tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61402778474096680432024-03-13T08:32:08.068-04:00Tony BrainstormsThoughts on Learning, Teaching, and EngineeringAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-38122315570094359932017-01-03T11:04:00.003-05:002017-01-03T11:05:03.838-05:00YOUtopia<br />
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The factory is empty. Schools make factory workers. Now what?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjk8N_X8X2xL8tybMah3SJiz9NyvrIDvfld32JouFzIz1Jeg_Fc3t6X1owxWxseGO9ppduts_TYj6_GQtEaTUI-EtUrmgCPqgXXpQ3mZZxsgsElhSP7kag060Ul7WlNMXrbCk4Kzkdy7P/s1600/lost-places-1495150_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjk8N_X8X2xL8tybMah3SJiz9NyvrIDvfld32JouFzIz1Jeg_Fc3t6X1owxWxseGO9ppduts_TYj6_GQtEaTUI-EtUrmgCPqgXXpQ3mZZxsgsElhSP7kag060Ul7WlNMXrbCk4Kzkdy7P/s320/lost-places-1495150_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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[Reposted with permission from <a href="http://www.tonyferrar.com/2017/01/03/youtopia/" target="_blank">tonyferrar.com</a>.]</div>
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In his manifesto on teaching and learning, Seth Godin points out that</div>
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Factories didn't happen because there were schools; schools happened because there were factories. </blockquote>
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The reason so many people grow up to look for a job is that the economy has needed people who would grow up to look for a job. </blockquote>
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<i>Jobs were invented before workers were invented.</i> </blockquote>
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In the post-job universe, workers aren't really what we need more of, but schools remain focused on yesterday's needs.</blockquote>
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<i>Seth Godin, Stop Stealing Dreams</i></div>
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In the early 1900's the US lead the way to industry. We created something completely new: the idea of mass production, interchangeable parts, interchangeable assembly line workers. The artisan was no longer required to build cars, or toothbrushes. Through this innovation, everyone gained access to more, plenty. The result was the most prosperous century in the history of the world.</div>
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A hundred years later, the US no longer holds the monopoly on factories. We've led the way, and others have followed. This isn't a bad thing. The world has raced to the bottom: who can make a toothbrush the cheapest?</div>
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Now, we are free to develop a new idea. Creative destruction is never pleasant, but I don't think anyone would argue that they miss the jobs lost to the cotton gin.</div>
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A common theme in Utopian literature and film is that technology has reduced the need for people to do many tasks. They are no longer needed to cook, clean, perform surgery, build houses. Yet most of these stories act as warnings, not beacons of hope.</div>
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In the post-industrial utopian society, identity is lost. Everyone wears a jumpsuit. Your role in society is decided by a central authority which seeks to optimize. In many of these stories, people are given numbers rather than names.</div>
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And in every one of them, the central authority tries to keep things running smoothly by crushing art, individualism, and passion. Pretty bleak.</div>
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Fact: we live in a society that is post-industrial. Our great idea panned out perfectly and is in the process of reaching its natural conclusion. Everyone has everything (at least in terms of wants/needs of the early 1900's, which are what industrialism can provide).</div>
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Its time to create the next great idea. What is it?</div>
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Maybe it has something to do with connection (the internet). Maybe the next great idea involves doing the opposite of what Utopia warns against.</div>
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We're living in a moment of time, the first moment of time, when a billion people are connected, when your work is judged (more than ever before) based on what you do rather than who you are, and when credentials, access to capital, and raw power have been dwarfed by the simple question "Do I care about what you do?" </blockquote>
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We build this world for you. Not so you would watch more online videos, keep up on your feeds, and LOL with your high school friends. We built it so you could do what you're capable of. Without apology and without excuse.</div>
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Go.</div>
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<i>Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception</i></div>
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We don't need to fit the mold, <i>we need artists</i>. We don't need more interchangeable workers, <i>we need customizers</i>. We don't need teachers, <i>we need guides to show us how to live out our passions.</i> We don't need to create a solution for everyone, <i>we need to create a unique solution for someone</i>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-52714506824829876732016-11-24T18:05:00.004-05:002016-11-24T18:05:51.333-05:00Freedom is Wasted on the Free<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Youth is wasted on the young.”</div>
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I am constantly amazed that every four years in America, we have a “Get Out the Vote” campaign. We give ourselves a good pep rally reminding ourselves that “Freedom isn’t free” and “if you don’t vote, you don’t have a right to complain.” We have to convince ourselves to exercise our freedoms, to get off the couch and say something with our one precious vote.</div>
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And time and again we see that one vote actually matters.</div>
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Well, voting isn’t the only freedom we tend to overlook. The First Amendment gives you the right to say whatever you want, without the fear of persecution. Rather than exercising this freedom by adding to the discourse, we follow the lead of “them.” We bicker on Facebook and Twitter and the news comment feeds. Safe places where we don’t really stand out from the noise, we do what’s expected, and we enjoy a big dose of digital courage.</div>
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Its easy to be a critic: you don’t risk anything. Its much harder to stand up and make something new. Making something new puts <i>your</i> skin in the game. Now <i>you</i> are risking the response of critics. </div>
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Your freedom comes with the something so much more precious than the right to critique: you have the chance to add something new. Not just another armchair quarterback. You can create, and share. We have the tools to reach anyone in the world with our ideas, and yet we choose to limit them to arguments with people we “like” on social media. </div>
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It costs us nothing. Anyone can create a public space to share his or her ideas for free, in 15 minutes or less. And everyone should.</div>
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Your voice counts. <a href="https://youtu.be/-fVDGu82FeQ" target="_blank">If a kid saying the word “blood” can catch the attention of millions</a>, why can’t your one precious perspective? Consider writing. You can write something and share it with the rest of the world. </div>
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“Conventional Wisdom” is really just a collection of things that we, as a people, repeat often enough that we remember them. You can add to this collected work. But it requires saying something, risking something, rather than just critiquing the thoughts of others.</div>
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We need your ideas! Create a blog. Say something new.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-26249234457023495412016-11-21T10:10:00.002-05:002016-11-21T10:10:42.585-05:00Withdrawal<div>
Today is an odd day for me. I am withdrawing from two “opportunities." One is a paper for a conference, the other is a job application.</div>
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The paper represents the typical academic currency, keeps the “publish or perish” ledger in the black. The job represents my last offer to enter into the industrial research machine, and make the unremarkable changes that come from a place of absolute safety.</div>
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Both represent opportunity to move up a rung in the safe, professional ladder I have been climbing. There is a “typical” or “traditional” track to follow which is the expected and (seemingly safe) trajectory for my career, the natural continuation of the path that led me to this point. This path leads directly into the machine, and offers the opportunity to become a cog. </div>
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Cog (n) /kawg/ A crucial, but easily replaced part of a machine. Only noticed when it doesn’t work.</div>
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I can’t help but notice that if I don’t send the paper, the conference will go on. No one will miss it so much that they decide not to attend. The job opening that was “created just for me” came with so little communication and urgency that I have to wonder if this is just a sales pitch, a way to make me feel like a winner as I settle. Someone else will take the job. The factory owner wins when highly talented people join the “cog list” as employees. It is the highly talented new employee who suffers. This person must hand over the keys to his dreams in exchange for a “safe” career, with well-defined promotion tracks based on years of service rather than impact.</div>
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In either place, it is easy to test just how cog-like the opportunities are: If I walk away, will the long-term outcome change? 10 years from now, will it matter that someone else published their paper, or someone else took that job? Inverting the question: if I don’t do the work that I plan to do instead of these two “opportunities,” will the world miss that? I think so.</div>
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Today is especially strange for me because these two “opportunities” represent my last open lines to that safe track to cubeville. Letting go may actually burn the bridges, leaving me fully committed to the uncertain life of following MY purpose. Not someone else’s purposes. Not the expected path that has been trodden countless times. I’ll have no one to boss me, no one to blame for my success or failure.</div>
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But I’ll have a chance to matter.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-5485774000209525322016-04-28T09:05:00.000-04:002016-04-28T09:05:01.058-04:00There's Someone In My Head<div style="text-align: justify;">
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I couldn’t resist. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Pink Floyd inspired post...</div>
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For effect, feel free to play <a href="https://youtu.be/pnExahMPPFI" target="_blank">Brain Damage</a> as you read the rest of this.</div>
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I’ve got voices in my head. They speak to me all the time. They think they are keeping me safe, but in reality they are <b>not</b> my friends. They are not capable of speaking in my best interest. It’s not their fault. They aren’t evil. Just stupid.</div>
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We listen to the voices in our heads because of instinct. They started out smart, telling us to stay out of traffic, away from high ledges. They learn from pain, or from witnessing of pain. I burned my hand in fire, so the voices in my head tell me not to put my hand in fire. I am afraid to put my hand in fire. I saw someone fall from a high place and hurt themselves. The voices in my head tell me not to go to high places. I am afraid of high places.</div>
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But then we get hurt emotionally. Maybe an idea we have is criticized. Maybe someone tells us we aren’t good at something. The voices learn from this pain, too. And so they start to tell us not to put our ideas out there. Or they tell us not to try something. We become afraid to put our ideas out there, afraid to try something.</div>
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Theres a problem with this: physical pain is governed by physical laws. <b>Every</b> time I stick my hand in the fire, I will get burned. The voices are right <b>every</b> time that I think about sticking my hand in the fire and they tell me not to.</div>
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Emotional pain is more complex. Maybe you truly had a bad idea. Does that mean that <b>every</b> idea you have is bad? Of course not, but the voices aren’t smart enough to keep up. They are saying, <span style="color: red;">“don’t get burned again.”</span></div>
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Maybe your idea wasn’t even bad. Maybe the person who criticized you had the problem. They’ve got voices too. Maybe you threatened their sense of self-worth, or expertise. What was the criticism, really? Would <b>everyone</b> think it was a bad idea, or was the person you spoke with narrow-minded?</div>
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See, every human interaction has an infinite number of possible outcomes and nuances. They won’t <b>always</b> reject your idea. They won’t <b>always</b> criticize you. Which means the voices in your head won’t <b>always</b> be right.</div>
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The only way to find the people who <b>want</b> your ideas is to keep putting them out there. And this requires you to be smarter than the voices in your head. This requires you to tell the voices to SHUT UP!</div>
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Well, I’ve asked thousands of people over the years, "What do your voices tell you?” and I’ve learned something: no one has a positive internal voice.</blockquote>
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<i><a href="http://acuff.me/books/" target="_blank">START</a>, Chapter 3</i></div>
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<i>Jon Acuff</i></div>
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There’s someone in my head, but its not me.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-83277130623183875432015-08-27T17:52:00.001-04:002015-08-27T17:52:20.363-04:00The world WHYd web<div style="text-align: justify;">
What is it about the world wide web that has us so enthralled? What is it about people like <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/" target="_blank">Vannevar Bush</a> that holds our attention for 70 YEARS? What is is about songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Imagine," and "Stairway to Heaven" that makes them classics?<br />
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Wrong Question.<br />
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The right question is also the answer: WHY?<br />
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WHY does the world wide web have us so enthralled? WHY do people like <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/" target="_blank">Vannevar Bush</a> hold our attention for 70 YEARS? WHY are songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Imagine," and "Stairway to Heaven" classics?<br />
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Simon Sinek makes the critical observation that we often spend too much time thinking about the WHATs of life. He says that psychologically, we don't ACT on WHATs.<br />
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We act on WHY's. The Question of WHY comes from our deepest selves. Its the reason that so many great leaders have been recognized at great: They don't make arguments based solely on logic. Logic focuses on the WHATs. The truly great leaders and thinkers start with a very different message: They start with WHY. And it speaks to our souls.<br />
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In his article, "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/" target="_blank">As We May Think</a>" Vannevar Bush makes predictions. That's what we get excited about now that we get to Monday Morning Quarterback his 70 year old treatise on what computers and information could be. Do you think he is the only one to have dreamed? Is he the only one who predicted the information age? Doubtful.<br />
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The magic of Bush is that he starts with WHY:<br />
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Of what lasting benefit has been man's use of science and of the new instruments which his research brought into existence? First, they have increased his control of his material environment. Thy have improved his food, his clothing, his shelter; they have increased his security and released him partly from the bondage of bare existence. They have given him increased knowledge of his own biological processes so that he has had a progressive freedom from disease and an increased span of life. They are illuminating the interactions of his physiological and psychological functions, giving the promise of an improved mental health.</blockquote>
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Science has provided the swiftest communication between individuals; it has provided a record of ideas and has enabled man to manipulate and to make extracts from that record so that knowledge evolves and endures throughout the life of a race rather than that of an individual.</blockquote>
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<i>As We May Think</i></div>
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<i>Vannevar Bush</i></div>
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<i>July, 1945</i></div>
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Let's face it. Computers and the internet are just tools. 1's and 0's. Electrons moving about, following very well predicted and understood rules. Keyboards, mice, screens. These are the WHATs of a computer. The WHY is the reason that we're all glued to them. As <a href="https://twitter.com/GardnerCampbell" target="_blank">@GardnerCampbel</a> loves to say,<br />
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<b>A computer is a thing that can be any other thing.</b><br />
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Vannevar opens his discussion of WHAT we should do with an incredibly powerful WHY. He elevates us to dream of a better world: free of disease, <span style="font-size: large;">knowledge that evolves and endures beyond the life of an individual</span>, <span style="font-size: x-large;">being released from the bondage of bare existence!!!</span><br />
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Take a look at the media that matters to you. Texts, historical speeches, songs, movies, video games. Which blogs and articles get the most genuine engagement on the web? Which courses in college were most important to you? The things that matter most to us, that we allow to stick with us and shape our identities resonate with the unique WHY that resides in our souls.<br />
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<b>Want to craft a compelling argument? Start with your WHY. Share your WHY.</b><br />
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<b>Want to make a difference? Find your WHY. Act from your WHY.</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-77776256418428512162015-08-13T12:41:00.000-04:002015-08-13T12:41:27.663-04:00Poorfeckshun hertz stoodenz lurnang<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Hello. My name is Tony Brainstorms, and I am a perfectionist. It has been over 31 years since my last perfect action, but only 31 seconds since the last time I expected perfect action of myself. I've been wrestling with a question lately:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Did I get where I am thanks to, or in spite of my perfectionism?</b></span></div>
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What brought on these thoughts? Well, I recently completed my PhD. I am in the process of chopping my 346-page dissertation into digestible chunks in an effort to build up my wealth in the most important of academic currencies: peer-reviewed journal articles. It took me about two weeks of re-reading, highlighting, and outlining to identify 19 potential articles.</div>
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Along the way I've conducted two "straw polls" that relate: first, I have determined that my dissertation is about twice as long as typical (at least for my field). Second, most people will write somewhere between 2 and 4 articles from their dissertation work. At first I was quite proud of myself. I convinced myself that these statistics showed my PhD to be superior to others (ahem). Now I see them as symptoms of a severe problem: I am a perfectionist.</div>
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When I was writing my dissertation, I couldn't stomach the thought that a single good idea or bit of analysis I had done be left out. As I now try to break it into articles, I can't accept the idea that a single potential paper slip through the cracks. I just spent the last 2 weeks writing the rough draft of the first of these papers. 2 weeks. At this rate I'll spend the next year doing nothing other than working on these articles.</div>
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I think it is clear to see that something needs to change or I'll never get on to doing new and important work. And by the way, this isn't a new problem. It took me over 6 years to finish my PhD. I can see now that I have perfectionism to thank for that as well.</div>
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How did this happen? First, I am happy to admit that my personality lends itself to perfectionism the way that others' may be predisposed to alcoholism. However, I believe that my educational experience reinforced these tendencies.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Our education system encourages perfectionism and rewards the negative behaviors it leads to. The results are stunted growth and a false sense that perfection is real. If only we worked harder, we could achieve it.</b></span></div>
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I recently had a conversation about grading. My colleague and I were trying to determine what an 87% (B) compared to an 88% (B+) <i>means</i>. After a bit more digestion, I've realized that the grading system encourages perfectionism.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The grading system tells us (falsely) that we can be perfect at something.</b></span></div>
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I can know 100% of a subject. Anything less than that is due to a MISTAKE that I made. How many times do well-meaning teachers try to motivate students by telling them, "I believe you all can get A's. You all start with 100% in my class. It is up to you whether or not you keep it."</div>
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A common example that we see in engineering: students are <i>wildly</i> uncomfortable with the idea of rounding or estimating values. When solving problems (I hate that language, by the way), students try to (1) find the "right" equation, (2) substitute the "right" values, and (3) compute the "right" final answer. Their calculators spit out a number that looks something like "445.54860302940912" and they write it down and draw a box around it.</div>
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If we are lucky, we might convince students that writing down the units of the final answer is important (i.e. "445.54860302940912 <i>miles</i>"). The part that eludes the student is that by writing this answer, they are implying that 0.00000000000002 miles (smaller than 1 quadrillionth of an inch) is somehow relevant when compared to 445 miles. And then we bemoan their lack of critical thinking.</div>
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Whose fault is this anyhow? "My students are uncomfortable with rounding and estimating." NO KIDDING! LOOK HOW YOU TEST THEM!</div>
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Freshmen courses at large universities have more in common with going to the movies than going to class. 600 students cram into a giant lecture hall and watch a person on stage perform calculus lectures. They go back to their dorms and try to solve the homework problems. The dedicated few email a question, or attend office hours. 3-4 times in the semester they come in and take multiple choice MATH tests that have 10 options per question. Often these options only differ by a small amount to prevent "cheating" or "lucky guesses." Their grade in the course is simply the summation of the number of these questions they managed to get correct.</div>
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And so John gets an 87% and Jane gets an 88% and they both move on with their lives. Is Jane better at calculus than Joe? What does "better" mean? One thing is certain. The students are striving for over 93% so they can get an "A," a 4.0 GPA, a B.S. Summa Cum Laude, and a J-O-B.</div>
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<b>We obsess over grades as the magic elixir that will unlock (or banish forever) our dreams.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>We should be teaching students to learn and live in a way that reflects reality: Exactness doesn't matter.</b></span></div>
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If you're a non-engineer reading this, don't let this statement scare you out of flying on an airplane or trusting the bridge you're about to drive over. The truth is, there is a reason we have the concept, "good enough."</div>
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The idea that the equations themselves are built on assumptions that simplify the situation is very uncomfortable for students. They believe that equations should be able to exactly predict behavior, and so they plug the numbers into their calculators and take the output as <i>exactly what will happen</i>. The big problem is, we can never exactly measure the behavior to prove that we got it right. How far is it across the room you're sitting in? 12 feet? 12.1 feet? 12.01 feet? You can always get a more accurate measuring device and go further. Eventually you are comparing distances at the atomic level.</div>
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To make the measurement useful, we need to define an acceptable level of "not knowing" and move forward. For example, when building a bridge, computing the stresses in a certain bolt to exact precision is not only a waste of time, it is impossible. The real question to be answered is: "how should this bolt be designed (material, size, thread count, torque, etc.) so that we can be 100% certain that the bridge won't fall down?" We need to balance that consideration with the economics of the situation (we can't build every bridge with 3-foot diameter, solid titanium bolts). Does answering this question require computing the "exact" stresses in the bolt? No. It involves making an appropriately accurate estimate.</div>
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I apologize for the lengthy engineering example, its most comfortable for me. This concept applies to other fields as well. For example, does my grammar have to be perfect? I'm sure it isn't. I, use, commas, way, too, much. The real question to ask is: What is the purpose of my writing? To communicate. The goal then isn't perfect grammar, but communication of the ideas (which is inexact to begin with since everyone consumes every idea through a number of lenses based on the experiences and performances of the message sender as well as the receiver). Yet we grade most written assignments with a disproportionate emphasis on grammar. Loosing a point (out of 100) for a bad comma in a 10-page paper about the civil war teaches students that commas (grammatical precision) are more important than ideas.</div>
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Am I advocating grammatical anarchy? Of course not, or we couldn't communicate our ideas. However, we need to teach our students that good enough is good enough. Should a policy maker attempting to solve poverty in our cities spend an hour researching ideas, talking to poor people, brainstorming polices to help, or editing their papers for proper semicolon use?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>By encouraging the pursuit of perfection, our educational structure distracts from actual useful thinking.</b></span></div>
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The funny thing is that (at least in engineering) we start out teaching freshmen this idea. Then we spend the next three years trying to demolish it with grading policies designed to enable large-scale classes.</div>
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Freshmen engineering courses teach the ideas of defining requirements and goals for the thing the students are designing. Why do we teach this up front? I get the feeling that the answer is largely that "young students don't know enough physics to actually do engineering yet." So we throw them in this class first. The feeling I had when I finished it was "now I know what my boss will be doing someday while I actually engineer something."</div>
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The rest of the engineering program focuses on learning the physics. These courses are taught from the perspective of "getting the right answer." Students are encouraged to "find the right formula" for every problem so they get it right on the test. There is no discussion in these courses about determining the relative importance of the answers, or how accurately we might need to know something. This builds and builds until students want to compute EVERYTHING EXACTLY before ever beginning to build or test an idea.</div>
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Finally, we have a capstone senior project that supposedly brings back the ideas of generating requirements, defining the performance of our device. My experience was a group of students who had learned to play the game and get their desired grade with the minimum effort and critical thought. I don't believe the issue is motivation. I believe the issue is perfectionism. By now, the seniors have learned to chase perfection, and they are daunted by the idea. So much so that they don't even want to start.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Education promotes perfectionism, which is why so many of us procrastinate.</b></span></div>
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We perfectionists have a lot of trouble starting, and then completing projects. Why? Because the idea we have in our heads of what completion looks like seems so far out of reach. We know we will never catch a unicorn, yet we convince ourselves that only then will we successfully complete the project.</div>
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Somehow, we need to tear down the idea of perfection and instead learn that: </div>
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<b>good enough <i>really is</i> good enough.</b></div>
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(as a first exercise, I wrote this post in one sitting. I only proof-read once. Normally, I'd go for 10 or so revisions and take 3 writing sessions. Hence the reason you haven't heard from me since 2014. Cheers.)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-58322017011746695992014-11-18T14:21:00.000-05:002014-11-18T14:22:09.561-05:00Tony Brainstorms vs the Lizard Brain! (or Motivation in Higher Ed)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ok, no <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/05/tony-brainstorms-vs-snark.html" target="_blank">comic</a> this time, but I couldn't resist the title... Also, a shout out to <a href="https://twitter.com/shellifowler" target="_blank">@shellifowler</a> for the idea, she talks about "Lizard Brains" fairly often.</div>
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I had a weird realization as I started writing my <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2014/11/co-learning-act-of-creation.html" target="_blank">last post</a> about the difference between "Online Courses" and "Connected Courses". To be honest, I haven't been contributing (in the form of blog posts) in the substantive way I'd hoped and/or the course designers intended with their prompts. That's not the weird realization. The weird thought I've had is:</div>
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I'm not getting any negative feedback.</div>
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I've had some very positive discussions and comments come from the posts that I have managed to share, but no one's needling me to "get my productivity up... or else!" This is very strange in the context of a course in Higher Education.</div>
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My first thought in response was:</div>
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Sometimes I think we need negative feedback.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Triune Brain: Filters between Thought and Action</span></b></div>
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To understand why I felt this way, I'll first need to educate you a bit on a topic about which I actually have no earthly idea. But the image works and I like it. I make no claims to scientific accuracy here.</div>
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<a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/files/2012/09/TriuneBrainUpdate-8.9.2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/files/2012/09/TriuneBrainUpdate-8.9.2012.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/files/2012/09/TriuneBrainUpdate-8.9.2012.jpg" target="_blank">Scientific American</a></div>
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According to <a href="http://dangerandplaycom.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/reptillian-brain.jpg" target="_blank">this image</a>, the functions of the "Three Brains: are:</div>
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<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Neomammalian Complex: Rational or Thinking Brain</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Paleomammalian Complex: Emotional or Feeling Brain</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Reptilian Complex: Instinctual or Dinosaur Brain (I love that we've picked dinosaurs as the image for instinct. Why not bees, or tuna fish?)</li>
</ol>
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Let's treat the head as the place where decisions for action occur and the body as the mechanism for action. The path taken by an idea from inception to action passes through 3 filters:</div>
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<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A rational idea based on information we have and logical connection of past experience to new situations</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">An emotional filter in which we apply meaning to the proposed action</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">An instinctual filter that alters the action in the interest of self-preservation</li>
</ol>
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In other words, the Lizard Brain stands between logic, rationality, emotion, and action. As educators we seem to target the Rational or Thinking Brains of our students. We're starting to recognize the importance of the Emotional or Feeling Brain in terms of creativity and context-building. Unfortunately, I think most often we only end up appealing to our students' Reptilian Complexes.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Dangers of the Lizard Brain</span></b></div>
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There's a problem with the instinctual part of our brains. They aren't very smart. In fact, there are many times where we take actions in the interest of self-preservation that are actually more harmful than helpful (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma" target="_blank">The Prisoners' Dilemma</a>, for example).</div>
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The truth of life is that we are in a constant state of deciding what NOT to do. I'm writing this post at the moment. I've chosen (either actively or subconsciously) to not go jogging, analyze the data for my dissertation, or watch TV in front of the fire at this moment. There are actually an infinite number of things that I'm not doing right now, and only one that I am. </div>
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Life is filled with tradeoffs. How we manage them says a lot about who we are and what we value. Keep a log of how you spend your time for the next week and then reflect. Does the way you actually spend your time (the only resource you can never get more of) really reflect your values? Eek.</div>
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But there is a finer point on it. The Lizards in us twist the results of this exercise. They don't have any values beyond self-preservation. When faced with a trade between two actions the Lizard steers us toward that which it perceives to be most beneficial. When we chose an action that appears necessary but not truly reflective of our values, the Lizard tunes out our disappointment.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Wait, weren't we talking about Motivation and Co-Learning?</span></b></div>
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OK, back to where I started this post now. The weird thing about connected courses (compared to other courses I've taken) is that I'm not getting any negative feedback. My lizard brain can tune out my own disappointment with myself in the interest of practicality. My practicality can always find something more important than blogging. So I've participated as a spectator rather than a contributor or co-learner. And this is a course about a topic that I am passionate about! Instructors: do everything you can to create active, awesome, inclusive co-learning spaces. But remember, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Even if he loves it. How do I get past this!!??</div>
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Maybe sometimes we do need negative feedback ("you're not living up to your end of the deal, Tony B."). Co-learners need feedback. In a room of hundreds of people its easy to melt into the crowd and get left behind. These types of learning experiences as they exist require extreme motivation and discipline on the part of the student. Perhaps this is a reason for the low <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/10/new-study-low-mooc-completion-rates" target="_blank">MOOC completion rates</a>? There are very few consequences for not engaging fully (just a lump in your stomach, if you care).</div>
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To continue the self-deprecation, I thrive on positive feedback. That's how this blog came to exist. People responded strongly to some of the first things I wrote, which made me want to keep digging and keep writing. That's great for a while. But now I've worked myself up to need to write the next hit over just writing. I'm reminded of the incredibly <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/michael-jackson-bad-1987-cover-story/" target="_blank">poignant story</a> of Michael Jackson's crippling fear after "Thriller," wondering how he could ever top it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>External motivation always fails. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fear does not breed creativity. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Neither does praise.</b></span></div>
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Had the blogging "requirement" for <a href="http://connectedcourses.net/" target="_blank">this course</a> looked like a weekly participation grade things may have been different for me. If I knew each week's contribution was worth a certain, unrecoverable, portion of my grade I would have prioritized differently. Do we actually need the fear of an indelible grade to keep us going in the middle of the semester? It certainly produces a response in students. But is it genuine? What would I have to say if I were writing while being held for ransom by some elusive "A"?</div>
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On the flip side, we could view high grades as a reward to be earned rather than viewing low grades as a punishment for "poor" performance. This mentality is exactly what lead's to the "Thriller Effect." Fear of not getting praise for your next great work is just as crippling as fear of punishment.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fear is the business of the Lizard Brain.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">And the Lizard Brain isn't capable of reflective thought.</span></b></div>
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No matter what way we view grades (reward or punishment), they lead students to fear the results of trying, exploring, and taking risks. As long as we try to "motivate" students with repercussions for "getting the wrong answer," or "failing," we are appealing to their Lizard Brains. As long as we try to inspire creativity by rewarding "success" or "getting the right answer," we are feeding the Iguanas hiding at the tops of their spines. We are blocking the reflective thought of their Neomammalian Thinking Brains. We are stifling the context-building of their Paleomammalian Feeling Brains.</div>
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Students are strategizers. Rather than focusing on learning, they game the system. They are forced to. We're teaching time-management and making trade-offs by requiring that students do both.</div>
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"I can afford to lose points here so I can focus on earning the points over there that I really need."</blockquote>
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How can we elevate students' thinking?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Co-Learning as Co-Motivation</span></b></div>
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I've <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2014/11/co-learning-act-of-creation.html" target="_blank">already written</a> about the idea that in a co-learning environment co-creation is both a learning mechanism and a learning outcome.</div>
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Another learning mechanism and outcome of a connected course is co-motivation. An introspective experience in which the co-learners help each other form and discover their own motivations. This is not cheerleading each other to get homework done. This is reflecting in a co-learning environment on why, on building the context that motivates the individual, and sharing that context with other co-learners.</div>
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An important aspect of this is that the instructors are engaged and committed to the experience as well. Not as a game to trick students into opening up. Engagement from the instructors is critical to honestly empower learners, to break down the social structures plaguing most classrooms, and (most importantly) to model the constant flux of life. How many of you are doing what you're doing for the reasons you started out years ago? I'm not. That's OK and our students need to know it.</div>
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Imagine the following exchange. You can decide which line is spoken by the "student" and which by the "teacher".</div>
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"I hate calculus. I am only here because the Mechanical Engineering department requires me to be."</blockquote>
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"Perhaps we can explore that and find a deeper reason for why you would choose to grabble with a subject that is disinteresting to you on the surface." </blockquote>
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The goal of this co-motivation is to find true motivation that comes from within. Motivation that stems from something deeper than good feelings from peers or grades. Certainly something deeper than avoiding bad feelings that accompany low grades.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My Motivation</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(built in my experience as a co-learner)</span></b></div>
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I said earlier that had this course included a weekly grade based on productivity I would have managed my time MUCH differently. I actually wouldn't have taken the course at all so I could focus on my dissertation. The Chameleon in me would have hidden from ANYTHING that represented a guaranteed distraction. The point here is that I've had an incredible experience. The course structure empowered me to engage in the ways that were meaningful for me and my co-learners. We've created new artifacts that further flesh out the idea of a connected course. We've co-discovered more about our own motivations. </div>
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My motivation for co-participating in this course turned out to be the motivation for almost all of my current professional efforts. It's deeply personal and hard to put to words. But here's my best try:</div>
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Dear future students, I'm doing everything I can to get ready for you. Someday we are going to learn much more than how Thermodynamics works together. We're going to teach each other the meaning of it. We're going to create the meaning of it.</blockquote>
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We can see what happens when we act out of self-motivations rather than external pressures in this passage from "Michael Jackson: The Pressure to Beat It".</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">It's March 1987, and it's getting late.</span> Westlake Studio is deserted except for Michael, Quincy, Bubbles the chimpanzee, and a few technicians. "Smelly," as Jones calls Michael (possibly because the singer is so obsessively clean), still wants to lay down more vocal tracks. On the recording console in front of Quincy sits a comic strip clipped from a newspaper, the punch line to which reads: "Michael Jackson is 30 years old and he's never had a date." Michael picks it up and reads it. Then he puts it back gently and turns away. He seems hurt by the words. Half a beat passes, then he giggles like a schoolboy, and walks into the recording booth. </div>
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Alone in the semidarkness, illuminated softly by a single spotlight, he starts to sing. This, finally, is what it's all about. Somewhere out there Prince has finished his new record and Run-DMC are thinking about theirs and Walter Yetnikoff is learning to live with the CBS balance sheets. But that's some other place. Here, for now, none of that exists; there are no problems, no merchandise deals, no deadlines, no family rivalries. It's just Michael and the song. </div>
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Suddenly, he is no longer the dreamy, whispering recluse. He is no longer soft. He attacks the song, dancing, waving his hands, moving with unexpected power. He is in his own world, but for once, it's a world that others beside himself can believe in. For these few moments, at least, he is neither a joke nor an icon, just a very, very talented singer.</div>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/michael-jackson-bad-1987-cover-story/" target="_blank">Michael Jackson's 1987 SPIN Cover</a> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-65559522579023869782014-11-14T12:54:00.000-05:002014-11-14T12:54:24.482-05:00Co-Learning: An Act of Creation<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've finally figured out what a <a href="http://connectedcourses.net/thecourse/about-colearning/" target="_blank">connected course</a> is. And how different it is from an online course. I'll start by talking about what a connected course isn't. And then move on.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Connected Courses are not:</span></b></div>
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-A way of streamlining learning to make things more convenient for professors.</div>
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-Automated content delivery</div>
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-Scaled content delivery</div>
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My experience is that these are things you'll find in most online courses. A busy professor spends some time automating her class as he does in everything research-related. (<a href="http://xkcd.com/1205/" target="_blank">Side note: automation doesn't always save you real time</a>). After all, the First Law of Thermodynamics hasn't changed in centuries, why should how we present it? So we get some recorded lectures, slap together some homework assignments and reading materials, and we have an online class. I never have to give a lecture about the First Law again, sweet. Oh, you want me to handle bigger classes? No problem, recorded lectures don't lose impact when there are more students watching them.</div>
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Ok, let's be fair. There are some really great online classes, not everyone approaches them with my sarcastic attitude above.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Connected Course are an Act of Creation:</span></b></div>
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The distinction between an "Online Course" and a "Connected Course" for me is the co-learning environment. Its a question of motivation (more on that later). Co-learning environments blur the line between teacher and student. Its the TEACHER that approaches the course from a different perspective. And that changes how the students approach the course as well. Rather than throwing a bunch of materials out onto the web for students to consume and REGURGITATE in appropriate chunks, the teacher and students enter into an environment marked by DIGESTION that leads to CREATION. A result of a co-learning environment is the production of artifacts beyond a stack of graded assignments. The teacher recognizes the ability of the student body to contribute to his or her own learning. And inspires the students to do it.</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
“In order to be a teacher you've got to be a student first”
― Gary L. Francione<br />
— Dave Goldberg (@deg511) <a href="https://twitter.com/deg511/status/407937391731949568">December 3, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A Challenge to Co-Learning:</span></b></div>
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The challenge of a co-learning experience is that it requires the investment of the students not only in the digestion of content, but in the creation of it. It's not enough to sit back and consume the information that's presented. And that can be challenging to achieve.</div>
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You may note that I should be pointing that last statement in the mirror. And I am. I've been faithfully watching the #ccourses video sessions, reading the online materials, and.... thinking about them.</div>
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Why? Same reason I use for most excuses in my life: I'm busy trying to write a dissertation. "Yeah, we get it."</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recently read an article about "<a href="http://images.results.chronicle.com/Web/TheChronicleofHigherEducation/%7B07f58509-fda5-4308-9c01-ce2f755a8c8f%7D_GCC_Articles_booklet_LoRes.pdf" target="_blank">The No-Fail Secret to Writing a Dissertation</a>." Guess what it said:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WRITE!</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you spend your time trying to get the whole story together before you start writing, you'll severely hamstring yourself. I've spent months now trying to "figure out what my data means," and the best ways to present it. The problem is that:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"The writing is both the learning device and the outcome."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
-<i>Tony Brainstorms, on the day he finally got it.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We learn through writing. And we learn writing. OK, now change "writing" to "co-learning community engagement". Watching the class is not participating in the true learning objective. So, I guess now that I know that I've learned the real learning objective? Hmmm.....</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The point I'm really trying to make is that motivation is critical. I've been motivated to do a great many things for a great many reasons. In a connected course the real challenge is how to motivate the students properly to engage with the co-learning act of creation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summing Up:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A connected course is a co-learning environment that often uses the internet as a tool for connection and creating spaces of shared learning and creation. If we shift our thinking away from "online classes" as tools for saving the professors' time and towards a student-centered approach, we will find ourselves leveraging the power of the web to build powerful connections that reach far beyond the course and produce new knowledge along the way. Co-learning is the act of creation, rather than regurgitation, of content.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A big challenge that I've experienced in this type of course is motivation. Not a lack of motivation in general, but a challenge in prioritizing my efforts in a course with no grades.<br />
<br />
Ohhh boy, we've just hit on something....its time for another grading/motivation discussion, and I can't wait.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Thanks for tuning in.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(very soon, you'll find a follow-on post related to motivation in co-learning environments, cheers)</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-68539538311174935312014-10-24T13:39:00.006-04:002014-10-24T13:39:56.022-04:00The Open Academic Journal<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hi everyone. This is a short one, but I'm riled up and need to share. I recognize that I am late to the conversation and that there are probably MANY facets of this that I am not considering. For all of you who are engaged with this issue already, keep fighting the good fight. And sign me up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Disclaimers aside, my experience watching a <a href="http://youtu.be/vXr-2hwTk58" target="_blank">documentary about Aaron Swartz</a> has me deeply moved.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>WHAT ARE WE THINKING!?</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here in academics a large portion of our productivity is measured in publications. Conference presentations, conference papers, peer-reviewed journals, books. The publications that I have produced will cost a person $35-85 per copy (no, I don't get any of that). In order to be published I sign away my copyrights to the publisher, and they charge what "the market" allows them for copies. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's the crazy part: ALL of my research was/is funded ultimately by US tax dollars. You read that right. You (presuming you're a US taxpayer) supported my, and many other, research programs. But in order to access the results YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE! Or become a "member" of a university community (i.e. enroll and pay tuition). Even if my research were privately funded we have some serious questions to answer regarding the function of University Research.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The easy way to say this is that many people have zero chance of accessing the bulk of human thought, research, and development. Ever. Would you pay $85 for an article you <i>might</i> be interested in? What if you lived in a country where you were lucky to make that amount of money in a month?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Someday I hope to hold a position as a professor. I have a long and storied set of reasons for this career choice that you can find hidden in my other posts, or in a unified post someday (if I ever manage to put words to all of this at once). In order to earn that position I'll need to produce a number of peer-reviewed research publications.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To become a professor at a educational institution I'll need to produce new thought, new technology, and/or advance the human condition in some way. I'll then need to take this contribution and write about it. Then I'll hand it off to a series of (much appreciated) peer-reviewers. After we've got it worked out and perfect,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'll hide it forever, <span style="font-size: x-small;">unless you pay my publisher lots of money</span>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aaron, I'm sorry. And I promise I'll do what I can. More will come of this.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-9077247549938658332014-09-29T19:30:00.000-04:002014-09-29T19:34:21.432-04:00Time Travel, Recursion, and The Best Instructions Ever<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Dedicated to Maurice F Durfee and Paul Montalbano,</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>January, 2014</b><br />
<br />
So I started writing this post in August (2013). Then the busyness of the Fall Semester hit, and this went on hold. So before I get rolling, I'd like to take this chance to invite you to reflect with me a bit. Picture yourself in August. Where were you? What were you doing? Did you have a good summer? In August, where did you picture you'd be at this point? Are you there?<br />
<br />
I'd just come off a summer filled with long work hours at the lab. Anyone who's tried to earn a PhD through an experimental study can probably sympathize. Lots of building, wiring, running hoses, debugging acquisition code, and making plans. At the time, I didn't feel like I had much to show for it all. The project was behind, the experiments weren't run, and when asked the question, "When are you graduating?", I pushed my guess back yet again (come on May 2014!).<br />
<br />
Now, I'm happy to say that things are on track. The experiment is working well (knocking on everything made of wood around me), data is flowing, analysis is happening, and I'm actually where I'd hoped to be! In addition, I'm working half time with a group on campus hoping to lead the Learning Revolution, rethinking what we're doing in higher education, and how we might do better than ever before.<br />
<br />
<b>May, 2014</b><br />
<br />
So I resumed writing this post in January (2014). Then the busyness of the Spring Semester hit, and this went on hold. So before I get rolling, I'd like to take this chance to invite you to reflect with me a bit. Picture yourself in January. Where were you? What were you doing? Did you have a good Fall? In January, where did you picture you'd be at this point? Are you there?<br />
<br />
I'd just come off a Fall filled with long work hours at the lab. Anyone who's tried to earn a PhD through an experimental study can probably sympathize. Lots of building, wiring, running hoses, debugging acquisition code, and making plans. At the time, I didn't feel like I had much to show for it all. The project was behind, the experiments weren't run, and when asked the question, "When are you graduating?", I pushed my guess back yet again (come on December 2014!).<br />
<br />
Now, I'm happy to say that things are on track. The experiment is working well (knocking on everything made of wood around me), data is flowing, analysis is happening, and I'm actually where I'd hoped to be! Unfortunately, I'm no longer working half time with a group on campus hoping to lead the Learning Revolution, rethinking what we're doing in higher education, and how we might do better than ever before. I hope I can get back there some day.<br />
<br />
<b>September, 2014</b><br />
<br />
So I (re)resumed writing this post in May (2014). Then the busyness of the Summer hit, and this went on hold. So before I get rolling, I'd like to take this chance to invite you to reflect with me a bit. Picture yourself in May. Where were you? What were you doing? Did you have a good Spring? In May, where did you picture you'd be at this point? Are you there?<br />
<br />
I'd just come off a Spring filled with long work hours at the lab. Anyone who's tried to earn a PhD through an experimental study can probably sympathize. Lots of building, wiring, running hoses, debugging acquisition code, and making plans. At the time, I didn't feel like I had much to show for it all. The project was behind, the experiments weren't run, and when asked the question, "When are you graduating?", I simply responded by asking "How much do you weigh?" (both questions evoke the same self-conscious feelings). (come on December 2014!)<br />
<br />
Now, I'm happy to say that things are. The experiment worked, data flowed, analysis is happening, and I'm actually writing. Did I measure everything I hoped for? No. Did I get enough? I think so. <b>Will my dissertation change the world?</b> Probably not. <b>But I will</b>. Fortunately, I'm back spending some time with a group on campus leading the Learning Revolution, rethinking what we're doing in higher education, and how we might do better than ever before. Best 3 hours of my week.<br />
<br />
<b>RECURSION</b><br />
<br />
Believe it or not, there is a day coming in which I will have earned my PhD. I must be getting close, because I've finally realized that my degree has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH JET ENGINES. As with all meaningful endeavors, plans change and iterations happen. The thing we are left with at the end is usually far different from what we pictured at the beginning. ITS OK.<br />
<br />
Believe it or not, there is a day coming in which I will have finished this post. I must be getting close, because I've finally realized that this post has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. As with all meaningful endeavors, plans change and iterations happen. The thing we are left with at the end is usually far different from what we pictured at the beginning. ITS OK.<br />
<br />
<br />
So what have been trying to say to you for the last year, but never quite getting to it? Here goes nothing...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>The Best Instructions Ever</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The introduction to <a href="http://www.newmediareader.com/index.html" target="_blank">The New Media Reader</a> gives two instructions to anyone reading the text:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<b>Make Something. Rethink Something."</b></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort</i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.newmediareader.com/book_preface.html" target="_blank">The New Media Reader: A User's Manual</a></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the business of being human. This is our legacy. This is our dream. This is why we talk to each other. This is why we go to work. This is why we go to school. Its scary. Its messy. We won't get it right the first time. But we will get it right.<br />
<br />
Along with my friends and colleagues in the <a href="http://connectedcourses.net/" target="_blank">Connected Courses</a> (a connected course about connected courses), we are engaging in one of my favorite recursive, meta activities. We're trying to:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Make new ways to make things. Rethink the way we rethink things.</b></blockquote>
<br />
<b><i>"The End of Higher Education?" </i></b><br />
End. [end]. <i>noun.</i> an intention or aim<br />
<br />
This is where we started. What is the End of higher Education? I believe its actually very simple, recursive, meta.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The End of Education is to Make Something, Rethink Something. The End of Education is to Make new ways to make new things, Rethink the way we rethink things.</blockquote>
<br />
If someone ever asks me, "How do you get a PhD?" I'll answer, "By figuring out how to get a PhD." Finally I know I'm ready for my final degree. Now I know The End.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Einstein_tongue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Einstein_tongue.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Albert Einstein</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-11627503372057339682014-08-29T16:12:00.000-04:002014-08-29T16:12:20.544-04:00It's Alive!That's right! After a disappointingly long hiatus, I am happy to say that TonyBrainsorms is back! Stay tuned for the resurrection of the blog<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.quickmeme.com/img/6b/6b8d1b344bff170d04555e05af3211f74a6d439065e59872c278c2cabcc75ee3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.quickmeme.com/img/6b/6b8d1b344bff170d04555e05af3211f74a6d439065e59872c278c2cabcc75ee3.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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(and I am super pumped for <a href="http://connectedcourses.net/" target="_blank">Connected Courses</a> #ccourses)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-31058017908991030992013-07-19T18:59:00.000-04:002013-07-19T18:59:14.472-04:00I've got to write this guy a letter<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Gardner, this one is for you.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>This post is centered around a few scenes from my <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745623/" target="_blank">favorite episode</a> of the West Wing.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>[Opening scene. The President of the United States and his Press Secretary having a conversation]</i></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President: </i>Galileo five!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary: </i>Yes, sir.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President: </i>Just the name...</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> Galileo five!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> You can feel the adventure.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> Yes, indeed.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> NASA's great at naming things.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> They are.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President: </i>Mercury, Apollo, Atlantis, the Sea of Tranquility, the Ocean of Storms...</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> Good names!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> First time I heard 'Galileo V,' the way the imagination immediately... Say the name.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> I said the name.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> Say it again. Your imagination, like a child, will explode with unrestrained possibilities for adventure.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary: </i>[with gusto] Galileo V!</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Professional vs. Personal</span></i></b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="text-align: justify;">"A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night."</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant" target="_blank">-Marilyn vos Savant</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Until the last year or so I've never had much of a problem keeping my work life and my personal life separate. Sure, I was friends with people from work, and as a graduate student much of my personal life has been on hold waiting for the day I finish my degree and "life can start." I've enjoyed my job researching jet engines and made a lot of professional contacts along the way. Every once in a while I've had the chance to work on an idea that was extra exciting for me (a big challenge, something new and creative, etc..) but for the most part its been a job that I work, enjoy, and look forward to leaving behind to go home for the night or weekend.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><i>Then I started teaching.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Something snapped. Seeing someone who truly wanted to learn and being able to help them along is something I'd never really trained for (or wanted to do). But the feeling I get when they're struggling and finally "get it?" The magic of watching someone conceive an entirely new idea? Experiencing raw creativity and curiosity? The opportunity to show someone what they are really capable of? There is no greater high in the world! My "imagination, like a child, [explodes] with unrestrained possibilities for adventure!"</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe I've found what <a href="http://sirkenrobinson.com/" target="_blank">Sir Ken</a> calls "My Element."</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"... the Element - the place where the things you love to do and the things that you are good at come together. [People who have found their Element] are special [because] they have found what they love to do and they are <i>actually doing it</i>."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>-Ken Robinson</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>"The Element" (emphasis added)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I lose sleep over teaching.</b> Not because I'm stressed about it, but because it drives so deep that I can't put it down. I can't wait to explore a new idea or a better way to inspire/encourage learners.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>I quickly found that I'm not the only one.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And what a great community of "In-Element Educators" I've had the privilege to be a part of! They are questioning how we do things in education, challenging the short comings of our methods, and striving to improve, inspire, <b>ignite</b>. My discussions with them are the high-points of my "work" day. And when you make professional contact with someone who speaks into your deep passions, it can't help but get personal. We're not just talking about my 9-5 job anymore. And it can be risky. Many are strongly opposed to <a href="http://www.robevans.org/Pages/pubBook_SchoolChange.htm" target="_blank">change</a> and like "business as usual". At one point early on, so was I.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Ok. Back to the West Wing. A little plot synopsis (spoiler alert)</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So the President is excited about a new Mars lander called Galileo V that is supposed to land on the Red Planet today. He's scheduled a special live "classroom" event in which he will be speaking with a NASA panel to K12 students, answering their questions sent in by email (which, in the time the episode aired, was an amazing concept. Children being able send a message instantly to the President, and have him respond instantly on TV!). One problem: during the landing process NASA loses communication with Galileo V and it looks like the highly disappointed President will have to cancel the event to avoid media embarrassment. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the same time, the President must attend a concert performed by the Reykjavik Orchestra for some political reasons, and he's dreading it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Aid: </i>After intermission, they'll be performing the world premier of a piece...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President:</i> Played on teapots and gefilte fish.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Aid: </i>... by a new Icelandic composer. They told me he got so nervous when he heard you were coming that he was rewriting the piece until 6 o'clock.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President:</i> If he wants more time, I'd be happy to take a rain check.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Aid:</i> I thought you liked classical music.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President: </i>This is not classical music. It's not classical music if the guy finished writing it this afternoon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Later, after the concert. The Press Secretary approaches the President]</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President:</i> Did you hear the end of the concert?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Press Secretary:</i> I didn't hear much of the concert at all. How was it?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President:</i> Well, first of all, let's not kid ourselves. The Reykjavik Symphony can play. These guys have some serious game. In this particular case, their talents were tragically misapplied to an atonal nightmare of pretention, but after the intermission... <i>[looks up at the night sky]</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Press Secretary:</i> After intermission?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>President:</i> They played a piece by a new composer. First, I wasn't hearing it. I had 19 different things on my mind, but then I did, and, it was magnificent. It was genius. He built these themes, and at the beginning, it was just an intellectual exercise, which is fun enough, I guess, but then in the fourth movement, he just let it go. I really didn't think I could be surprised by music anymore. <b>I thought about all the times this guy must've heard that his music was no good... I've got to write this guy a letter.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Resistance.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look at the progression of the President's thinking. First, because he is busy with his own concerns and has his own idea of what is best, he mocks the new composer's music. Next, whether he wants to or not, he attends the concert. He's distracted and doesn't really listen, but the skill of the players captures his attention. He comes to appreciate the "intellectual exercise" presented by the composer. Then he marvels at the final execution of the idea, inspired by a new idea in an area that he thought was out of fresh ideas. He stops to consider the adversity the composer must have faced, the discouragement from his critics.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Change is hard. Change threatens those who are established and comfortable. More often than not in education, I see changes happening from the bottom up. Lone teachers trying something new that works. Taking it to their superiors and making a case. Sometimes it sticks, other times they're told that "their music is no good." The result: <i style="font-weight: bold;">changes happen far too slowly for any current students to benefit.</i> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unfortunately, our system cannot be improved through incremental changes. What we need is a radical rethinking. A peaceful revolution. <i>An educational renaissance.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Universities are funny places.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">They're constantly evolving. Few places in the world have such a <i>huge</i> turnaround rate. To borrow some words of wisdom from my advisor: </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">"The job of the university is to get rid of its best talent."</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We try to recruit promising talent (in the form of incoming freshmen). Then we try to develop that talent over 4-ish years through classes, research experience, clubs, and senior capstone projects. Finally, when they've started to gain some serious muscle and honed their talents, we send them off to take on the world. Until recently I thought that this idea applied only to students, that institutions like tenure insulated the faculty from so much motion. Not quite true. The university is a crucible. As we are refined our positions shift, sometimes internally, sometimes we move on. As our "best talent" moves on, it makes way for rising stars to take their shot. And I think that's how it should be. We are all in this place to grow and pursue the best version of ourselves. Students. Faculty. Staff. Administration. The growth process requires motion.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The time is now!</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We have a limited amount of time with the people we come in contact with here. Lectures are 50 minutes, office hours are finite, semesters end, and we probably won't see most of our students ever again. We may only get this one moment to make a difference. This instant is precious, cherish it, maximize it. We cannot afford to take it slow, make small changes, incrementally improve at a rate that maybe our grandchildren will benefit. We can't afford to resolve to be better tomorrow. That wastes today. Be better right now, it could be one of a very few moments in time that you get to spend with that student. Let us take our (fun) intellectual exercises and really let them go, so that we may marvel at the execution of a game-changing idea. Let's surprise ourselves. A friend of mine recently said:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If you can measure the size of your impact, you haven't made much of a difference."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The closing scene:</span></i></b></div>
</div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> Mr. President, about that televised classroom tomorrow...</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> I'm gonna wait up for a while. See if we hear anything. It's out there somewhere... it's so close.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary:</i> I think you should do the classroom either way.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>President:</i> Yeah?</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Press Secretary: </i>We have, at our disposal, a captive audience of schoolchildren. Some of them don't go to the blackboard and raise their hand 'cause they think they're gonna be wrong. I think you should say to these kids, "you think you get it wrong sometimes? You should come down here and see how the big boys do it." I think you should tell them you haven't given up hope, and that it may turn up, but in the meantime, you want NASA to put its best people in the room, and you want them to start building Galileo VI. Some of them will laugh, and most of them won't care, but for some, they might honestly see that it's about going to the blackboard and raising your hand. And that's the broader theme.</span></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>My friend, I'll miss you. Raise your hand. Your music is surprising and beautiful. Meanwhile, here, we will put our best people in the room and start working on Galileo VI.<br /></i></b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-6516211464582517242013-05-15T03:13:00.002-04:002013-05-15T03:13:25.400-04:00Tony Brainstorms VS The Snark!In honor of our recent reading, "Time Frames," by <a href="http://scottmccloud.com/" target="_blank">Scott McCloud</a>, I proudly present:<br />
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<h2>
Tony Brainstorms VS The Snark!!!!</h2>
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<div style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/141583553/Tony-Brainstorms-vs-the-Snark" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Tony Brainstorms vs the Snark on Scribd">Tony Brainstorms vs the Snark</a></div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_11692" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/141583553/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Well... that was fun!<br />
<br />
If for some reason this isn't working, try downloading the file directly (pdf):<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9l6eOkkeMs9d2t1NnFyTWpET2c/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Tony Brainstorms VS The Snark!</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-5072519481899550072013-04-20T23:24:00.002-04:002013-04-20T23:31:50.277-04:00Changing the Message: Grading vs Reviewing (Part 4 of 4)Continuing the <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/changing-message-degree-level-view.html" target="_blank">saga</a>....<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Rigid Grading Structures</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
OK, I recognize that this is a touchy subject, so I'll tread lightly (for now). The heck with that, let's get dirty!<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>You, my friend, are going towards turbulent flows.</i>"</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>An Anonymous Friend</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Today, after telling him about what I'm writing</i> </div>
<br />
We follow rigid grading rubrics hoping to be "fair" to everyone. The problem is that these grading structures put us "fairly" off base.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Grades tend to diminish students' interest in whatever they're learning. </i>A "grading orientation" and a "learning orientation" have been shown to be inversely proportional...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Grades create a preference for the easiest possible task.</i> Impress upon students that what they're doing will count towards their grade, and their response will likely be to avoid taking any unnecessary intellectual risks...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Grades tend to reduce the quality of students' thinking. </i>They may skim books for what they'll "need to know." They're less likely to wonder, say, "How can we be sure that's true?" than to ask "Is this going to be on the test?"</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><a href="http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/tcag.htm" target="_blank">The Case Against Grades</a></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Alfie Kohn, 2011</i> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">What do we value?</span></i></b></div>
<br />
<b><i>Rate of Learning?</i></b><br />
Imagine the situation in which a student learns the material at a slower pace than others in the class. The student earns a poor score on the first exam. This feedback inspires the student to try a different approach to learning and (s)he grasps the material in time for the final exam. Following the rigid rubric, this student's grade will be lower than another who learned the material faster, even though both may be leaving the course with the same understanding.<br />
<br />
What is the message here? What do we really value? The <i>rate</i> at which a student learns? Rate of production is a crucial concept to efficient manufacturing.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Get it "Right" the first time?</i></b><br />
Students are penalized for making mistakes. The result is that students are afraid to try anything unorthodox, or explore.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I just want to know what formula to use to solve the problem <i>the right way</i>."</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is a high level of pressure on students to get things "right" the first time. Our <span style="color: red;">RED PEN</span> feedback system helps drive this home. If a student misses a question, points are lost and final course grades are affected. GPA drops and that homework problem or test problem just influenced the rest of my life. (OK, that's a bit extreme, but its the logical end to the thought).<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Root of the Problem</span></i></b><br />
<br />
We have a need in education to determine how a student is doing. Students need feedback so that they may improve upon problem areas. Educators need to see how their students are doing so that they may assess the effectiveness of their teaching.<br />
<br />
There is a long list of other reasons typically thrown up in the case <i>for</i> grades, but I think they are rubbish. One of the big ones is that "if we don't grade it, students won't do it." Yes, let's hold our students hostage with threats against their future success rather than providing true motivation.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,</i><i><br /></i><i>Enwrought with golden and silver light,</i><i><br /></i><i>The blue and the dim and the dark cloths</i><i><br /></i><i>Of night and light and the half-light,</i><i><br /></i><i>I would spread the cloths under your feet:</i><i><br /></i><i>But I, being poor, have only my dreams;</i><i><br /></i><i>I have spread my dreams under your feet,</i><i><br /></i><i><b>Tread softly because you tread on my dreams</b></i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>W. B. Yeats</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
I think we may have started, long ago, with these two goals in mind. However, our "factory model" education system has polluted those goals, mainly due to the fact that we are trying to educate <i>so many people</i>. Call the EPA (Educational Protection Agency)!<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Scaling Issues</i></b><br />
<br />
With a large class, the task of providing feedback is not trivial. Graders must streamline the process by providing the <i>least</i> amount of feedback possible. They look over the work, think about what the student did, and try to scribble something down to let them know where mistakes were made. If only the student could hear the grader's thoughts! (In light of what I'm about to say, I think they call this foreshadowing)<br />
<i><br /></i><i>Very rarely is any positive feedback given</i>. For the most part, graders write down just enough to justify the score on the assignment. I don't fault them for this, they simply don't have the time to give meaningful, content-rich responses to each student's work.<br />
<br />
The problem is that, from the students' perspective, this type of feedback is more a slap in the face than constructive criticism. Rather than a teachable moment, we offer up judgement and discouragement.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I have not failed. I've just found 1000 ways that won't work.</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Thomas Edison</i> </div>
<br />
Let's change the message.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Learner-Centered Feedback</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(Stop Grading and Start Reviewing)</span></i></b><br />
<br />
With tablets and pen inputs for computers we have the ability to record ourselves as we mark up a document. Imagine marking up a student's electronic homework submission. The grader no longer needs to <i>write</i> a detailed response to help the student learn from issues. The grader can record his/her thoughts in audio format while marking up the work.<br />
<br />
Rather than <i>grade </i>the work we can <i>review</i> the work and provide meaningful feedback (audio) to the learner. I think if we did this right, it would actually <i>save</i> time for grader. Most people can speak much faster than they can write or type.<br />
<br />
We could add "content area" tags to individual homework problems. Over time, the student's aggregated results would point out sticking points in a particular course and focus the student's study/improvement efforts. If a visual representation of this were available to the grader small bits of encouragement could emerge: "<i>I see that the First Law is starting to click for you, good job!</i>"<br />
<br />
<b><i>I can see clearly now....</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Synced with the <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/changing-message-degree-level-view.html" target="_blank">interactive Degree Path Sheet</a>, a student would have a much better view of where they are. With our current approach most students can't see what's going on. All they see are a few "red x's" that leave them feeling less intelligent, or that "<i>I just don't understand Thermodynamics.</i>" Truth is that's usually not the case. Maybe the real issue is a small part of it that creeps up in most problems.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">OK, enough words...</span></i></b><br />
<br />
Let me show you an example of what I am picturing, from an engineers perspective (sorry, I haven't graded anything else!):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lh4WEyGMp9s?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
If you kept track, I spent about 2 minutes providing feedback on this problem. In a class of 60 students, with an average of 10 homework problems per assignment, this translates to 20 hours of grading work. Interestingly enough, that's the <i>exact amount of time</i> that my grader logs while providing <span style="color: red;">RED PEN </span>feedback right now.<br />
<br />
<b><i>A few things to work out:</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
First, I'm laughing at myself for using a <span style="color: red;">RED PEN</span> while making this video. I imagine a better system in which I can use "cursor points" or a "focus bubble" to show what I'm looking at.<br />
<br />
Second, the "tags" idea isn't a worksheet, but I'm not Java programmer. The check-mark image was supposed to represent clicking on tags.<br />
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Third, I DO use a red pen while grading currently. This idea is new for me this week, and I hope to implement a refined version of this system next time I teach a course.<br />
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Fourth, I DO collect the homework for a grade. I'll explain...<br />
<br />
<b><i>Some other things you might have seen:</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Did you notice that the numerical answers were provided with the problem statement? This is a trick I use to maximize the self-learning for my students. With the answers to homework problems available, students know whether they've got it or not long before they turn it in. Assuming they start the work early enough, they can find the help they need before turning in the assignment.<br />
<br />
Did you notice that I showed <i>two submissions</i> from the same student? I actually do this as well. In my course I try very hard to encourage my students to make mistakes and learn from them. This learning business is messy and most of what sticks in our minds comes from getting things wrong at first.<br />
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I allow my students to re-submit the work as many times as it takes, and they can earn full credit on every problem even if they don't get it until the last day of the semester. Effort and engagement is encouraged and rewarded. Based on their feedback, this is working as I hoped it would!<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Closing: The Message</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Once again, the "Medium is the Message." I hope that by taking advantage of the digital media tools available to us, we can shift the message that we send learners. Let's send the message that <i>experimenting is a good thing</i>. Let's send the message that <i>mistakes are a good thing</i>. <i>Let's send the message that our students deserve more than some messy <span style="color: red;">red pen</span> graffiti all over their work.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">At the risk of starting a riot:</span></b></i><br />
STUDENTS: Like what you see? Are you tired of getting <span style="color: red;">RED PEN</span> all over your work? Demand more from your teachers!<br />
<br />
Try turning your homework in written completely in <span style="color: red;">RED PEN</span>.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-33540827780136561942013-04-20T19:53:00.000-04:002013-04-22T10:18:08.042-04:00Changing the Message: Degree-Level View (Part 3 of 4)<a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/kaizen-was-here.html" target="_blank">Continuing</a> the discussion on changing educational media to change the message we send.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Degree Path Sheets</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUujLo4utSdJYTaPu-77n29_9yXGO20ryIWHeKn4y911jDuEgMyuLgqpWvm5tEIvK7J41uASbhvjhyphenhyphen9Vo831_E9kKICYqfALrF1i6Z0wpGzVGWNwFiZLkgnRm4RMg7OUFAO8ncYgpAU9Ii/s1600/DPS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUujLo4utSdJYTaPu-77n29_9yXGO20ryIWHeKn4y911jDuEgMyuLgqpWvm5tEIvK7J41uASbhvjhyphenhyphen9Vo831_E9kKICYqfALrF1i6Z0wpGzVGWNwFiZLkgnRm4RMg7OUFAO8ncYgpAU9Ii/s400/DPS.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.me.vt.edu/" target="_blank">ME Department</a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The degree path sheet is a very helpful tool for students. This single page summarizes all of the courses that they need to take to complete the degree, including links (connecting lines) to pre- and co-requisites. As I pursued my undergraduate degree I referred to this page very often. (Side note: In my day the form was in black and white! I've <i>always</i> wanted to say that...)<br />
<br />
I think we can take advantage of the digital medium and do better.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Add more information </span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">(information that's already available elsewhere)</span></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Couldn't this be an interactive web app? Imagine being able to click each course and find useful information. Linked to the scheduling system, times that the course is offered could be displayed, along with the number of open seats. Click the one you want to instantly add it to your schedule. The entire app could sync with the student's transcript, showing completed courses and grades. Courses could be "clickable" only if the pre/co-requisites are satisfied. Selecting a course could automatically select co-requisite courses.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Professor bios could be linked displayed, allowing students to pick their teacher based on research interests and examples used in class. We could add lecture previews, student reviews, links to course materials, and publications by the professor. Previous class projects could be linked, letting prospective students see what those who have come before learned.<br />
<br />
As a student progresses, the system could "learn" her/his preferences and recommend certain elective courses or professors that align with the student's interests and learning styles.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The learning management system (even though I don't like the current one much) could be linked in, allowing the student to use this page as a launch to current classes. Information such as current grade and how much of a course grade remains could be available. GPA (which I also don't like) scenarios could also be computed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we got to a point where students could <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/03/there-is-no-spoon.html" target="_blank">truly customize their education</a>, a % Complete bar could indicate how much of the course they have completed based on the learning modules they have selected. The division between subjects and the need for completing a course in a certain semester could be eliminated. Imagine this entire sheet broken into smaller chunks of concepts that add up to form a uniquely-designed curriculum.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">How ready am I for this course?</span></i></b><br />
<br />
A preparedness index could be fashioned based on a student's past performance in prerequisite courses. Suggestions for important background material that the student found challenging in the past could be offered as study aids over breaks, before the course begins. If we changed the way we grade (<a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/changing-message-grading-vs-reviewing.html" target="_blank">see next post</a>) the system could point out specific areas that the student should work on. <i>Example</i>: the introductory course I teach uses first-order ordinary differential equations, but that's about it from the "Differential Equations" course that is listed as a prerequisite. If a student struggled with that part of Differential Equations we could flag it for them.<br />
<br />
Perhaps over time this is an answer to a challenge facing almost ALL courses: we spend the first 1/3 of the semester reviewing concepts from previous courses.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">A Liberal Education</span></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you take a close look at the degree path sheet, you'll see classes marked "Area 1" and "Area 2" etc. As part of a liberal education, we have <a href="http://www.cle.prov.vt.edu/guides/area1.html" target="_blank">7 Core Areas</a> that students must engage with to complete a degree. As a student, I never took the time to read the description of these Areas (take a look at the link). The truth is that the idea behind each is beautiful and very exciting. Why can't these show up on the interactive degree path sheet as well? I wish I had seen the inspiring ideas behind these requirements, rather than just "toughing it out" through some required "useless" courses. They get at the heart of the difference between <i>education</i> and <i>job training</i>. The available courses that satisfy an "Area" during any given semester could also be suggested/shown.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">My Story is Different!</span></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the big drawbacks to the rigid degree path sheet is that <i>very few people follow it</i>. We all have extenuating circumstances (drop a class, change majors, take a co-op) that put us "off schedule". In a year of teaching, I've met very few students who are actually "on track."<br />
<br />
This sheet serves as a constant reminder that students are off track, or that they are somehow "doing it wrong".<br />
<br />
Why not make each class "draggable"? Students could slide the courses around, and maybe even add a "solve my schedule" function that charts a path to degree completion based on current standing and course availability.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The New Message</span></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The point here is that with some application of fairly standard web design, the message we send is completely changed:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>We recognize that you are a unique individual with a unique story, and we want to meet you where you are at and help guide you along. You don't have to fit our mold, because there is no mold to fit. Your education is important to us, and you are in the driver's seat.</i>"</blockquote>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4i_YTT6mOKl2Ylqab2SmwdlPAgMB4-4dFCka2m9THP4P4DwoDMNAQUU2Ctzimv0hMOwEIGhw0KryCUodUYNVoExHA_cnAuhqWsxswG0mE88AfAs5C-bS0665aGZx4CrUbPETk1jlzgo8/s1600/DPS-sketch.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4i_YTT6mOKl2Ylqab2SmwdlPAgMB4-4dFCka2m9THP4P4DwoDMNAQUU2Ctzimv0hMOwEIGhw0KryCUodUYNVoExHA_cnAuhqWsxswG0mE88AfAs5C-bS0665aGZx4CrUbPETk1jlzgo8/s400/DPS-sketch.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.me.vt.edu/" target="_blank">ME Department</a> (modified)</td></tr>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/-_XNG3Mndww/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-_XNG3Mndww&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-_XNG3Mndww&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Continue the series: <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/changing-message-grading-vs-reviewing.html" target="_blank">Changing the Message: Grading vs Reviewing (Part 4 of 4)</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-58204428585712089492013-04-20T19:39:00.000-04:002013-04-22T10:16:59.610-04:00Kaizen Was Here (Part 2 of 4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-galaxy-reconfigured.html" target="_blank">Continuing</a> to think about "The Medium is the Message"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3WL1NLvDenYDZDaBVz3EybZHLg82RblY6bbRfLw7rCbbmebgSZzEt0IUFQir-JvLDnZVXhPfTqFIV2nYjNv9y9jNRXgTL1VGTx41R1c7i4VXtbel6Y7pv4I0dMjwWlN2fuOYwjnpBbaTL/s1600/Kilroy_Was_Here_-_Washington_DC_WWII_Memorialmod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3WL1NLvDenYDZDaBVz3EybZHLg82RblY6bbRfLw7rCbbmebgSZzEt0IUFQir-JvLDnZVXhPfTqFIV2nYjNv9y9jNRXgTL1VGTx41R1c7i4VXtbel6Y7pv4I0dMjwWlN2fuOYwjnpBbaTL/s320/Kilroy_Was_Here_-_Washington_DC_WWII_Memorialmod.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Kilroy_Was_Here_-_Washington_DC_WWII_Memorial.jpg" target="_blank">Wiki</a>, modified)</div>
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A <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-galaxy-reconfigured.html" target="_blank">recent experience</a> confirmed in my mind what the Communications Department has been saying for a long time:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The Medium is the Message"</i></blockquote>
The way that information is presented has a strong effect on how we view it, feel about it, remember it, and use it.<br />
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So here is my question:<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">What message are we sending our students?</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78D9HkPPoksYgeJ2nk2uXRYqHMyxa3U5o6ahX0NEk_ML2U0J4_Rf_k7ObyQYnUE-l8WjO83a74D4yRyfz_idyu5gejsME0Mscface9qwAISmQqFb2u8L5eYKo4fMKGaUedsZooHm9Bdcg/s1600/uncomfortable-classroom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78D9HkPPoksYgeJ2nk2uXRYqHMyxa3U5o6ahX0NEk_ML2U0J4_Rf_k7ObyQYnUE-l8WjO83a74D4yRyfz_idyu5gejsME0Mscface9qwAISmQqFb2u8L5eYKo4fMKGaUedsZooHm9Bdcg/s400/uncomfortable-classroom.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/uncomfortable-classroom.png" target="_blank">Edudemic</a></td></tr>
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Who's important in this room?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-AW6OYKRotECdaz3wJVo7agLfdV1MvoKawcsVs0QZ0sohlmULQWieaVCvQiqQ3qhMIG-j_jsoShhyN5jrziO8MjBkfIc-fKJvnK83x8NKnOxeGtuy4u3zso9HamZhOWeYDuEinRX5sGo/s1600/homework.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-AW6OYKRotECdaz3wJVo7agLfdV1MvoKawcsVs0QZ0sohlmULQWieaVCvQiqQ3qhMIG-j_jsoShhyN5jrziO8MjBkfIc-fKJvnK83x8NKnOxeGtuy4u3zso9HamZhOWeYDuEinRX5sGo/s640/homework.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.myextralife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/3076229404_607197fd9f.jpg" target="_blank">myextralife</a></td></tr>
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"<i>Save your drawings for art</i>"!????? Heaven forbid a student expresses creativity outside of art class! Nick, thanks for the beautiful image: "I'm a robot." I'm reminded of Ted Nelson:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Material is dumped on the students and their responses calibrated; their interaction and involvements with the material is not encouraged nor taken into consideration, but their dutifulness of response is carefully monitored."</i></blockquote>
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<i>No More Teachers' Dirty Looks</i></div>
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<i>Theodor Nelson, 1974</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVP8j8vDykOgGedlUaZgoIZfshsNp6uaJJrKdT32J6O0HfoylBI3zWz7ZqUU0f5kqOHSavINbVGp5mgo9X0Jar9HyY7w74Z6b14Sx6A-ywCVuahqubegVZFwvIksm4qcwvqMNevj5zbIb/s1600/scantron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVP8j8vDykOgGedlUaZgoIZfshsNp6uaJJrKdT32J6O0HfoylBI3zWz7ZqUU0f5kqOHSavINbVGp5mgo9X0Jar9HyY7w74Z6b14Sx6A-ywCVuahqubegVZFwvIksm4qcwvqMNevj5zbIb/s320/scantron.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb300/20100406/Blue-Scantron-Bubble-Test-Number-Two-Pencil-1504602.jpg" target="_blank">featurepics</a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
How well does this represent what you've learned about <insert any subject here>? What level of engagement was required to prepare for this type of exam?</div>
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These all-too-familiar images are a result of choosing the "easy solutions" to a problem that has plagued education throughout human history: "How do we scale this? How do we teach 50 people to be <insert a field here> with one teacher?" Rigid classrooms built around the "Sage on the Stage", multiple-choice exams, and Scantrons are VERY convenient for the <i>teacher/administration</i>, not so great for the <i>learner</i>.</div>
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Welcome to the degree factory.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>One Size Does NOT Fit All</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div>
The idea behind <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen" target="_blank">industrialism</a> is that we can streamline a process to produce a large quantity of the <i>same product</i>. As students hoping to find a place in the world after graduation we spend our time in the factory attempting anything we can to come out <i>different</i> than everyone else. The very idea behind our efforts is to break out of the manufacturing model. That's the basic question asked in most job interviews: "What makes you uniquely suited for this position?" We want to have a good answer.<br />
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(Let me be careful here, this is an example. The true goal of education is much more than job placement)</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">What I've learned From Social Media:</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Good or bad, we are enthralled with social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, and Pinterest have permeated our lives. My theory to explain this is simple:</div>
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<b>I MATTER!</b></div>
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The overarching message of Social Media is that <i>people care about me and what I have to say</i>. I am NOT a number without identity, lost in the masses. I'm a member of a community that is concerned with what's happening in my life. My thoughts are important to someone.</div>
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For the last century our educational system has been built around a factory model. Input people and some (unfortunately limited) resources and out come "educated" graduates. For the most part we've been OK with this, having never experienced anything else.</div>
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Social media is awakening a higher value in uniqueness and individuality. We won't be tolerating the faceless and almost anonymous educational experience much longer. I hope the institutions of learning can prepare for it.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Rigid System</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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I've <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/03/there-is-no-spoon.html" target="_blank">already expounded</a> on the idea of customizing education, and letting students take the role of designer. Education needs to move from a "factory" towards a "custom shop" mentality.<br />
<br />
Improving education requires <i>flexibility</i>. Our current system is <i>rigid</i>. We give rigid lectures with little to no interaction on the part of the students. We assign rigid textbooks that are arranged according to the authors' view of the "best way" to learn a subject. And we march through the book in a linear fashion, moving down the assembly line. We give rigid homework assignments that have one right answer forcing students to figure out what someone else has done, rather than creating something new.<br />
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These rigid "material delivery systems" do not permit much exploration, learning at different paces, or different interests.</div>
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The message is clear:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Do it <i>our</i> way.</span></b></div>
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On the one hand, we need systemic change in our approach to learning. On the other, some fairly small changes can have a large impact. I'm reminded of the idea behind <a href="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/sports/golf/basics/question37.htm" target="_blank">dimples</a> on a golf ball. The dimples make small changes to the airflow around the ball, leading to HUGE improvements in drag. Sometimes changing the ball is the answer. Other times we can make intelligent small changes that give dramatic results.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNvS-YAyyrVs4F1KcJ0rVmvL5oRq0B5BvzxmGTk8C1C25I_Yvwn2YRfnqCkFUTJ1oMjw1NFBZfwf5Z2NLNWoOaQZR8J8tDiSnuqPKmmOxcZ5utUYQMoRAzM0BKCkJwl6tkrHaCPO4CUZY/s1600/061020_golf_ball_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNvS-YAyyrVs4F1KcJ0rVmvL5oRq0B5BvzxmGTk8C1C25I_Yvwn2YRfnqCkFUTJ1oMjw1NFBZfwf5Z2NLNWoOaQZR8J8tDiSnuqPKmmOxcZ5utUYQMoRAzM0BKCkJwl6tkrHaCPO4CUZY/s320/061020_golf_ball_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2008/07/ridley-dean-fastest-bike-in-world-part.html" target="_blank">Cozy Beehive</a>)</div>
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<br />
<b><i>The Medium is the Message</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The examples above certainly streamline the process of teaching, allowing us to offer the same education to a large number of students. The problem is that these edifices also communicate a subtle, but deafening, message. The result: lack of creativity, exploration, and individual thinking on the part of the learners. We tell students that the ideals are important and then crank them through a system that penalizes or discourages these <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Mind-Right-Brainers-Future/dp/1594481717" target="_blank">21st Century Aptitudes</a>.<br />
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Presented in the following posts are some thoughts I've had recently about small changes we can make that could have a far-reaching impact on our students. They are just some examples of the important idea:<br />
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<b><i>We have the technology to redesign our educational media, completely shifting the way learners think/feel about learning. And it's not even that hard to do.</i></b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jrXpitAlva0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Continue the series:<a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/changing-message-degree-level-view.html" target="_blank"> Changing the Message: Degree-Level View (Part 3 of 4)</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-4802652336441542872013-04-10T21:14:00.002-04:002016-04-27T12:22:34.156-04:00The Galaxy Reconfigured (Part 1 of 4)(or the Plight of Mass Man in an Individualist Society)<br />
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I may have mentioned that I am participating in a <a href="http://gardnercampbell.wetpaint.com/page/NMFS_S13" target="_blank">seminar</a> that is discussing the impact of the new forms of media made possible by the computer on life and education. We are working our way through a <a href="http://www.newmediareader.com/" target="_blank">collection of "essays"</a> written over the last century that discuss the ideas and possibilities that computers offer. One of these essays is entitled "<i>The Galaxy Reconfigured, or the Plight of Mass Man in an Individualist Society</i>", by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan" target="_blank">Marshall McLuhan</a>. The piece is followed up by what has become a communications theory standard: "<i>The Medium Is the Message</i>."</div>
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The engineer in me tried an experiment that I hope you'll find interesting. After I tell you about it, I'll give some <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/03/there-is-no-spoon.html" target="_blank">more</a> thoughts on education that it brought up (<a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/kaizen-was-here.html" target="_blank">follow up post</a>).</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Old Media Reader</span></i></b></div>
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If the book we are pulling these essays from can be called the "<i>New Media Reader</i>," McLuhan's essay ("<i>The Galaxy Reconfigured</i>") is certainly the Old Media Reader. Here McLuhan presents a history of media, ideas, and how we spread them and shape society. I made it through a whole page of the essay, filled with references to everyone from Quintilian to Arthur Rimbaud, before I gave up. I had NO IDEA what he was talking about. I take some solace in the fact that even people who study McLuhan <a href="http://youtu.be/OpIYz8tfGjY" target="_blank">haven't got a clue</a>.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I skipped to the next essay by McLuhan that was on the docket ("<i>The Medium Is the Message</i>"). This one clicked a bit, I think. One of the main ideas is exactly what the title says: the <i>content </i>(e.g. the words on the page) is not the main message, but rather the <i>medium</i> (e.g. book, newspaper, movie) communicates something much more important. Deep, my head hurts about the implications.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">My Experiment: The Medium is the Message</span></i></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I started out reading "<i>The Galaxy Reconfigured</i>" from the book. Its a standard textbook-sized volume, hard cover, no color. As I mentioned above, it didn't take too many references to 18th Century poets for me to lose track. I admit my literary background is a bit weak, and so the significance of the people he references was completely lost on me.</div>
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In this static, one-way-through-it book, I got the message loud and clear:</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>This is NOT FOR YOU</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I tried something different. I scanned the article to PDF (hope <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act" target="_blank">Big Brother</a> doesn't find out, but I'm not distributing) and tried to re-read the article on my iPad. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><i>Suddenly the whole thing felt different.</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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When I came across a reference I didn't understand, I switched over to the internet and searched for the person. Within a few seconds I had found articles, selections of their work, and biographies on these people. I found enough context to grasp some of what McLuhan was saying.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The message changed entirely:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>It might take some work, but YOU CAN DO THIS, and it is BEAUTIFUL</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By the end of the article, I saw how beautifully McLuhan unpacked the history of media and ideas, and actually appreciated his closing comments:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Our most ordinary and conventional attitudes seem suddenly twisted into gargoyles and grotesques. Familiar institutions and associations seem at times menacing and malignant. These multiple transformations, which are the normal consequence of introducing new media into any society whatever, need special study..."</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>The Galaxy Reconfigured</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Marshall McLuhan, 1962</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
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Along the way I saw the work of some literary giants, unpacked and placed in a context that interested me beyond anything my High School Literature classes ever did. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake" target="_blank">William Blake</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope" target="_blank">Alexander Pope</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin" target="_blank">John Ruskin</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaud" target="_blank">Arthur Rimbaud</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust" target="_blank">Marcel Proust</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce" target="_blank">James Joyce</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintilian" target="_blank">Quintilian</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Mallarm%C3%A9" target="_blank">Stephane Mallarme</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge" target="_blank">Samuel Taylor Coleridge</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau" target="_blank">Jean-Jaques Rousseau</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson" target="_blank">Robert Louis Stevenson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" target="_blank">John Stuart Mill</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith" target="_blank">Adam Smith</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Arnold" target="_blank">Matthew Arnold</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Polanyi" target="_blank">Karl Polanyi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dryden" target="_blank">John Dryden</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift" target="_blank">Jonathan Swift</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Berkeley" target="_blank">George Berkeley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williams" target="_blank">Raymond Williams</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Addison" target="_blank">Joseph Addison</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Steele" target="_blank">Richard Steele</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson" target="_blank">Samuel Johnson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_L%C3%B6wenthal" target="_blank">Leo Lowenthal</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Goldsmith" target="_blank">Oliver Goldsmith</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" target="_blank">Edgar Allen Poe</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire" target="_blank">Charles Baudelaire</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Val%C3%A9ry" target="_blank">Paul Valery</a>).</div>
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Oh, I learned some new words too: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parataxis" target="_blank">parataxis</a>, <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lineal" target="_blank">lineal</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepwalking" target="_blank">somnambulism</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiasmus" target="_blank">chiasmus</a>.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Ok, Ok, I know what you're thinking....</span></i></b><br />
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Obviously, sitting in a library or at my computer I could have done the exact same thing. The iPad didn't really do it for me. Fair point, but I don't typically read while sitting in front of a computer, and unfortunately I don't spend as much time in the library as I'd like. I take these types of articles with me, and read them as 15-minute mental "snacks" to break up a day filled with jet engines, pitot tubes, and thermodynamics. Lugging the full book around is cumbersome, and I typically don't carry my computer with me.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Can we do better?</span></i></b></div>
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Of course. Wouldn't it be nice if the iPad (or other tablet device) were capable of embedding those links for me? I'd like to be able to click any word, pull up a small summary on it, and go back to reading without ever leaving the "page" I'm on. We could embed other forms of media, links to commentary, current discussions, etc. My fairly linear march through the article could have been a much more valuable experience with a bit more flexibility that something like a computer is already capable of. </div>
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By scanning and looking up the links myself, a word used frequently last week by <a href="http://lmc.gatech.edu/~murray/" target="_blank">Janet Murray</a> comes to mind: Remedial. My little "trick" is a band-aid, barely scratching the surface of what the iPad/Tablet medium is capable of. Let's do better.</div>
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<i>I will not cease from mental fight,</i></div>
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<i>Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,</i></div>
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<i>Till we have built Jerusalem</i></div>
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<i>In England's green and pleasant land.</i></div>
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<i>-Jerusalem, </i><i>William Blake</i></div>
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Continue the 4 part series: <a href="http://tonybrainstorms.blogspot.com/2013/04/kaizen-was-here.html" target="_blank">Kaizen Was Here (Part 2 of 4)</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-27363267120060300402013-03-25T22:29:00.000-04:002013-03-25T22:29:03.609-04:00There is no spoon...<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Sorry for the length, this is what happens when I get excited!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj446T_afDb9YDyozdB6edAiOW4nE3e00apO1w8hFm-dEQlmtikDwj4LJkB8p5N4hHdiWifQqVgCJqpwCotXoOYTe62ImcLOWDyUFP0mHLWm04lCNKe5pNw8uZiURKMxrkl0SYl1rI_C0Ql/s1600/rep2x-big-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj446T_afDb9YDyozdB6edAiOW4nE3e00apO1w8hFm-dEQlmtikDwj4LJkB8p5N4hHdiWifQqVgCJqpwCotXoOYTe62ImcLOWDyUFP0mHLWm04lCNKe5pNw8uZiURKMxrkl0SYl1rI_C0Ql/s400/rep2x-big-2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.makerbot.com/" target="_blank">MakerBot</a></div>
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In my other life as a researcher, I've spent a lot of time lately working with 3D Printers. These amazing devices can literally put a bit of material wherever you ask them to in three-dimensional space (including when you ask for something not so smart, take a walk past the <a href="http://www.dreams.me.vt.edu/dreamvendor/" target="_blank">DreamVendor</a> sometime and watch the students learning from their mistakes). </div>
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There are a number of reasons that the scientific/manufacturing communities are abuzz with excitement over 3D printers:</div>
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<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">You can RAPIDLY turn out a prototype (sometimes 3D printers are called "Rapid Prototyping" machines) of a part you are designing, taking it from the computer screen and placing it in your hands to inspect.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">As materials capabilities improve, 3D printers can manufacture <i>actual</i> <i>parts</i>. We can now print in a variety of <b><a href="http://www.makerbot.com/" target="_blank">plastics</a>, <a href="http://www.medgadget.com/2013/02/cornell-bioengineers-3d-print-living-replacement-ears.html" target="_blank">bio materials</a>, </b>and<b> <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/143552-3d-printing-with-metal-the-final-frontier-of-additive-manufacturing" target="_blank">metals</a></b> at high resolution (thousandths of an inch). In cases where special material properties are needed, we can <a href="http://3dprintingsystems.com/3d-printing-moulds-for-steel-casting/" target="_blank">3D print a mold</a><b>,</b> and cast the part out of any material.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">3D printing is essentially a zero-lost-material manufacturing technique. Manufacturers can save lots by eliminating virtually all scrap in their production processes. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Complex tooling and machining processes required to make parts typically lead to an economy of scale. Making a one-of-a-kind part requires a custom machine shop to produce it, usually at large expense. With 3D printing, one part costs as much as 100 of them (per part of course). </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">3D printers can revolutionize the replacement parts industry. Imagine a world in which everything you purchase comes with the part files for printing replacement parts. "The washing machine broke and we need a new <insert name of a washing machine part here>." No problem, print it out and install it.</li>
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None of these exciting possibilities come close to the true power of 3D printing.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">
When I started working with 3D Printers, the parts I designed <u>looked</u> like parts that could be made using traditional methods.</span></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_OoYOB1InvA9Tb_ugoVDmCrpmMfetm5pgegvazFpLAZ0gOihWSrRw518KhzegjnBBmrDjVfZE4UGect3AkzyUNRadTIOZOBkJF8IDH8CjdYEm7IJN6f0jU6EC0VtFkt2X3unO0_WEoRl/s1600/screeniso1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_OoYOB1InvA9Tb_ugoVDmCrpmMfetm5pgegvazFpLAZ0gOihWSrRw518KhzegjnBBmrDjVfZE4UGect3AkzyUNRadTIOZOBkJF8IDH8CjdYEm7IJN6f0jU6EC0VtFkt2X3unO0_WEoRl/s320/screeniso1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Original 3D printed concept, could have been made with traditional machining)</div>
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This was an interesting realization for me. We've all been brought up in a world in which we make things by starting with a hunk of material and hacking away at it until we have what we really want. I'm not much for metaphor and symbol, but isn't it interesting how <i>destructive</i> our <i>creation</i> of a new thing really is?<br />
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More down to earth, the processes of design and manufacture have always been tightly coupled. A designer that draws parts that cannot be made with machinists' tools wouldn't have a job as a designer for long. The job of sculptors and engineers has been to envision a thing trapped within a larger block of material, and to set about "freeing it". This way of thinking is deeply ingrained in most engineers' minds.<br />
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After getting my hands on a 3D printer, I started designing and printing parts that <i>looked</i> like parts made using traditional methods, even though I was not limited by my tooling to do so (and I am certainly not alone in this). These design decisions were largely subconscious.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."</blockquote>
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<i>Abraham H. Maslow</i></div>
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<i>The Psychology of Science, 1966</i> </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">
Manufacturing constraints can and have kill(ed) creativity.</span></i></b><br />
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<b>The real magic of a 3D printer is <i>freedom of design.</i></b> We are freed from the requirement to design parts that we can make using the machining capabilities available to us. We no longer need to design parts so that we can machine them from a solid block. Rather than designing for manufacture, we can truly optimize the part for its function.</div>
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It's taken a very concentrated effort for me to start scratching the surface of this new world of possibilities. Buried so deeply in my mind that I don't even know it's there is a thought process limiting my ideas to something I can turn out in a machine shop. <b><i>We don't know how to think</i></b> in a world of 3D printers that can literally put a bit of material anywhere you want it<i>. We can't get out of our own way!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL3h2S9OhBGTbYARATcn0z1CIY0K2_00j2PC3ERHW2uuU21LKGrpn__wKp1497-E4gNohv6HBLRa6w86hbeEa2XjG7LVq0VGP-c_Nrqt4clCmyaHh1QRv2PtayiE6rl82l3ofgdKnlXcf/s1600/brainpush.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL3h2S9OhBGTbYARATcn0z1CIY0K2_00j2PC3ERHW2uuU21LKGrpn__wKp1497-E4gNohv6HBLRa6w86hbeEa2XjG7LVq0VGP-c_Nrqt4clCmyaHh1QRv2PtayiE6rl82l3ofgdKnlXcf/s320/brainpush.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/medusa81/medusa811105/medusa81110500002/9640691-human-brain-lateral-view.jpg" target="_blank">123rf</a> and <a href="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/T/E/j/o/5/y/man-push-hi.png" target="_blank">clker.com</a>)</div>
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In an effort to correct this ingrained "thinking shortcoming", we have taken a new direction in my lab. We are letting the computer do the design work for us! Our creative contribution is in <i>what we ask the computer to design</i> and <i>what rules we give the computer to design it</i>. In retrospect, it fits well with what Vannevar Bush was saying in <i>"As We May Think."</i></div>
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"... every time one combines and records facts in accordance with established logical processes, the creative aspect of thinking is concerned only with the selection of the data and the process to be employed and the manipulation thereafter is repetitive in nature and hence a fit matter to be relegated to the machine."</blockquote>
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<i>Vannevar Bush</i></div>
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<i>As We May Think, 1945</i></div>
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I think that Bush was getting at the idea of using computers to save time; freeing us up to think about more important things than repetitive data manipulation. However, <b><i>"computer augmented thinking"</i></b> goes much further than this. The truth is that the parts we are designing in my lab can only be optimized for their purpose by considering an <i>extremely</i> large number of variables and fundamental physical principles. We are simply not capable of considering the entire complexity of the problem. Enter the man-computer symbiotic thinking. As Englebart said:</div>
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"By "augmenting human intellect" we mean increasing the capability of man to approach a complex problem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs, and to derive solutions to problems... [leading to] more rapid comprehension, better comprehension, the possibility of gaining a useful degree of comprehension in a situation that previously was too complex, speedier solutions, better solutions, and the possibility of finding solutions to problems that before seemed insoluble.</blockquote>
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... developing the new methods of thinking and working that allow the human to capitalize upon the computer's help."</blockquote>
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<i>Douglas Englebart</i></div>
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<i>Augmenting Human Intellect, 1962</i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The largely automated design routine we have created is currently spitting out designs that we could have never pictured.</span></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pY-fA4_BuUin5jc2iLIvIEsU2NVU03PQQ7m5rJZRfHu8NE-6-eeFiz915IzFQCR7rJSmL3PViLINvHk_7fdeB2JyKKzie1lkrsoBxZdB9AsSRDtd6BQi4ZnzqDn7eMkoQ0RvR3Zdds5g/s1600/3dprintcomplex.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pY-fA4_BuUin5jc2iLIvIEsU2NVU03PQQ7m5rJZRfHu8NE-6-eeFiz915IzFQCR7rJSmL3PViLINvHk_7fdeB2JyKKzie1lkrsoBxZdB9AsSRDtd6BQi4ZnzqDn7eMkoQ0RvR3Zdds5g/s320/3dprintcomplex.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Sample of what a 3D printer can do that traditional machining cannot)</div>
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(<a href="http://www.textually.org/3DPrinting/2012/12/31/photo1032.jpeg" target="_blank">Courtesy Textually.org</a>)</div>
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(New 3D printed concept for the same purpose as above)</div>
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(Kudos to Kevin Hoopes)</div>
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And they cannot be made (easily) with traditional machining methods. And they <i>work better</i> than anything we've come up with "on our own." Thanks to 3D printers, the constraints on our thinking have been relaxed. I'm very excited to see where this will take us, and I am also excited to see how we might learn to think in a world of 3D printers.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">What constrains us?</span></i></b><br />
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It's no secret that we live in a world governed by constraints. Some of these constraints are physical, enforced by the universe: "Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time." "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Other constraints are largely man made and I think that 3D printing can serve as a bit of a metaphor for life.<br />
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How many times each day are we guilty of doing something a particular way because "that's how we've always done it"? What man made constraints are governing the way that we think? <i>Are these constraints valid or are they holding us back from thinking creatively and reaching better solutions? </i><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">No More Teachers' Dirty Looks</span></i></b><br />
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Our educational system is built on an industrial model. We have a large number of people that we want to educate, and so we have created a system that attempts to streamline this process and crank out students at a high rate.<br />
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If the industrial manufacturing constraints limit our ability to think creatively in terms of designing physical parts, I wonder what the industrial model of education is doing to our ability to think creatively <i>about anything</i>.<br />
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"... we are coming to recognize that schools are we know them appear designed at every level to sabotage the supposed goals of education. A child arrives at school bright and early in his life. By drabness we deprive him of interests. By fixed curriculum and sequence we rob him of his orientation, initiative and motivation, and by testing and scoring we subvert his natural intelligence.</blockquote>
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Schools as we know them all run on the same principles: iron all subjects flat and then proceed, in groups, at a forced march across the flattened plain. Material is dumped on the students and their responses calibrated; their interaction and involvements with the material is not encouraged nor taken into consideration, but their dutifulness of response is carefully monitored.</blockquote>
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...It is not that students are <i>un</i>motivated, but motivated <i>askew</i>... We know virtually nothing of human abilities except as they have been pickled and boxed in schools.</blockquote>
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... The human mind is born free, yet everywhere it is in chains. The educational system serves mainly to destroy for most people intelligence, curiosity, enthusiasm, and intellectual initiative and self-confidence. We are born with these. They are gone or severely diminished when we leave school.</blockquote>
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... Everything is interesting, until ruined for us. Nothing in the universe is intrinsically uninteresting... Anyone retaining his natural mental facilities can learn anything practically on his own, given encouragement and resources."</blockquote>
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<i>Theodor H. Nelson</i></div>
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<i>No More Teachers' Dirty Looks, 1974</i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">3D Printing a Curriculum</span></i></b></div>
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The power of a 3D printer is that it gives the designer the ability to put <i>physical</i> material anywhere in a <i>physical </i>space to build a custom part. The only constraints on the designer are his own creativity, and the condition that the part must be able to support itself (i.e. we can't have floating material, yet). Within this fairly open framework, the designer has an extremely large design space to explore.</div>
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Imagine an educational system based on a similar framework. <b>We could "3D print" an educational curriculum, allowing the designer to place <i>course</i> material anywhere in an <i>educational</i> space to build a custom curriculum. </b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Starting to flesh out the framework...</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i>The magic would come when we empower the student to be the designer.</i></b> We actually do this now, to some extent. Students are able to choose majors, double majors, and minors. Within those majors and minors, students have a finer level of control afforded to them through student-selected elective courses. Students can choose elective courses to build a specialization that interests them or meets their career goals.<br />
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For those who choose to attend graduate school, the freedom is expanded. Under the guidance of an academic advisor and some department-imposed guidelines, graduate students are able to choose <i>all</i> of the courses that build their curriculum.<br />
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3D printers enable a whole new realm of possibilities in custom, one-of-a-kind design. In the same way, <b><i>students could design an educational curriculum that literally builds a new degree, custom to them, based on the concepts and ideas that speak to their goals and interests.</i></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Howard Thurman</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
In <i> Gil Bailie's Violence Unveiled, 1996</i></div>
<br />
<br />
Imagine a world in which a person could explore the inner workings of electrical engineering, augmented by studies in technological philosophy, and come out an expert not only in the design of electrical systems, but also a philosophy that guides what they design for the betterment of mankind.<br />
<br />
Imagine a student that combines a love of music and engineering, studying both, to design completely <a href="http://youtu.be/kOEF7f2HGoE" target="_blank">new instruments</a> that we've never heard of.<br />
<br />
I'd love to meet a person who studied literature, sculpture, thermodynamics, and number theory.<br />
<br />
These ideas, much like the parts I first made with a 3D printer, are barely scratching the surface. Once again, I (we) don't know how to think following this paradigm, yet.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Improving Resolution</span></i></b><br />
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One of the main trends in improving 3D printers over the years has been the fineness or resolution to which a part can be printed:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsndPjTEnwjoWq-lxC9C20QmncrWbg9hTrjAd8tGeJomc2-C4zJWfOngvO1WFBOVWbsTK3jD39_ybDB4IrSibkfK1UXkcgUVoS87Di8F18QhSIreWOThkFE4QxUTR8K395fr1NglTQIkP/s1600/3dpintcoarse.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsndPjTEnwjoWq-lxC9C20QmncrWbg9hTrjAd8tGeJomc2-C4zJWfOngvO1WFBOVWbsTK3jD39_ybDB4IrSibkfK1UXkcgUVoS87Di8F18QhSIreWOThkFE4QxUTR8K395fr1NglTQIkP/s320/3dpintcoarse.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Coarse resolution part)</div>
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(<a href="http://forums.bit-tech.net/picture.php?albumid=929&pictureid=16584" target="_blank">Bit-Tech</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPsAauFEK1juZtljjZsm8QWlMZBJ2pJteixIfBG7YnxtT_qVvp0tQuNUAr4KyFrI1AHMNYCmAXcgo0H6WjD3VV6bDgca8R-c36FvJXxZ47I5NzbgYZaIpKLaQdgswkxB0_g38A_JspgaA/s1600/xl_3D_printer_micro_car_624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPsAauFEK1juZtljjZsm8QWlMZBJ2pJteixIfBG7YnxtT_qVvp0tQuNUAr4KyFrI1AHMNYCmAXcgo0H6WjD3VV6bDgca8R-c36FvJXxZ47I5NzbgYZaIpKLaQdgswkxB0_g38A_JspgaA/s320/xl_3D_printer_micro_car_624.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(Extremely fine part, on the scale of a human hair)<br />
(<a href="http://media.t3.com/img/resized/3d/xl_3D_printer_micro_car_624.JPG" target="_blank">t3</a>)<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Following the same trend, we can incrementally improve the resolution at which students have control over the custom design of their curriculum:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>Majors</li>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li>Electives</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul><ul>
<li>Courses</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul><ul><ul>
<li>Units</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul><ul><ul><ul>
<li>Topics</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul>
<li>Concepts</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<br />
Starting with majors, we expand the freedom to choose elective courses within those majors. Moving from elective courses, we could expand the freedom to choosing <i>all</i> of the courses. Improving further, we could expand the freedom within a course to the selection of different <i>units</i> that apply. Moving to a still finer resolution, we could expand the freedom to selecting the topics and concepts within a specific unit of a specific course. Perhaps we could get to the point where we rid ourselves of the idea of a "course" altogether. After all, "subjects" are artificial:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"There are no "subjects." The division of the universe into "subjects" for teaching is a matter of tradition and administrative convenience."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i style="text-align: right;">Theodor H. Nelson</i></div>
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<i>No More Teachers' Dirty Looks, 1974</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Messy Education</span></i></b><br />
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When designing a part, we start with the overall objective, and select the components that comprise it, and then the fine details of each component. Along the way, we change our minds, swap out components, alter details, etc. The design process is usually very messy, and the final part is usually only distantly related to the initial prototype.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I opened by poking a little fun at the failures students encounter when working with 3D printers. We rarely get what we were asking for the first time. We rarely design things right the first time. Will the same be true in a framework that allows students to "3D print" their own educational experience? YES! Will it be messy? Absolutely! I argue that it is <b style="font-style: italic;">through these failed conceptions, misprints, and design changes that we learn the most about how the thing works, and where we gain the most power over our designs. </b>We must build a system that encourages experimenting and embraces changing our minds.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>C. S. Lewis</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 1950</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">3D Printers that Print 3D Printers</span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another interesting feature of a 3D printer is its capability to self-replicate. This <a href="http://www.threadbombing.com/details.php?image_id=2379&sessionid=1v39bnd18s4h1k8s5gq6knvaq7" target="_blank">recursive</a> concept can make your head hurt, but it also points out a neat aspect of these devices: they may be the only self-replicating machine that exists.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the same way, I believe we could use the 3D printing framework at a school to "3D print" another school, which would of course be capable of "3D printing" another school, and so on. Maybe this is just a way of saying that if an idea or method is good, it will spread. What I really intend to say is that we could change the way we do education, drastically.<br />
<br />
There is always resistance to tearing down a system that "works." If one student who was able to design his own curriculum in this way chose to do so with a "focus" on teaching and learning, he could apply this method to his teaching and learning. Following a generational model, it wouldn't be very long until we were all thinking and learning this way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"What truth?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"There is no spoon."</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"There is no spoon?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself."</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Free y(our) mind(s).</span></i></b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XO0pcWxcROI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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More to come, comments welcome!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-62963707375523445592013-02-22T20:35:00.000-05:002013-02-24T00:42:31.538-05:00How to Inspire Someone<h3>
I recently had coffee with a new friend that changed may have changed my life.</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I say "new friend" meaning that we barely knew each other when we first sat down. We had met a few times in seminars around campus, and decided to grab a cup of joe when we arrived at a seminar and found that we were the only two people who showed up. Looking back I'm amazed that it happened at all. On this day it was a balmy 45 degrees in town, and raining harder than I've ever seen (strange fact: every time that I've seen this person since, its been raining...). I suppose most people had nice excuses for not coming, being busy with other work and not wanting to brave the trek through what could have been Noah's Flood. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I almost didn't come myself. It was the end of a week in which I had worked a minimum of 12 hours a day (Winter Break, what's that?). When I saw the rain, I just wanted to stay inside (sure didn't help that I was wearing my favorite new sport coat and tie). I had LOTS of work to do, and this was just a seminar I <i>wanted</i> to attend, not a mandatory event.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
<i>"Maybe if I skip this, I can go home earlier."</i> </h4>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once we arrived, we waited a few minutes to see if anyone else was coming. When it became apparent that we were the only people crazy enough to walk across campus in the deluge, we considered heading our separate ways to get back to the grind. I admit that I was relieved at the idea, I just got 2 hours of my work day back. Instead, I found myself swimming across a parking lot to a trendy coffee shop (you know, the kind with a broken glass door taped back together for the past 2 years because the hipsters that run the place think its a symbol for something? they're probably right). So there we sat, and he asked me a fairly standard question: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
"What makes Tony tick? Tell me your story."</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What happened next doesn't happen very often. Most of the time when people ask that question, they really just want to talk about themselves. Usually, its lasts a few minutes and then splits off into a discussion of something else. We sat there for 2 hours, listening intently to each other's stories. Asking questions, laughing at the funny parts, empathizing and making light of the challenges we had faced.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
I left that coffee shop and had one of the most inspired, creative days I've ever had.</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When you're faced with a To-Do list that is weeks long, and you have something scheduled for more than 80% of every day, it can be down right impossible to stop and reflect. The time we spent over coffee was the first I had stopped to think about how I ended up where I am in so long that I can't remember.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stopping to think about my journey had a couple strong effects on me. First, I realized how fortunate I am to be here. My home life is <i>awesome</i>. My wife and I are best friends, and we've come a long way together. I could never have made it to this point without the love and support that we share. The truth is that I love my job, and I would probably do it for free (Boss, if you're reading this don't get any ideas...). Second, I got a chance to look over the challenges I've faced, and <i>realized that I am much stronger than I think I am</i>. Nothing about my experience has "fit the mold," nothing has gone according to plan. The whole trip has been very messy. I realized that <i>I like it this way</i>. I've worked hard, never knowing exactly where I was going, but feeling hopeful. And I ended up in a place that <i>I feel ALIVE</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5bEW1euUjnxWG0rvfi1AWzF6DJgTJNNYOSNKvS_2phaRsGc1crSsggG7n0M6W8ckdKEthZIAaJCR6YZcUbLOq0o1Ykdr9QLMU02dU4XaCD2d0ZWzZLGCrZIXWQEv5pPEHOOWdI-_hyphenhyphenbN/s1600/handsdirty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5bEW1euUjnxWG0rvfi1AWzF6DJgTJNNYOSNKvS_2phaRsGc1crSsggG7n0M6W8ckdKEthZIAaJCR6YZcUbLOq0o1Ykdr9QLMU02dU4XaCD2d0ZWzZLGCrZIXWQEv5pPEHOOWdI-_hyphenhyphenbN/s320/handsdirty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/typography-inspiration/55-inspiring-quotations-that-will-change-the-way-you-think/">Inspiration Feed</a>)</div>
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<h3>
How to Inspire Someone</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Do you want to find inspiration? Do you want to inspire those around you to do great things? Then do for others what my new friend did for me: <i>Ask them to tell you their story</i>. <i>Listen, and mean it</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A funny thing happened while we were talking. We discovered some deep-seated common ground. We both have a strong passion for education and learning. Now we meet to talk about these things once a week, and we are working together on a project that I hope will awaken a whole new way of building creativity in education. For me, it very well may change the direction of my career, who knows? But that's a story for another day. One thing is certain: I won't let myself get too busy to have a cup of coffee with good company.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks GC.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140277847409668043.post-20531096513998341792013-02-20T10:38:00.000-05:002013-02-20T18:41:32.274-05:00Blogging and Brainstorming<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello, Everyone!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here I am, writing my first blog post for the world to see. It's funny how my online presence has morphed over the past few months, and so I think I'll start by telling you about it. Along the way you'll get to see what this whole "Tony Brainstorms" thing is all about.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I actually created the "Tony Brainstorms" pseudonym with blogging in mind. Blogs represent a low-risk, but public, forum for us to try out and refine new ideas. Engineers call this brainstorming. When we start to solve a new problem as a team, engineers usually begin with a brainstorming session. The team agrees to share every idea, no matter how ridiculous. During brainstorming, there is no such thing as a wrong or bad idea. There is great power in this form of free thinking. In most cases, out of the multitude of silly ideas rise a few great, new, unique ideas that can be pursued and refined into a solution that no one else has tried.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I've got a name, now it's time to start blogging, right? Wrong. At the time that I created this blog, I <i>really hated blogging</i>! Here is what I was thinking:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The internet has brought us a vast array of new information and sources that are <i>very</i> useful. Along with this new information has come a new ability: <i>anyone</i> can publish <i>anything</i> for the world to see. As a "connected" culture, we are able to instantly tell the world how we feel about the tuna fish sandwich we are eating, a breakup, a job promotion, gripe about a class, or share our thoughts on politics. Some of this information is useful to others, or at least interesting. The rest, however, represents a new form of pollution. I hate to cite statistics without sources, but I can't seem to find the article I read that says: We are now generating more written content in a day than was generated in the <i>entirety of human history</i> before the internet!</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This information requires storage (i.e. huge data centers with operating costs, power consumption, etc...), indexing (Google, Yahoo, etc...), maintenance (both site hosts and individual "publishers"), and filtering (it takes me a long time to filter out the content I am not interested in). I read that a "google" search takes about the same amount of energy as boiling a cup of water. I wonder what the power bill will be for storing this post <i>for the rest of time</i>? We are going to need to solve these problems if we ever hope to be a modern, "green" society.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On top of all of this, I am way too busy to take up monitoring and contributing to blogs (Grad School is much more than a full-time job!). And lastly, I just don't enjoy it."</span></blockquote>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"So why did you create a blog?"</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mainly because I had to. I was in a teaching course that was exploring the use of blogging in education, and the blogs were to be an extended online discussion forum. During my time in that class, I wrote about a dozen blog posts. I saved them all as drafts and <i>never published a single one</i>. I couldn't get past the idea of publishing something for the world to see, and then changing my mind and not being able to take it back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"What changed your attitude?"</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I wasn't blogging, I did begin building my online empire under the name "Tony Brainstorms," and it really took off. Tony Brainstorms has <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyBrainstorms">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tony.brainstorms">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/tonybrainstorms">YouTube</a> accounts. I've managed to join the conversation with people from around the world who are just as passionate about teaching and engineering as I am. On YouTube, Tony Brainstorms is approaching 2000 views, from all 6 continents that people live on (sorry Antarctica), 64 countries, and 36 states. These Social Media Outlets have brought me into a whole new world of connectedness that I've come to love. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and watching as mankind builds the most dynamic creation in history, I've become an architect. That's the beauty of the Web, we are all agents in the act of creation.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Closing</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1yW7xzOYp9meVVb-sbgUVNiakP50MVCxOv1RfuYubPFvHAVhof9DH7MW3F9AZq9k55gY2HYtjJHai-wsl4lEJh4ZWRTJGQ9Fr-AnGnsOtt2x8UuEdQaoR0T3CC-SgB9FycPwG6Iko7QP/s1600/head+in+clouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1yW7xzOYp9meVVb-sbgUVNiakP50MVCxOv1RfuYubPFvHAVhof9DH7MW3F9AZq9k55gY2HYtjJHai-wsl4lEJh4ZWRTJGQ9Fr-AnGnsOtt2x8UuEdQaoR0T3CC-SgB9FycPwG6Iko7QP/s320/head+in+clouds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://www.friendsofbest.org/2013/01/27/brainstorming-boost-your-creativity/">Friends of Best</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it comes to engineering, the Brainstorming session is my favorite part. Before reality strikes and we must apply the concepts of physics and thermodynamics, before we have to solve fully-coupled non-linear transient differential equations, we get to spend a brief moment with our heads in the clouds asking only one question: <b>"What If?"</b> <i>During this time of unfettered thinking, the magic happens</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope to treat this blog as a great big brainstorming session. Let's agree that in this place there is no such thing as wrong or bad ideas. Rather, they are leads to start thinking about concepts that <i>could</i> develop into great ideas. During brainstorming, we don't hold each other accountable for every word spoken, and we can always go back and change our mind on an idea or opinion. Who knows, at the end we may have something very unique, and a very interesting "paper trail" that chronicles how we got there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zP4gyqk2WF8" width="560"></iframe>) </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04790014338699625932noreply@blogger.com1