage digitally, may individuals become disconnected cognitively as well as physically? Do we respond with the same expressed self-importance facing impotence of the self, despite, or even hastened by, truly open dialogue? Or is it enough? Or will it become something else entirely?

If it leads to dystopia, I prefer both the Orwellian State-controlled truth and Huxley's world of empty pleasures (where the "truth is drowned in irrelevance") to any future where the truth doesn't really matter because of all the zombies or cannibals. (I'm looking at you, "The Road.")

On Publishing Student Work Online, The Importance Of

Our instructor, who art in Cloud, poses the question: "Why is important for students to post their work to blogs (or in other ways)?"



This YouTube video so impressed Fleetwood Mac songstress Stevie Knicks that she invited the students to perform with her at Madison Square Garden. So, obviously, the reason you should post student work to the web is "So you can meet Stevie Knicks." Question answered! I'll be at the bar.

Most importantly: great education demands frequent, positive reinforcement. Period. Prospective teachers hear it constantly, in every education class, and even the barest experience bears it out -- students won't succeed without praise, support, and encouragement, and it's your job to heap it on them, because for some kids, no one else will. The good news? By sharing their work online, the WHOLE WORLD can encourage their efforts. We only need to look again at Kaia's story to see what impact even a single post may have. My science fair projects never enjoyed international acclaim, but you can bet that if they did, I'd be building hydroelectric dams left and right (And this time, it'd friggin' work. I wondered then why my teacher kept calling it "That dam project of yours.")

Second: to innovate, we need evidence of what works and what doesn't. The internet is many things: an infinite resource of information, a boundary-free public medium of personal expression, the strangest and most comprehensive shopping mall conceivable, a chainsaw attack upon print media and copyright protection, and, often, totally creepy. As a research tool, it's revolutionary and indispensable. To develop stronger practices and methods, we must experiment and share the evidence widely. The internet frees educational research from the heady bondage of academia and scholarly journals, giving actual teachers practical (and practicable) methods and classroom strategies. As Mr. Pausch demonstrated, we are graced with new ideas, and can see how students respond to them in real time.

Third: Responsible thinkers continuously reflect upon what they've done, and retroactively learn from experience. Teachers, who teach other people how to think, really should be responsible thinkers, dedicated to improving their craft and expanding their consciousness. (Please note that despite my word choice, I"m not subtly endorsing self-medication -- I just mean, y'know, reading more and stuff.) By archiving student work online, teachers not only reexamine and reflect upon the process and results, but may receive insightful commentary from outside parties or students themselves, commenting upon their own work. A classroom blog is a portfolio with a heartbeat, if not redefining the hoary term "living document," then at least bringing the concept closer to reality with the Frankensteinian application of electric current: unpredictable, with thought independent of its creator.

Above: your classroom blog. (Please note: it's alive.)

On ACCESS

What is ACCESS? Short answer: an acronym for the Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide program. Better answer: ACCESS is an initiative launched in 2004 to implement distance learning in Alabama high schools, offering students greater curricular opportunity and flexibility. Students can freely access (see how that works?) more advanced studies (such as AP and dual-credit courses), courses of study otherwise unavailable to them, and remedial and supplemental resources, while teachers can access (there it is again!) multimedia content and resources to enhance instruction.

ACCESS hopes, eventually, to prove a "21st century distance learning classroom for every Alabama high school," serving 45,000 students. This classroom would include:

• Cameras and projectors
• Interactive, portable, wireless whiteboards
• At least 25 tablet computers
• Wireless connectivity
• Installation, on-site service, warranty, technical support, and equipment training/reference materials
• Specialized training for administrators, guidance counselors, and other school personnel on the project, and well as "E-teachers."

Anyone else think it's interesting that ACCESS thinks their model 21st century classroom should offer all of the above (instead of, for example, chalk and fire ants) and yet, the 21st century is already 10% kaput? The phrase "21st century," meant as shorthand for THE FANTASTIC WORLD OF TOMORROW, had a sell-by date, and it's starting to sour.