Yes, I surely agree, and I think it's what I said in different words. While we continue to do the things we all feel we must do, though we realize they are insufficient (I engage in them myself as much as Ed and Valerie and probably most others on this list do), my call was indeed to be at the same time observant, inquiring and critically reflective (i.e. the true meaning of being skeptical as you rightly observe). Far from damping our enthusiasm, it should make us more determined and allow us to focus on the right action, collaboratively working on multiple fronts.
Jan -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of simonfj Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:33 PM To: WikiEducator Subject: [WikiEducator] Re: Teachers Without Borders (TWB) Gee Jan, I feel a sceptic in our midst, and thank you for it. That said i would never like to dampen the enthusiasm Ed shows. (I'd forgive any number of words for the passion Valerie and Ed display). But OK, we know that; 1. 'education', in points around the world, requires all sorts of compromises. 2. One dimension in anything displays a limited perspective. And 3. the "western culture of the industrial era" is a fair cop for most of us. We look around our world and would like to think those in less favourable gobal points might gain the same advantages. (although the talk of 'delivering resources' in education makes my hairs stand up). Not being a teacher, all I ever hope for anyone is that they can get their questions answered, in full, when they ask; so they can get on and improve their personal situation. A formal education is a pretty hard thing to consider when the priorities in lots of places are water, then food, then electricity and eventually all the goodies which plug into a network. But your comment "the problem is immensely more complex than what is imagined" simply fills me with pity. We all know this, which is what inspires our passions to do a bit, or not. The "not", it seems, is what happens so often by "the end" of a western education. i.e. talk & talk & talk Thank goodness for the WE's and TWB's of this world. On May 17, 10:25 am, "Jan Visser" <[email protected]> wrote: > Ed, you wrote, in response to the assertion that "Printed material is of greater value to a participant because she can take it home" the following: "That is true without one-to-one, 24/7 computing. With it, software is of greater value to children than textbooks, because it includes multimedia, is of much greater capacity, and can be provided at no cost and with the freedom to modify it and share the results. In addition, computers and software are now essential subjects for schools. Not so-called "Computer Literacy" but computer mastery." > > I beg to differ with both positions. Your claim, I think, is assuming too much for the moment as far as the potential impact of computing technology is concerned, and I am saying so inspired by the more than 40 years I've been working (and living for more than half that time) in countries deprived of even the most basic resources like, in the school context, something that could function as a blackboard and a piece of chalk, or even a decent piece of stone or wood to sit on while in class (not necessarily under a roof or complemented with something that could resemble a desk), let alone materials with which to engage in collaborative activities with one's fellow learners for, say, the purpose of exploring and understanding the workings of nature. Doing one's homework at home may be less dependent on having a computer or a book than on having the kind of home that minimally resembles the dwellings you and I live in (not to speak of the homes of the likes of Schwarzenegger, McChrystal and McCain) and particularly on having economic conditions that don't put you as a child in charge of all kinds of tasks that must necessarily be performed to sustain the life of the family and that heavily interfere with fruitful participation in a regular school environment. > > Of course, I'm all for the great and important things you and others are pursuing, but I'm afraid there are no silver bullets. The solutions to improving the quality of human learning around the world in diverse circumstances and multiple cultural contexts are complex because learning is a complex phenomenon. One-to-one computing is possibly part of the solution to reshaping the learning landscape, enabling all to learn, but so are books, TWB, WE and a host of other things. None of them will do the job alone and much will depend on co-evolving contextual factors. One of the important lessons I've learned is that it usually stifles the creativity if we focus too strongly on just one dimension of the problem. > > And, while I am at it, let's not forget that there is an enormous wealth of learning beyond formal schooling whereas most of the efforts, including our own in WE, continue to be inspired by the predominant school metaphor, which is strongly rooted in the western culture of the industrial era. We really need to broaden our thinking beyond the perspectives that follow from our primary inclinations. > > I'm sorry to paint a less satisfying picture, but, with due respect to the efforts of TWB (whose coming into being and growth I have followed since my first contacts back in the 1990's with its founder Fred Mednick), and fully recognizing the valuable intentions of those involved in making one-to-one computing a reality, as well as with deep appreciation for the work of those engaging in producing print or screen based text and other software, I'm afraid we are only scratching the surface of a problem that is immensely more complex than what is imagined. > > Jan > > -- > > Jan Visser, Ph.D. > > President & Sr. Researcher, Learning Development Institute > > E-mail: [email protected] > > Check out:http://www.learndev.organdhttp://www.facebook.com/learndev > > Blog:http://jvisser-ldi.blogspot.com/ > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edward Cherlin > Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 11:10 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [WikiEducator] Re: Teachers Without Borders (TWB) > > On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 12:56, Vtaylor <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hello Edward > > > We were not sure exactly what you were asking. If this doesn't answer > > your question, let's talk further. > > Let's, whether in this mailing list or offline. I'm talking about the > > coming wave of one-to-one computing in schools, now that netbook > > computers cost less than textbooks. See, for example, the resources > > listed at > > http://www.librarianchick.com/The most complete listing > > http://www.clrn.org/fdti/Math and Science texts for CA > > http://www.flossmanuals.net/Free Software manuals, and how to use Free Software > > I am one of the co-authors of How to Bypass Internet Censorship at > > FLOSS Manuals. It has become available in Russian, Chinese, Farsi, and > > other relevant languages. I am currently writing an introduction to > > the Sugar software for the OLPC XO, now available for most other > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. 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