Comments on: Technology “yes,” solidarity “no.”

By: MOOC providers are not our friends. « More or Less Bunk

MOOC providers are not our friends. « More or Less Bunk — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:36:36 +0000

[...] first version of my post about the Bill of Rights and Principles for Learners in a Digital Age had a long paragraph about Sebastian Thrun in it. It argued that despite his fervent denials, Thrun [...]

By: Visions always belong to someone | Music for Deckchairs

Visions always belong to someone | Music for Deckchairs — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:34:12 +0000

[...] So it would be easy to walk past this moment, muttering. It’s really too obvious to point out the cultural provenance of the plan, and Audrey Watters (who was in the room) has done a great job mapping out what and who was missing. Richard Hall has provided a powerful critique of the failure to acknowledge the power in play here. Everyone’s noticed the lack of a student voice. Advocates for adjuncts have questioned the lack of presence from feet-on-the-ground educators; and Jonathan Rees has pointed out the huge risk of advocating for disruption while losing sight of academic labour issues. [...]

By: Music for Deckchairs

Music for Deckchairs — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:19:21 +0000

Hi J
I think the manifesto itself is an interesting instance of what’s wrong with the whole situation, that’s throwing good thoughts after bad. A Bill of Rights is culturally limited, unenforceable feelgoodery. I wish it wasn’t, I wish we had any sense of how to constrain the massive profiteering that will go on once all this becomes legitimate. But we live in a world that can’t even meaningfully protect human rights about which there is no dispute at all, and to which most nations are signatories. Still, day after day, those rights are overwhelmed.
So will a Bill of Rights protect students, in a situation in which there is very little international consensus as to what their rights should be? Chances are it will put some educators on their best behaviour, who were already there. It will enable some venture capital backed companies to seem to be aligned with these values (and they might be, or they might not be, but they have practical business obligations to those who have invested in them not to set fire to the money).
Educational technology has created a global marketplace for branded kool aid way, way ahead of the regulatory instruments for insuring standards and safety.
Audrey Watters has a terrific piece on her thoughts and misgivings about this. For me, the value of the document is the conversation that it’s prompted, including here.
K

By: VanessaVaile

VanessaVaile — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:27:28 +0000

I must have been in a parliamentary frame of because “loyal opposition” was the expression that came to mind.

By: Jonathan Rees

Jonathan Rees — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:46:31 +0000

Hmmm,

Not sure I like the term “opposition.” Reminds me of what happened to the Anti-Federalists. How about “Informed Skeptics?”

By: VanessaVaile

VanessaVaile — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:36:22 +0000

Ahh… coincidence: I was just over reading the document. My comment included the line, “Call me cranky, but what is a meaningful document without hearing from the opposition. If I were organizing this MOOCow shindig, I’d include Jonathon Rees” (+ link here)

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Document-A-Bill-of/136781/#comment-776250749

…and then sold tickets…

By: Leslie M-B

Leslie M-B — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:34:49 +0000

I had the same reaction to that paragraph about students being teachers. On the one hand, my students have been learning from each other for years, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not the majority player in teaching.

Our dean just asked for volunteers to explore credit-bearing MOOCs at Boise State. I immediately volunteered, not because I’m eager to teach a MOOC, but because I want to be part of the discourse about MOOCs at this institution.

By: Bardiac

Bardiac — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:32:22 +0000

1) Because most of us who have or are working towards a PhD in the humanities are good at lying to ourselves, especially about the likelihood that we will the one to get whatever job there is.

2) Since education, especially graduate education, depends on new knowledge being generated, interpreted, and so on, under the new models, education will fall off until future generations will be stuck listening to old lectures and wondering why nothing new happens except in corporations, where all novelty is aimed at profit making.