My heart hopes you're right, Merle. My head wonders. Much education takes place not in the instructor-->student exchange (though that is big) but in the student<-->student exchange, at least in many topics. This might not hold for certain kinds of science and engineering courses, but it certainly holds for many courses in the humanities. Believe me, I think MOOCs are better than nothing, and maybe even much better than nothing when certain topics are addressed.
On Jan 20, 2013, at 8:04 PM, Merle Lefkoff <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Nick, > > A model for Good Academia is distance learning. As universities disappear in > the next decades (they're all elite now considering the cost of higher > education everywhere), we will see the birth of a new democracy based on the > opportunity for all to be educated. This is the most exciting movement > toward economic justice in the U.S. since the 19th Amendment to the > Constitution. Good Academia is web-enabled academia for everyone! Yea! > > I'm under contract in Canada to develop on-line curriculum in applied > Complexity, using a "hybrid model" that includes just the type of reflective > dialogue you're talking about. And because Stephen has been a big influence > on me, I'm incorporating a lot of visualization, which I suspect enhances > learning as well, eh? > > Merle > > On Sun, Jan 20, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Prof David West <[email protected]> wrote: > re: marcus' comments about programming - see Peter Naur's "Programming as > Theory Building" paper of long ago. > > davew > > > > On Sun, Jan 20, 2013, at 11:49 AM, Marcus G. Daniels wrote: >> Nick wrote: >> >> "And I Just Plain Believe in collaborative essays as a tool in the >> development of thought. " >> >> I think a little recognized outcome of open source software development is >> the development of thought, and perhaps for some of the same reasons as a >> collaborative essay. >> >> Creating and maintaining a useful program often involves an understanding of >> a large network of artifacts. >> The understanding needs to be precise enough to make correct small changes, >> and general enough to be able to approach re-design and re-implementation of >> those artifacts that aren't adequate. It requires being literate, because >> the artifacts will have designed and built over time by a team. Some >> artifacts will come from third parties. >> >> Open source software development is different than closed proprietary >> development in that the people that are participating are not trained or >> motivated to do a particular job. Two people may see completely different >> uses, or infer completely different purposes for an abstraction. Some >> programmers see things in terms of use and abuse of abstractions, depending >> on the author's intent. As a functional programming enthusiast, I prefer to >> think about the discovery of abstractions rather than the design of them. >> Useful combinator libraries seem to arise through an iterative process of >> construction and deconstruction, not one-time design. >> >> Unlike collaborative essays, computers are unforgiving but patient. If two >> authors can't reconcile interfaces, dependencies, etc. the program or >> framework just won't work. It won't be a `interesting but flawed' argument. >> >> >> Marcus >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > > > -- > Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D. > President, Center for Emergent Diplomacy > Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA > [email protected] > mobile: (303) 859-5609 > skype: merlelefkoff > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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