Embrace the Space

“It seems to be human nature to favour filling blank spaces with objects and elements over leaving spaces blank or empty” (Elephas Design Journal)


If you lived in Mumbai, you would cherish space! Today's post is about space and the human tendency to clutter and fill up space unnecessarily. 

In art and design, the term Negative Space is used to describe the space around an object. It is the opposite of an identifiable object. It is used to define and set off the boundaries of the object. It gives balance to a composition and makes it less noisy. 

The term horror vacui (fear of empty space) describes the filling of the entire surface of an art work with detail --- design that is cluttered or suffocates. 

Generally in design, less free space is perceived to be of lower value. Minimalist design with more free space comes at a premium. 

I think this is especially true in the design of e-learning. We need to think about the noise that is created when a learner is assaulted by too much information – be it through text, pictures or rambling audio-visual media.

In the delivery of learning programs there is a similar reason to think about giving learners space and time --- through spaced repetition:

The spacing effect describes the observation that instruction which is repeated at intervals which are farther apart in time have a greater impact on improving memory than repetitions closer together in time (Ebbinghaus, 1885).

So let's get rid of the clutter. And embrace the space.

A Tribute To My Father - O Captain! My Captain!

"O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;


The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:


But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.


O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;

For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.


My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead." Walt Whitman

Connectivism and Curators

In his website dedicated to Connectivism, George Siemens describes how traditional learning theories cannot adequately address the new facets and dimensions of learning in the digital age, where the “half-life of knowledge” is rapidly shrinking. (The half-life of knowledge is ”the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete”…Gonzalez 2004, cited by Siemens in Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age)


Today, “chaos is the new reality for knowledge workers” and learners must not only know where to look for knowledge, they must also rapidly evaluate different sources, select only what is relevant, and filter out the rest. “The need to evaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is applied before learning itself begins”.

Connectivism recognises the role of networks and “other people’s experiences” in meaning-making. Connectivism sees learning as a process that is not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning or actionable knowledge resides outside the learner in the network of connections between entities.

Knowledge resides in different people and institutions, interlinked through many different constantly shifting, living networks. Individuals and organizations feed the networks and the networks in turn feed the individuals and organizations. The trick is to foster and maintain an effective knowledge flow between the individual and the network, “Learning is a process of connecting specialised nodes or information sources”.

Hence pattern recognition, or the “ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts” becomes vital. This concept is similar to DeGroot’s (1965) findings that experts were able to see patterns and connections not evident to novices. In today’s world, the body of information and knowledge resides in a constantly shifting network. Hence, we need to build a new breed of learners that can effectively contribute to as well as tap the network to obtain accurate and up to date knowledge. They must network and constantly contribute to the network for a value exchange.

Recently, a connection on LinkedIn (thanks Christopher Pappas!) shared this very useful resource on Free E-learning Books. I am in turn sharing it on this blog…and perhaps you will find something of value in this share. This is Connectivism - the new mantra for Learning in the Digital Age.

In another discussion, Siemens explores the role of edubloggers who offer a commentary on current trends and technologies in education and share not just resources, but their thoughts and ideas.

“They serve as curators of ideas, connections, philosophies, and world views. They create frameworks of interpreting and understanding history, new technologies, and trends through their work and public dialogue…”.

He extends this analogy to the role of the teacher, in providing an interpretation of content, knowledge or ideas being explored.

“A curatorial teacher acknowledges the autonomy of learners, yet understands the frustration of exploring unknown territories without a map. A curator is an expert learner. Instead of dispensing knowledge, he creates spaces in which knowledge can be created, explored, and connected. While curators understand their field very well, they don’t adhere to traditional in-class teacher-centric power structures. A curator balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of the subject being explored.”

So, how good a curator are you?

Women are the Solution

"...We must be courageous in speaking out on the issues that concern us: we must not bend under the weight of spurious arguments invoking culture or traditional values. No value worth the name supports the oppression and enslavement of women...
The function of culture and tradition is to provide a framework for human wellbeing. If they are used against us, we will reject them, and move on. We will not allow ourselves to be silenced..."


Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Beijing, 1996


I’ve been listening to the University of Berkeley’s lecture podcasts of their Population and Poverty course. Malcolm Potts, Martha Campbell, Ndola Prata and a host of other speakers share their insights and experiences to provide an understanding of the relationships between population growth, poverty, women’s empowerment, and the politics and changing paradigms of population control.


They explore the history of family planning movements the world over in order to place in context the developments of today, and why since the 1980s, population control measures seem to have lost their momentum,  though, “..globally one million more births than deaths occur every 112 hours, 90% in the poorest countries.”


In September 2000, the UN Millennium Declaration was adopted by 189 heads of state. It set out a plan for countries to work together to achieve the following goals for 2015:


• Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger


• Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education


• Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women


• Goal 4. Reduce child mortality


• Goal 5. Improve maternal health


• Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases


• Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability


• Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development


In Lecture 5, Martha Campbell asks an inconvenient question – Is it realistic or feasible to work toward any of these goals without addressing the population problem? How can we speak of eradicating hunger when there are a million new mouths to feed every few days?


They make a strong case for the support of women’s reproductive rights…which they see as crucially linked to the availability of options for contraception. This was raised by Dr. Sadik in her 1996  Address To The World Conference Of Women, highlighting the need to liberate women "from a system of values which insists that reproduction is their only function”


“…the first mark of respect for women is support for their reproductive rights. Women must be empowered to perform this role as they see fit. No-one has the right to impose reproductive decisions on them.


Living in Mumbai, a city that is bursting at its seams, with hundreds of children begging at every traffic light, and hundreds upon thousands of families living their lives on the roads, these words resonate deeply with me. But when and how will change come?

(Don’t) Do As You’re Told!

Resident of Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad, India (November 2010)

Image courtesy: Paavan Karia

In 1963, social psychologist Milgram explored the effect of authority on obedience. The question was how much pain would one person inflict on another simply because they were ordered to do so?

Participants were asked to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to a “learner “(actor), if they answered questions incorrectly. If they hesitated to administer the shocks, they were pressured to do so by the experimenter. (In reality, no shocks were given, but participants believed that they were being inflicted).

Milgram found that 65% of the participants were willing to inflict the maximum voltage level as punishment. Only a minority questioned the experiment and refused to inflict the shocks.

It appears that the essence of obedience lies in conditioning and to some extent, a diminished sense of responsibility. It appears that we are culturally conditioned to obey. How much of that conditioning takes place at home, in schools and educational institutions?

Before Milgram's experiment, in the 1950s, Solomon Asch conducted experiments to study conformity in groups. He found that nearly 75 percent of the participants went along with the rest of the group at least once, even though the group opinion was clearly erroneous. Apart from the need to be liked and an aversion to isolation, perhaps this is based on a belief in the superior wisdom of the group.

"The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct."

Interestingly, Asch also found that subjects conformed much less if they had an ally, and that even a single ally made a big difference to conformity levels. So, support from just one person can give people the courage to dissent.

Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King are icons for dissent. They were able to give millions of people the courage to disobey the establishment and they were the driving force of major civil disobedience movements that changed the world.

So how do we foster an education that encourages people to live authentic lives, and develop a self-awareness that enables them to question and transcend their own conditioning to be true to themselves?

Remember John Lennon’s beautiful song Stand By Me?

“When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we see
No I won't be afraid
No I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me…”

Mindsight and Mindfulness

We are inconsolable at the recent loss of a very dear friend. We are devastated that this lovely, kind, crazily funny saxophone player, the rock of his family, devoted father to his son, friend to all, in a moment of darkness, chose to end it all. Dear Simon, thank you for the always ready, helping hand, the many, many hot cups of tea, the laughter and the fun we shared. We would have loved to see you without your teeth on your ninetieth birthday. You left us too soon dear friend.

And so today, I will write about the need to teach Mindfulness. A while back, I read about Mindfulness in Thich Naht Hanh’s book - Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World.

You can also listen to Daniel J. Siegel’s insightful explanation of the concept of Mindsight and the need to teach Mindfulness. These ideas are being implemented in many schools in the US.

Mindsight is the ability to step out of and see your mind, to be an aware observer. It is the ability to pause and observe your thoughts and emotions. "Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment."

Mindfulness techniques have been used in schools to decrease bullying, increase empathy, and to teach children to pause before acting.

Going further, he speaks about the correlation between Mindsight and mental health and the role of relationships and experiences in changing synaptic connections in the brain.
Read also about the Mindfulness in Education Network – working to cultivate compassion and empathy in school settings. They see mindfulness as an “antidote to the growing stress, conflict and confusion in educational settings”.

Today, we need to be strong in body, mind and spirit. And we need to teach our children to be strong, and resilient so that they can bounce back and pick themselves up and carry on in the face of hardship.

The Selfish Gene

We are back in the chaos of Mumbai again and it feels as though we were never away. Construction work is going on everywhere, and traffic jams at every point give me lots of time for meditation. Tall buildings have sprung up in many places and it's hard to believe how quickly change has happened. Property prices have soared so much that I cannot see how future generations of young people will ever be able to buy their own homes. Large popoulations live in faraway suburbs and commute 3-4 hours daily. And another section of people are paying hundreds of millions for small one bedroom homes. The city is is held together and functions because of drivers, policemen, security guards, cooks, maids, taxiwallas, and rickshawallas and the indispensible dabbawallas. The exploitation of one class by another continues. As it has since the times of early Man.

There is still too much poverty. It is hard to stand by and watch. So people have developed an indifference to the scenes that greet them everyday, at railway stations, along railway tracks, near shanty towns that they must pass to get to work. Yet there is an amazing spirit and good naturedness about the working people of Mumbai, who are resigned to the steady degradation of their environment and the daily struggle.

Richard Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene, first published in 1976 makes for good reading even today and provides an insight into the genetic basis of human psychology and social interaction. He explains the genetic roots of selfishness and altruism, of racism and patriotism. He describes Man as "the survival machine", the vehicle used by genes for their own continuity. "A body really is a machine blindly programmed by its selfish genes" (p. 146).

He talks about "evolutionarily stable strategies", designed and programmed into Man for the perpetuation of the species. While genetics to some extent, explains the fundamental differences in outlook and worldviews of men and women, he also recognises the role of culture in shaping behaviour. He goes on to explain the genetic roots of Kamikaze behaviour, cooperation and self-sacrifice, and parasitic organisms. But at the end of it all, there is the recognition that Man is perhaps the only machine that can override genetically programmed instructions.

"One unique feature of man....is his capacity for conscious foresight. Selfish genes...have no foresight. They are unconscious, blind, replicators."

BUT,

"We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn agains our creators. We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators."
Much needed insights for survival in Mumbai.