I am a die hard fan of Dr Who, a British science fiction television series, in which the last of the Time Lords, (Dr Who) travels to different worlds in his amazing ship, the Tardis.
It’s a lonely life for the Doctor, whose world and people have long since been destroyed. Of course, it is the Doctor’s lovely lady companion, a woman from Planet Earth, who keeps him centred and helps him in his task of saving the different worlds from annhilation.
Now why am I going on about all of this? In one particular episode, New Earth, Dr Who discovers a hospital in which there are hundreds of pods containing artificially-grown humans, forcibly inflicted with numerous diseases. These human lab rats have never had contact with other humans and have never experienced being touched. Imagine that.
If you’ve not guessed it by now, the topic today is Social Brains.
The Channel 4 documentary, Man on Earth explores how Homo Sapiens survived the last Ice Age, and the events that led to the disappearance of their cousins, the Neanderthals. It is because the Neanderthals lacked our 'social brains', that they were unable to work out simple trades for goods and get help from outsiders, and this is what eventually led to their starvation and dying out in lonely communities.
Ralph Adolphs discusses the role of the social brain, or the “orbitofrontal cortex, which is located at the base of the frontal lobes, right behind the eyes, and the amygdala, a small structure deep within the brain. These two seem to integrate cognition and emotion, linking what we see in the outside world to an emotional response to it.” He describes the case of Phineas Gage and other patients who have suffered damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.
“If you ask these patients what their main difficulty in life is, they’ll tell you it’s social—they can’t understand other people’s emotions…In fact, their impairments in many respects resemble those seen in people with high-functioning autism.”
For more insight into the role and importance of social networks, the need to stay connected, and how even perceived isolation can be damaging, watch this video in which Professor John Cacioppo, co-founder of the study of social neuroscience, outlines the vital importance of altruistic behaviour, social connection, and inclusive communities.
Now what does all this tell us? And what should we now keep in mind when we try to create more effective learning programmes?
Sunday 13 December 2009
Thursday 5 November 2009
Bits of Psychology - Ego and Learning
Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, shares some of his research and insights in this video 9 Ways to Take Your Site from One to One Million Users.
The first point he makes is about Ego. He hits the nail on the head when he asks us to consider whether what we offer does anything to increase users' self-worth. There is much research to support this. This is good business practice and has much to do with user uptake of any offering. I think we should keep this in mind when we develop learning resources or any programme in which learner participation is crucial. In order to develop engaging and effective learning, we need to connect with learners and cultivate learning dispositions. He examines the Twitter story and why Followers work and how simple rewards and perks can make all the difference. Definitely worth thinking about in this world where the locus of control in education and training is now shifting and learning is a social activity. You can read a little bit more about psychology and understanding the people you design for here, How to Understand Your Users with Personas.
The first point he makes is about Ego. He hits the nail on the head when he asks us to consider whether what we offer does anything to increase users' self-worth. There is much research to support this. This is good business practice and has much to do with user uptake of any offering. I think we should keep this in mind when we develop learning resources or any programme in which learner participation is crucial. In order to develop engaging and effective learning, we need to connect with learners and cultivate learning dispositions. He examines the Twitter story and why Followers work and how simple rewards and perks can make all the difference. Definitely worth thinking about in this world where the locus of control in education and training is now shifting and learning is a social activity. You can read a little bit more about psychology and understanding the people you design for here, How to Understand Your Users with Personas.
Wednesday 21 October 2009
Angel's Advocates and Creating New Social Norms
The Wired to Connect dialogues is a series of dialogues between Daniel Goleman and several leading thinkers. In the dialogue called The Inner Compass for Ethics and Excellence, Daniel Goleman and Naomi Wolf share their thoughts about how to create new social norms and cultures in which women develop their leadership.
Naomi Wolf explains how in order to be heard, women need to use their "true voice" and let go of old, overlearned responses such as, presenting a "false front of compliance" and "playing it safe" and "placate". For women who want to make change, there is a need to get over the aversion to criticism. In order to change this wiring, they need to live by the maxim, feel the fear and do it anyway.
Goleman speaks about how Neuroplasticity comes into play - the brain shapes itself through repeated experiences and it's only by putting women in a place where they are compelled to take risks, will these old, play-it-safe responses be overwritten.
Goleman explains this shift in terms of the amygdala, the part of the brain that receives direct inputs from the senses, to trigger a response even before these stimuli are registered by the neocortex or the thinking centre. The amygdala triggers an emotional response even before the cortical centres (or the thinking brain) have fully understood what is happening.
When women speak with their true voices, this shift resonates outwards, and is instantly and almost unconsciously, perceived by listeners (via the amygdala) and plays a significant role in building trust.
Goleman shares a story about an organisation that has developed the concept of the Angel's Advocate, a powerful and real way of creating a new culture and social norms. In this organisation, there is a tradition that whenever anyone advocates a new idea, the next person who speaks must support it. This allows breathing room for new ideas, and ensures that not every new idea is killed at the outset. This practice is now standard operating procedure in that organisation.
So for all of you who long for change - there's many routes - use your true voice, face up to and do not fear criticism, take risks often, and be an angel's advocate...in Gandhi's words, well, just go ahead and be the change!
Naomi Wolf explains how in order to be heard, women need to use their "true voice" and let go of old, overlearned responses such as, presenting a "false front of compliance" and "playing it safe" and "placate". For women who want to make change, there is a need to get over the aversion to criticism. In order to change this wiring, they need to live by the maxim, feel the fear and do it anyway.
Goleman speaks about how Neuroplasticity comes into play - the brain shapes itself through repeated experiences and it's only by putting women in a place where they are compelled to take risks, will these old, play-it-safe responses be overwritten.
Goleman explains this shift in terms of the amygdala, the part of the brain that receives direct inputs from the senses, to trigger a response even before these stimuli are registered by the neocortex or the thinking centre. The amygdala triggers an emotional response even before the cortical centres (or the thinking brain) have fully understood what is happening.
When women speak with their true voices, this shift resonates outwards, and is instantly and almost unconsciously, perceived by listeners (via the amygdala) and plays a significant role in building trust.
Goleman shares a story about an organisation that has developed the concept of the Angel's Advocate, a powerful and real way of creating a new culture and social norms. In this organisation, there is a tradition that whenever anyone advocates a new idea, the next person who speaks must support it. This allows breathing room for new ideas, and ensures that not every new idea is killed at the outset. This practice is now standard operating procedure in that organisation.
So for all of you who long for change - there's many routes - use your true voice, face up to and do not fear criticism, take risks often, and be an angel's advocate...in Gandhi's words, well, just go ahead and be the change!
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Skepticism vs. The Need to Believe
We were recently watching the Paul Merton in India series on the tele and my ten year old son was amazed by what he didn't know about India. And more than a little disturbed as he watched with a new set of eyes, the land where a majority survive not on bread and water, but on belief alone. It made us a little sad really. I am a skeptic at heart, and feel that truth above all else must prevail. And though only ten, and unable to articulate why he felt so uncomfortable with the complex ritualism that seems to define a large part of India (and even the tech-savvy part of India), he does know that something's not quite right.
Is it sheer coincidence then (please let it be!), that The Guardian weekly science podcasts invited guest Prof Chris French - coordinator of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths, University of London - to share his ideas and the work being done on the subject of Anomalistic Psychology. You can listen to the Guardian podcast here. You can also get access to the audio and video presentations of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths here.
Anomalistic psychology seeks to provide non-paranormal explanations for a whole range of para-normal experiences. And to teach critical thinking. And to help people understand the nature of evidence and assess the worth of evidence, and why they should believe more in certain forms of evidence than in others. In other words, it seeks to teach people to adopt a scientific, skeptical approach to life and phenomena.
In a country where poverty, hunger and homelessness abound, there is no doubt that paranormal beliefs can play a positive role - that of a shock absorber that makes it possible to face each day of hardship. It's often a case of Believe or Go Mad with Frustration or Die from Despair. But where belief and blind faith take away from people their faith in themselves and their own power of decision making, it can do no good. Where belief is used to make puppets of people and disempower them and keep them from achieving their true potential, it can do no good.
Derren Brown, master conjurer and mindtrickster is also a promoter of skepticism and critical thinking. Read more about his views here.
I fear that change may be a long time coming in India. But please let it begin here and now. Surely there is more to science education and IT advances than merely a foothold to the world of material advancement? Surely above all else, it is about building questioning minds and evidence based thinking?
Is it sheer coincidence then (please let it be!), that The Guardian weekly science podcasts invited guest Prof Chris French - coordinator of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths, University of London - to share his ideas and the work being done on the subject of Anomalistic Psychology. You can listen to the Guardian podcast here. You can also get access to the audio and video presentations of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths here.
Anomalistic psychology seeks to provide non-paranormal explanations for a whole range of para-normal experiences. And to teach critical thinking. And to help people understand the nature of evidence and assess the worth of evidence, and why they should believe more in certain forms of evidence than in others. In other words, it seeks to teach people to adopt a scientific, skeptical approach to life and phenomena.
In a country where poverty, hunger and homelessness abound, there is no doubt that paranormal beliefs can play a positive role - that of a shock absorber that makes it possible to face each day of hardship. It's often a case of Believe or Go Mad with Frustration or Die from Despair. But where belief and blind faith take away from people their faith in themselves and their own power of decision making, it can do no good. Where belief is used to make puppets of people and disempower them and keep them from achieving their true potential, it can do no good.
Derren Brown, master conjurer and mindtrickster is also a promoter of skepticism and critical thinking. Read more about his views here.
I fear that change may be a long time coming in India. But please let it begin here and now. Surely there is more to science education and IT advances than merely a foothold to the world of material advancement? Surely above all else, it is about building questioning minds and evidence based thinking?
Monday 24 August 2009
I Want it Now(!)
We recently came across a product called I Want It in an electronic goods store and had a good laugh about its tongue-in-cheek jibe at today's consumer. Something to think about in this fast moving, fast changing world, where attention spans are short and the name of the game is instant gratification. It is a world where people want quick results and easy answers.
In his book Emotional Intelligence (Why it can matter more than IQ), Daniel Goleman describes The Marshmallow Test conducted by Walter Mischel. A group of four year olds were offered two marshmallows if they could wait till the researcher returned, and one if they didn't want to wait.
"There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control..." (Goleman, 2004, p.81)
When these children were tracked down fourteen years later, it was found that those who had resisted temptation at the age of four, were now more socially competent and better able to cope with life's frustrations than those who had given in to impulse and grabbed the one marshmallow. They also fared better academically than those who had acted on whim. "More than a decade later, they were still able to delay gratification in pursuit of their goals."
But there's hope for us all. As Goleman states, "There is ample evidence that emotional skills such as impulse control and accurately reading a social situation can be learned."
Reference: Goleman, Daniel,(2004), Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing
In his book Emotional Intelligence (Why it can matter more than IQ), Daniel Goleman describes The Marshmallow Test conducted by Walter Mischel. A group of four year olds were offered two marshmallows if they could wait till the researcher returned, and one if they didn't want to wait.
"There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control..." (Goleman, 2004, p.81)
When these children were tracked down fourteen years later, it was found that those who had resisted temptation at the age of four, were now more socially competent and better able to cope with life's frustrations than those who had given in to impulse and grabbed the one marshmallow. They also fared better academically than those who had acted on whim. "More than a decade later, they were still able to delay gratification in pursuit of their goals."
But there's hope for us all. As Goleman states, "There is ample evidence that emotional skills such as impulse control and accurately reading a social situation can be learned."
Reference: Goleman, Daniel,(2004), Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing
Monday 3 August 2009
Changin Times and the Evolving Self
(Image courtesy: Paavan Karia)"Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'..." Bob Dylan
Do you remember this Bob Dylan classic?
Classic because its still true and relevant today. Today I write about some eternal truths. Changing times and The Evolving Self (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). In this brilliant discourse, Csikszentmihalyi delves into the role played by evolutionary adaptation and wired in, genetic programmes in shaping our psychology. And how in order to survive and progress and adapt to changing times, we must remain flexibhle because "with each generation the conditions that affect human consciousness change in subtle but important ways "(p.42). He recognises that in order for the human race to thrive, there is a need to develop skills beyond logic and rational thought because:
"The future...is not constrained by rules and predictable outcomes. We need to cultivate more than logic if we want to thrive in it. We must foster intuition to anticipate changes before they occur; empathy to understand that which cannot be clearly expressed; wisdom to see the connection between apparently unrelated events and creativity to discover new ways of defining problems, new rules that will make it possible to adapt to the unexpected."
For providers of learning, there is much to chew upon. Let us awaken to the changing times and the need to change the way learning is dished out. Let us stop cultivating sheep (no offence to sheep!).
For more insight into changing paradigms and new perspectives into learning, listen to this podcast - Informal Learning – an interview with Brian Sutton.
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'..." Bob Dylan
Do you remember this Bob Dylan classic?
Classic because its still true and relevant today. Today I write about some eternal truths. Changing times and The Evolving Self (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). In this brilliant discourse, Csikszentmihalyi delves into the role played by evolutionary adaptation and wired in, genetic programmes in shaping our psychology. And how in order to survive and progress and adapt to changing times, we must remain flexibhle because "with each generation the conditions that affect human consciousness change in subtle but important ways "(p.42). He recognises that in order for the human race to thrive, there is a need to develop skills beyond logic and rational thought because:
"The future...is not constrained by rules and predictable outcomes. We need to cultivate more than logic if we want to thrive in it. We must foster intuition to anticipate changes before they occur; empathy to understand that which cannot be clearly expressed; wisdom to see the connection between apparently unrelated events and creativity to discover new ways of defining problems, new rules that will make it possible to adapt to the unexpected."
For providers of learning, there is much to chew upon. Let us awaken to the changing times and the need to change the way learning is dished out. Let us stop cultivating sheep (no offence to sheep!).
For more insight into changing paradigms and new perspectives into learning, listen to this podcast - Informal Learning – an interview with Brian Sutton.
Thursday 25 June 2009
The long and winding road to happiness
This post is for those who have never lived in India and who have never experienced the rigours of working toward the entrance exams for the famous Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
A true test of endurance.
For an indepth discussion and greater insight into the factors involved in success, read The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He describes the role played by a culture, a culture of sheer effort and hard work in determining the rise to success. And he writes about the role of summer holidays in widening the achievement gap. "Cultures that believe that the route to success lies in rising before dawn 360 days a year are scarcely going to give their children three straight months off in the summer." (p.260) He tells the story of the KIPP Academy (p.250), "the miracle school that transforms losers into winners" (p.263) and the price the children pay to break out of poverty.
"Outliers are those who have been given opportunities and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them."
Wait no more. Seize the moment and get to work finding your dreams. Because Time Wastes Too Fast.
A true test of endurance.
For an indepth discussion and greater insight into the factors involved in success, read The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He describes the role played by a culture, a culture of sheer effort and hard work in determining the rise to success. And he writes about the role of summer holidays in widening the achievement gap. "Cultures that believe that the route to success lies in rising before dawn 360 days a year are scarcely going to give their children three straight months off in the summer." (p.260) He tells the story of the KIPP Academy (p.250), "the miracle school that transforms losers into winners" (p.263) and the price the children pay to break out of poverty.
"Outliers are those who have been given opportunities and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them."
Wait no more. Seize the moment and get to work finding your dreams. Because Time Wastes Too Fast.
Sunday 14 June 2009
Who's driving?
Some time ago, I had started a review of the many ways in which technology can be used to support teaching and learning.
Before launching any learning programme, it's always a good idea to mark out a baseline, working out your start point and what your finish goals are. Some tools you can use to find out what learners already know are surveys. If you winced at the word 'survey', try this painfree online survey tool.
You can also have some fun and help learners gauge their own progress with classroom response systems. And of course, you can improve access by offering podcasts and lecture webcasting. Carnegie Mellon offers an interesting overview of the possibilities here.
To help your learners work on their research and writing abilities, there are a range of social software tools - a module wiki, a group blog, asynchronous discussion forums, web quests, YouTube videos, podcasts and other forms of learner generated content, open to review and comment. All of these provide excellent built-in audit trails and enable learners to custom build their own e-portfolios and reflective journals.
For the presentation of data and research, there are now a host of charting and mapping tools available. This article sets out a few more tools available to academia.
More on e-learning tools here. The only way to really learn about the possibilities is to really use these tools. If you've been relying heavily on powerpoint slides and one-way transmission lectures, try turning the tables and letting your learners take the wheel for a change. Let them choose their own presentation tools. And let them have a bit of fun!
Before launching any learning programme, it's always a good idea to mark out a baseline, working out your start point and what your finish goals are. Some tools you can use to find out what learners already know are surveys. If you winced at the word 'survey', try this painfree online survey tool.
You can also have some fun and help learners gauge their own progress with classroom response systems. And of course, you can improve access by offering podcasts and lecture webcasting. Carnegie Mellon offers an interesting overview of the possibilities here.
To help your learners work on their research and writing abilities, there are a range of social software tools - a module wiki, a group blog, asynchronous discussion forums, web quests, YouTube videos, podcasts and other forms of learner generated content, open to review and comment. All of these provide excellent built-in audit trails and enable learners to custom build their own e-portfolios and reflective journals.
For the presentation of data and research, there are now a host of charting and mapping tools available. This article sets out a few more tools available to academia.
More on e-learning tools here. The only way to really learn about the possibilities is to really use these tools. If you've been relying heavily on powerpoint slides and one-way transmission lectures, try turning the tables and letting your learners take the wheel for a change. Let them choose their own presentation tools. And let them have a bit of fun!
Friday 12 June 2009
Not for the likes of me
Yesterday, I chanced upon the debate in Parliament on Social Mobility. MPs were debating a motion on social mobility and fair access to professions.
Alan Milburn eloquently described the barriers to moving up in life and the "not for the likes of me" syndrome that fosters an "aspiration gap".
What I really identified with was the recognition that mobility should be " a chance throughout life, and not just a one-off chance..." and that there was a need for a system that would allow entry and mobility at more mature ages.
Having chosen to reinvent myself and reenter the education system in my thirties, I can describe firsthand the barriers and obstacles.
Read another interesting discussion on "the equality delusion".
"Every survey in the last half century has confirmed that poverty is a fundamental cause of failure".
Coming from India, this is possibly the understatement of the millenium.
But all this discussion is about social mobility within a society. The bitter and stark truth about the accident of birth really goes much deeper. Let's zoom out and talk about the differences in development on a global level. Will there ever be an equal world?
Alan Milburn eloquently described the barriers to moving up in life and the "not for the likes of me" syndrome that fosters an "aspiration gap".
What I really identified with was the recognition that mobility should be " a chance throughout life, and not just a one-off chance..." and that there was a need for a system that would allow entry and mobility at more mature ages.
Having chosen to reinvent myself and reenter the education system in my thirties, I can describe firsthand the barriers and obstacles.
Read another interesting discussion on "the equality delusion".
"Every survey in the last half century has confirmed that poverty is a fundamental cause of failure".
Coming from India, this is possibly the understatement of the millenium.
But all this discussion is about social mobility within a society. The bitter and stark truth about the accident of birth really goes much deeper. Let's zoom out and talk about the differences in development on a global level. Will there ever be an equal world?
Sunday 31 May 2009
Greatness, Contribution and Making a difference
It's been nearly two months.
Recently, a dear friend gifted me a copy of Stephen R. Covey's book, The 8th Habit.
Synchronicity seems to be at work. I was thrilled when on p. 27, I found another reference to Robert Frost's poem The Road Less Travelled that has been buzzing in my mind for quite a while now, and was discussed in my last post.
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I -
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference..."
I have talked in my last and other posts about the need to break away from old patterns and explore new paths. With a marvellous analogy about the practice of blood-letting used to heal people in the Middle ages, Stephen Covey writes on p.19,
"If you want to make minor, incremental changes and improvements, work on practices, behavior or attitude. But if you want to make significant, quantum improvement, work on paradigms."
Further on p. 20 he writes, " ...the problem is that paradigms, like traditions, die hard. Flawed paradigms go on for centuries after a better one is discovered..."
Seems to be that's where we are at really - trying to discard old paradigms and find new ones. Which comes first?
We must teach the new generations that mediocrity cannot walk hand in hand with "greatness and contribution". (p.28) And we must walk the talk.
In the same vein, a really fun and entertaining card game about change and transition that some friends in Cirencester introduced us to is Fluxx. Quite disconcerting at first, dealing with and adapting to rapidly changing rules. Quite too much like life really.
Recently, a dear friend gifted me a copy of Stephen R. Covey's book, The 8th Habit.
Synchronicity seems to be at work. I was thrilled when on p. 27, I found another reference to Robert Frost's poem The Road Less Travelled that has been buzzing in my mind for quite a while now, and was discussed in my last post.
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I -
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference..."
I have talked in my last and other posts about the need to break away from old patterns and explore new paths. With a marvellous analogy about the practice of blood-letting used to heal people in the Middle ages, Stephen Covey writes on p.19,
"If you want to make minor, incremental changes and improvements, work on practices, behavior or attitude. But if you want to make significant, quantum improvement, work on paradigms."
Further on p. 20 he writes, " ...the problem is that paradigms, like traditions, die hard. Flawed paradigms go on for centuries after a better one is discovered..."
Seems to be that's where we are at really - trying to discard old paradigms and find new ones. Which comes first?
We must teach the new generations that mediocrity cannot walk hand in hand with "greatness and contribution". (p.28) And we must walk the talk.
In the same vein, a really fun and entertaining card game about change and transition that some friends in Cirencester introduced us to is Fluxx. Quite disconcerting at first, dealing with and adapting to rapidly changing rules. Quite too much like life really.
Tuesday 7 April 2009
The Road Less Travelled
The Road Less Travelled (or The Road Not Taken) - Robert Frost's famous poem has always been one of my favourites. It comes to mind again as I seem to be repeatedly drawn into discussions about education and employability. There is also a project on hand to design resources for young children to learn "work-related skills". And much discussion about learning outcomes. One of the outcomes identified is to help youngsters recognise common stereotypes in their lives and how stereotypes affect and limit their attitudes, choices and opportunities.
There is also an enlightening discussion about the subtle way in which stereotyped thinking and deep rooted assumptions are woven into our lives, and how and why we tend to fall for tall, dark and handsome men in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. To learn more about the implicit associations that underlie our perceptions about life and people and affect all our decisions, try the Implicit Association Test. You may be very surprised at what you learn about your own way of thinking! Definitely a must for those who pride themselves on being open minded!
How do we learn these stereotypes and how can we avoid teaching these same patterns to our children? How do we unlearn these patterns? Can these patterns be unlearned? While our brain needs to classify and categorise information in order to make sense of the world, this process is not always objective or based on evidence. Breaking the mould takes courage and risks isolation as it is based on asking questions about the relevance and integrity of traditional classification systems and rejecting irrelevant data. It's never easy to walk the road less travelled.
I think it all starts with asking questions. Questions such as, Is this the only way? Why this way? Is there another way? Is there a better way? Why not this way? It also means delving into the past to uncover how many of these classification systems have arisen and understanding their dangers and weaknesses. Let's teach our young to explore the roads less travelled. For that, we must first confront our own fears.
There is also an enlightening discussion about the subtle way in which stereotyped thinking and deep rooted assumptions are woven into our lives, and how and why we tend to fall for tall, dark and handsome men in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. To learn more about the implicit associations that underlie our perceptions about life and people and affect all our decisions, try the Implicit Association Test. You may be very surprised at what you learn about your own way of thinking! Definitely a must for those who pride themselves on being open minded!
How do we learn these stereotypes and how can we avoid teaching these same patterns to our children? How do we unlearn these patterns? Can these patterns be unlearned? While our brain needs to classify and categorise information in order to make sense of the world, this process is not always objective or based on evidence. Breaking the mould takes courage and risks isolation as it is based on asking questions about the relevance and integrity of traditional classification systems and rejecting irrelevant data. It's never easy to walk the road less travelled.
I think it all starts with asking questions. Questions such as, Is this the only way? Why this way? Is there another way? Is there a better way? Why not this way? It also means delving into the past to uncover how many of these classification systems have arisen and understanding their dangers and weaknesses. Let's teach our young to explore the roads less travelled. For that, we must first confront our own fears.
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Potential and Potential Wasted
Waste is potential unrealised, untapped, unexplored.
Potential is..."inherent capacity".
I really liked Jacob Kestner’s blog post about Potential. He hits the nail on the head, that only by "providing the most motivating circumstances" can we truly help people achieve their potential.
Empowerment and social inclusion are tremendous motivating circumstances.
Read about LASSIE. The Libraries and Social Software in Education project (March 2008) was funded by the University of London Centre for Distance Education to explore the role of information literacy in lifelong learning and social inclusion.
It's key message is that there is an imperative to seriously develop information literacy in order to enable lifelong learners to find and access the magnificent resources available to education today. Without information literacy there can be no lifelong learning.
In my last post, I suggested a reading of Michael Feldstein’s discussion on the History of OE. In case you didn’t click the link, this comment about MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative really got the gongs sounding for me: "….enormous, multi-million-dollar effort has made large quantities of high quality educational materials from one of the world’s most elite technical institutes available to anyone with a web browser. Ironically, by doing so MIT made clear the distinction between OER and open education. They could afford to make all course content available for free, they argued, because the MIT course materials (even the lectures themselves!) are not the same thing as an MIT education. The locus of value from an MIT education comes from gathering smart people, teachers and students, to discuss those materials. It is in the free exchange of ideas in the classroom..."
Today, social networking technologies have dissolved the territorial boundaries of the classroom. There is much to be gained from global exchange. And Open Education cannot be just about parking mountains of resources on the Web. It is also about building communities of learners and developing routes for win-win exchanges. I can't see how global discussion and inclusion can diminish the worth of brick and mortar institutions.
Some institutions have already recognised this and are seriously launching initiatives through blogs, on Facebook and through whispers on Twitter. Here is just one example.
LASSIE found that librarians have become keen bloggers and in the US (and to a lesser extent in the UK) libraries are using blogs and RSS feeds to reach out to their users. They are also allowing ‘user generated content’ (such as ratings, book reviews and user comments) to enrich their catalogues.
Social networks are also the key mechanism for peer driven learning. Read more about this phenomenon here.
We are however in the very early part of our journey to realising the true potential of Open Education. And until many more people come onto the bandwagon, we risk serious waste. Remember, waste is potential unrealised, untapped, unexplored. It is a global issue.
Potential is..."inherent capacity".
I really liked Jacob Kestner’s blog post about Potential. He hits the nail on the head, that only by "providing the most motivating circumstances" can we truly help people achieve their potential.
Empowerment and social inclusion are tremendous motivating circumstances.
Read about LASSIE. The Libraries and Social Software in Education project (March 2008) was funded by the University of London Centre for Distance Education to explore the role of information literacy in lifelong learning and social inclusion.
It's key message is that there is an imperative to seriously develop information literacy in order to enable lifelong learners to find and access the magnificent resources available to education today. Without information literacy there can be no lifelong learning.
In my last post, I suggested a reading of Michael Feldstein’s discussion on the History of OE. In case you didn’t click the link, this comment about MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative really got the gongs sounding for me: "….enormous, multi-million-dollar effort has made large quantities of high quality educational materials from one of the world’s most elite technical institutes available to anyone with a web browser. Ironically, by doing so MIT made clear the distinction between OER and open education. They could afford to make all course content available for free, they argued, because the MIT course materials (even the lectures themselves!) are not the same thing as an MIT education. The locus of value from an MIT education comes from gathering smart people, teachers and students, to discuss those materials. It is in the free exchange of ideas in the classroom..."
Today, social networking technologies have dissolved the territorial boundaries of the classroom. There is much to be gained from global exchange. And Open Education cannot be just about parking mountains of resources on the Web. It is also about building communities of learners and developing routes for win-win exchanges. I can't see how global discussion and inclusion can diminish the worth of brick and mortar institutions.
Some institutions have already recognised this and are seriously launching initiatives through blogs, on Facebook and through whispers on Twitter. Here is just one example.
LASSIE found that librarians have become keen bloggers and in the US (and to a lesser extent in the UK) libraries are using blogs and RSS feeds to reach out to their users. They are also allowing ‘user generated content’ (such as ratings, book reviews and user comments) to enrich their catalogues.
Social networks are also the key mechanism for peer driven learning. Read more about this phenomenon here.
We are however in the very early part of our journey to realising the true potential of Open Education. And until many more people come onto the bandwagon, we risk serious waste. Remember, waste is potential unrealised, untapped, unexplored. It is a global issue.
Sunday 8 February 2009
Empower and Include
It's been a busy time. I finally did manage to pass my driving test (a very kind examiner, the winter chill and empty roads helped me overcome my mind numbing fear of tests!). Tremendously liberating. Still don't have a car, but it's nice knowing that there is now no other bar to mobility. So Empowering!
So, today, I focus on Empowerment.
And if and how global learning assets and open source education can be used to foster empowerment.
"The idea of empowerment is that those who have little or no influence, such as excluded people, are able to develop informed opinions, to take initiative, make independent choices and influence change...
It also means that those with influence actively change their attitudes and rules and change the way decisions are made through involving excluded people."
Source: The EQUAL Community Initiative (whose activities have now been completed).
Empowerment is the opposite of Powerlessness, which is described in the Voices of the Poor: Crying out for Change as "the core of the bad life", manifesting in "the inability to control what happens, the inability to plan for the future, and the imperative of focusing on the present". Read this global study by the World Bank published as a three part series "Voices of the Poor".
Powerlessness is a serious constraint on the ability to pursue happiness. Its antidote, true empowerment, must be preceded by a recognition of the need for some degree of equality. And for that there must be a change in attitudes and a fundamental shift in how education and learning is offered and made available, accessible and inclusive. It means turning things upside down and inside out. It means Open Education.
As a launch pad into the study of this immensely exciting arena, read Michaeil Feldstein's primer on The History of Open Education here.
Today, every institution that offers education must seriously assess their responsibility to the marginalised and the excluded and think about how they can empower the powerless. And how they can share their assets and benefit from the amazing possibilities for exchange.
So, today, I focus on Empowerment.
And if and how global learning assets and open source education can be used to foster empowerment.
"The idea of empowerment is that those who have little or no influence, such as excluded people, are able to develop informed opinions, to take initiative, make independent choices and influence change...
It also means that those with influence actively change their attitudes and rules and change the way decisions are made through involving excluded people."
Source: The EQUAL Community Initiative (whose activities have now been completed).
Empowerment is the opposite of Powerlessness, which is described in the Voices of the Poor: Crying out for Change as "the core of the bad life", manifesting in "the inability to control what happens, the inability to plan for the future, and the imperative of focusing on the present". Read this global study by the World Bank published as a three part series "Voices of the Poor".
Powerlessness is a serious constraint on the ability to pursue happiness. Its antidote, true empowerment, must be preceded by a recognition of the need for some degree of equality. And for that there must be a change in attitudes and a fundamental shift in how education and learning is offered and made available, accessible and inclusive. It means turning things upside down and inside out. It means Open Education.
As a launch pad into the study of this immensely exciting arena, read Michaeil Feldstein's primer on The History of Open Education here.
Today, every institution that offers education must seriously assess their responsibility to the marginalised and the excluded and think about how they can empower the powerless. And how they can share their assets and benefit from the amazing possibilities for exchange.
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