Molly and Mike,
It is nice that you've raised such questions.
In reply to Michael Cole, Molly Freeman wrote:
"I concur that pitfalls abound with the integration of new
technologies into academe. I have been framing my approach to
distance learning in terms of complexity theory in order to talk
about the controversies and challenges in education as turbulence
and as how we are learning and/or co-adapting with the new
technologies."
Michel Serres, a French thinker who has texts on Culture, Science and
Philosophy, says that what makes communication possible is the fight
against noise. Although, to understand the statement, it should also be
noted that for him, 'chaos' is the standard, and 'structure' is the
exception.
It should be noted though, that when the concept of 'turbulence' or
'chaos' is applied to an area such as education, and in particular in face
of the present "challenges and controversies", we do not contrast them in
opposition with" lack of turbulence". The remark has the objective of
making clear for the other members of xmca that it is very easy to fall in
the trap of pairing (turbulence-stability) with (paper and pencil - screen
and keyboard). I do not want to enter in the thread about science and
physics education, but similar misinterpretations about chaos are very
common.
Turbulence has always been there, it is not technology that is introducing
it. It is showing us that we were stuck there, instead of moving.
What happens is that the many constraints imposed by the medium, when
developed trying to replicate the traditional school model in it, only
make it clearer that the one way communication does not solve the problem
of education. The lack of eye contact, empathy, gesture, coffee breaks,
and many other modalities of communication that old timers that dare teach
(Freire) and new commers that dare participate (Lave) have to overcome
suddenly disappear, and the system breaks down.
The associated technology (internet, www, ...) co-evolves with the
community of practice who makes use of it (Latour). The developed objects
(always in development) are part of the social, cultural and historical
network that mediate learning, making it possible or impossible, making
certain things easy to learn and others easy to forget.
"Our courses are our creations. How do we share them, with
alacrity and comfort?I say we don't know yet. My guess is we will
find a way."
Will not that show that necessarily show us that authorship, invention,
expertise, etc., are always situated, partially individual partially
social, dialogical in a Bakhtinian sense. That ours individualistic ideas
of authorship are are situated in our time and will have to change. We
need more than one person to produce something useful. But for that, we
need to reach a "zone of proximal development" with the aid not only of
other humans but also of nonhumans. (Sorry about the jargon, nonhumans is
a term used by Latour, and includes objects and concepts).
"The controversies with colleagues and the personal anxieties are
part of our co-learning to live with a digitally networked world."
I agree. I would only add that they "are part of our co-learning to [also]
live in a ... digitally networked world.". But I'm very picky.
There are some references that I would recommended for those interested
on the subject of collaboration through such media:
- On Computer Supported Cooperative Work:
Social Science, Technical Systems, and Cooperative Work
Bowker, Leigh Star, Turner and Gasser (Eds.)
Erlbaum, 1997
- On Computers and Work:
Ensgetroem, Yrj\o and Middleton, David
Cognition and Communication at Work
Cambridge University Press, 1996
- I would also look a the "Computer Supported Cooperative
Learning", and at "Collaborative Writing, for those interested on
Bakhtin.
Dynamic systems on learning is new to me, but following the
reference that Pat Zukow-Goldring mentioned yesterday, I found that she
has a book in which there is a section on "dynamic systems", among other
interesting articles.
The book is "Evolving Explanations of Development: Ecological
Approaches to Organism-Environment Systems" Cathy Dent Read and Patricia
Zukow Goldring, American Psychological Association, 1997. The articles are
by Jane E. Clark ( A dynamical Systems perspective on the development of
complex adaptive skill) and by Alan Fogel (information, creativity, and
culture).
Tchau,
Luiz
_____________________________________________________________
Luiz Ernesto Merkle merkle who-is-at csd.uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario voice: +1 519 858 3375 (home)
Department of Computer Science fax: +1 519 661 3515 (work)
N6A 5B7 London Ontario Canada www.csd.uwo.ca/~merkle