Cleaning up the email here. Another apology owed over "computers" vs
"how to use them" comment. There was a larger context that I really
should have unpacked, but I didn't see it clearly at the time either.
The spark plug for the complaint really came from a PCWeek "review" of 8
distance learning systems. The curious can still read it on the web:
http://www.pcweek.com/reviews/ibt.html. However, what is remarkable is
what the article lacks: any concern about the learning performance of
these systems. The underlying assumption seems to be that the software
is transparent, and the learning performance depends only on the
instructor . . . (I hope all you teachers and trainers out there are
booing!! :-)
That's where my complaint with general surveys of computer effects comes
in. A broad survey on learning can't even begin to dig into the
development decisions that put educational software and hardware on
people's desks. Instead of participating in the design process for
educational systems, developers build systems without consulting
researchers on learning. Then researchers are put into the awkward
position of "blessing" the resulting standards, no matter how misguided
these systems were designed.
Unfortunately, the problem isn't a simple refocusing of research time (as
if we could control our funding sources :-(.) Software and Hardware
development is a very complex and autonomous field. Trying to get anyone
to span that boundary usually results in the person being snatched up by
industry or getting kicked back into academia.
I am trying to position myself as just such a boundary object, but I can
see the programing end of things is overwhelming. I don't see how I'll
escape the "usual fate" either. It sure seems like a desperate need
though. I guess all we can do is redouble our efforts to hang on to our
boundary objects.
Peace, Edouard
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: Edouard Lagache, Lecturer :
: Department of Communication (0503) :
: University of California, San Diego :
: 9500 Gilman Drive :
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: Weinberg's Second Law: :
: If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote :
: programs, the first woodpecker that came along would :
: destroy civilization. :
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