Distance learning.

'Distance learning' a term which makes me think...

A term which is often used to talk about increasing education opportunities, or more cynically and, no doubt simultaneously, increasing profit opportunities in education for distant capital.

Is 'distance learning' a nonsense? Can we really learn 'at a distance'?

Do we learn in order to distance ourselves?

Does distance between us mean learning with others viewed only as abstract objects, as avatars?

Does historical distance between us and our ancestors disconnect us to the contexts of our present?

If I ask these questions, it is because I watched a film on the flight from New York to London, as I sipped a sickeningly sweet Pepsi.

The film, it has to be said was as harrowing as it was compulsive viewing. I couldn't take my eyes off it. There was one character played by Benedict Cumberbatch (him of Sherlock fame) that I suppose, I uncomfortably felt compelled to identify with.

He was a nice man...

Compulsion, subjection, bondage, these are terms which are troubling me these days.

12 years a slave transports us into a not so distant reality. I implore you to watch it.

As I have been participating on and off with Hybrid Pedagogy's #Moocmooc online course on critical pedagogy, over the past few weeks, the subject of slavery has been framed anew.

I tweeted a photo of a child sitting on a dump of digital waste. I annotated the photo with a question.

What would Freire's attitude be to education of people dealing with our tech waste? #moocmooc pic.twitter.com/TfWqQZefbI
— Simon Ensor (@sensor63) February 25, 2015

I am sitting here typing comfortably on my laptop, having earnest conversation with my fellow critical educators around the globe via Twitter, Facebook, via this blog.

I confess that I am ignorant.  I am ignorant of the deal that I have struck with my fellow learners.

I imagine that there are unknown people unknowingly involved in the creation of this post.

I imagine they never will read it.

They will probably not find the time for something so futile.

They will be no doubt otherwise occupied.

I know nothing of the lives of the people who put this machine together
.
I know nothing of the people who will deal with its remains.

Do I really care?
Can I really care?

Would I be Benedict Cumberbatch?

He was a nice man...

As I said, this question is troubling me.

How far do we care?
How far can we care?
How far does my responsibility stretch?
What is the place of critical pedagogy in a globalised economy?
What is the place of critical pedagogy in a digitally connected world?

Does my local critical pedagogy deny the rights of others in distant parts to learn?

I remember when I lived in Manchester visiting the cotton mills, going to the Liverpool docks.

I admired the solid Victorian edifices.

I remember now a discussion I had with a student who came from the West Indies. We spoke about genealogy. I love history. We compared family trees. While my great grandparents were propping up the British Empire, his great grandparents were propping up the French colonies.  Many stories converge when we do a little research.

I have just read an article from the New Statesman, its title and a link to it are presented below:

Much of Britain's wealth is built on slavery. 

So why shouldn't it pay reparations?

The benefits of slavery have accrued down the generations, so why are we so nervous about the responsibility for the slave trade doing the same?

There is a quote from the article that I shall place here:

"Plantation slavery may no longer be with us in the same form but its founding principle has never really gone away – take as much as you can from the labour of the many and concentrate land and wealth among the few. A debate about reparations – and redressing historical injustice – can help us ask the question more starkly: for all the pious talk about “addressing inequality”, can capitalism really move so far from its beginnings as to be inherently fair? How can a system which won’t acknowledge its origins become “responsible” capitalism?"


Interesting to note that a number of major British banks: Barclays, HSBC built their fortunes on the slave trade...

Learning about that would bring a new twist to the banking concept in education.

I never learnt much about slavery at school, interestingly my student from the West Indies didn't either.

It is interesting how far school history strays from the questions which count.

I suppose we should let the bankers do the counting for us.

Maybe much learning at school is a form of distance learning?


“Looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who they are so that they can more wisely build the future.” 

― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Russian dolls...

It is an image which keeps coming back to me.

I escape one enclosure to find that I am in another larger enclosure.

It is the image of a Russian doll.

I have been spending much time reflecting on my place on the web, on the earth over the past few years.

I have recently been working my way through issues connected to the 'Reclaim your domain' movement.

I am struck by the 'self-proclaimed' impassioned pleas of Howard Rheingold and Gardner Campbell to build the web that we want to build.

I am convinced that they are putting their fingers on a burning issue which we need to work through.

An immediate reaction to the question of 'Reclaiming your domain' was expressed in my post of the same name. 

Auvergnat dolls.

I feel that we can not divorce our thinking about the 'web' space with our thinking about the physical spaces in which we relate locally.

One lens which has helped me think about role of technology in education has been Puentedura's SAMR model as presented by Doug Belshaw here:

There is a short presentation in this video 

I remark that the narrator in this video talks about 'the classroom' - transformation of the classroom.  

I can't help thinking that the 'classroom' lens is one which stops us thinking through a wider transformation of education.   

There is no question that mobile web-enabled personal devices are disrupting 'classrooms' and 'educational institutions'. 

Of the obstacles to building new models, we can note 'habitus' of teachers, the 'classroom discourse', we can mention 'standardised assessment' amongst others.

The real question is what are these boundaries obstacles to?  

Who or what is protected by boundaries which have been built physically or virtually? 

Who stands to gain from crumbling frontiers, from blurring of boundaries between work and play?

As a child I never imagined seeing the Berlin Wall fall.

I remember witnessing the moments of joy when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. 

What were we witnessing in these moments? How were once disconnected people connected?

I remember using the image of the Trabant to talk about the contrast between Walled Gardens of the LMS/VLE and the construction of Personal Learning Environments enhanced by Web 2.0 applications and Google cloud computing.  

Institutional enforcement of the use of out-dated communication tools was, I reasoned an obstacle to the learning of the students.   

It wasn't just an obstacle to the learning of students, it was also a means to protect the positions of a technological elite, who had the power to dictate the tools to be used.  

Outsourcing of net hosting and institutional virtual environments would/will inevitably mean de-skilling, cost-cutting measures and dependence on massive corporations.

The Trabant disappeared from production, replaced by Western-made models.  It's disappearance was symbolic of the defeat of a political system and its socio-economic elite.  

A Trabant

There is no doubt that learning spaces in which I am working are being transformed physically and virtually by the possibilities to connect more widely via affinity with people around the world.  

This is exciting, we are moving towards a new era, of that I have no doubt.

I am constantly brought back to my image of Russian dolls.

We can not concentrate our attention simply on education without seeing how it relates to economic, ecological, social, and political contexts. 

One thinker who has helped me reflect more widely on Learning Futures has been Keri Facer.  

'Non-stupid optimism' is an expression which resonates for me and 'educated hope' is what I aspire to. 

Hope and power

As educators we do have real power to enable sustainable change, we must realise together we do have real power, we do have a voice, which can be heard, the young are our hope. 

I come back to 'Reclaiming my domain', again and again.

I am quite happy with the idea of running my own server.

I am quite happy with the idea of building my own WordPress space with a name of my own.  

I would however not want to stop there.  

When I hear, we can build the net together, are we speaking about building our own computers? 

Are we speaking about running our own cables? 

Are we speaking about becoming our own ISP's?  

Building our web is one thing. 

Building relationships locally with those globally is quite another. 

How does all of this relate to the bigger questions of society as evoked by Keri Facer?

How do we react to writers such as Douglas Rushkoff?

“Our enthusiasm for digital technology about which we have little understanding and over which we have little control leads us not toward greater agency, but toward less...We have surrendered the unfolding of a new technological age to a small elite who have seized the capability on offer. But while Renaissance kings maintained their monopoly over the printing press by force, today's elite is depending on little more than our own disinterest.” 

Douglas Rushkoff.

Is this what Howard Rheingold and Gardner Campbell are talking about? 

If this is the case, then we need to start thinking much more widely about the societies in which we are living, and how power is structured.

We need to think through what these Connected Courses are really preparing us for?   

We need to ask our friends:

What it is we are working towards? 

We need to spend much time on this business of building new relationships with ourselves and others. 

We can not expect to embark on new relationships without accepting that our relationships with ourselves will inevitably be transformed.  

New environments require new language.

I can not conceive that this map is 'our territory'.

Do others consider that they own this?  

Might 'owning your own domain' be an outdated metaphor?  

Maybe we need to start thinking over our ideas of what constitutes 'ownership' of what constitutes 'capital'. 

How can 'capital' be other than social?

What are we educating ourselves for? 

I am only too aware of my ignorance, of my inability to find answers for my questions.

We must educate ourselves beyond our 'stupid optimism' to build a web of  'educated hope.'

What will be our legacy my friends?

I am at a loss for words.

And as I ask one question, another appears, incessantly...

Censored?

The Empire strikes back!

That's it my secrets have been discovered.
(see cogdog fake ensor here)

Why didn't I protect my brand?

Now they all know.


TOP SECRET RECIPE
A Touches of Sense post includes the following:

Courier Font

Absurd bits of bold text

(which appear for no apparent reason in the middle of a blog post)

Dots....
(He forgot the dots - HA HA HA like a missing hologram - it's clearly a fake)

Life-affirming message/No message/Obscure message/Search the message(s)crypticism

An emotive narrative snatched generally from childhood or some dreary box or Cogdog.

Blood.

Sweat 

Tears.

[LOTS OF TEARS]

Why didn't I protect my brand?

Sh..........(t)

It wasn't as if I didn't have prior warning.

Stolen Cogdog photos in Iceland
Stolen Courosa photos in Canada
Stolen Cormier rhizomatics in Canada
Stolen Dogtrax poems in the Auvergne

Sh......(t)

Cold countries! 
(The Auvergne is very cold in winter)

That's it. Beware Cold countries.

They spend more time on the net.

KimDoTCOM - cold Country.

He will have his MEGAcomeuppance.

Sh...(t)

How did Cogdog know I was about to post about COFFEE?
How did Cogdog know I was about to post about COFFEE?
How did Cogdog know I was about to post  about bored CROWS?

I have been hacked.
I have been counterfeited.
I have been COUNTERFêTED (note clever French reference)

My crows have been hacked.

Then the bit about the WOODWIND band.

That is my grand-father second from the left.

NO you can't use my grandfather's photo. (Search for the link - CLUE it's on the left)

How did he know?
How did he know?
How did he know?

[Note absurd repetition for no apparent reason that is part of my BRAND - so don't copy, copy, copy...]

How did he know?

Now I understand why he wants an open web.

It is to take our idea.

MY IDEA.

I shall review privacy settings.

I SHALL LIVE IN A CAVE. 
(with no wifi)
I SHALL ENTER INTO FRIENDSHIP WITH giant killer SPIDERS


NoONE shall read.

NoONE shall know.

NoONE shall care.

MY PRECIOUS, MY PRECIOUS.

AHHHHHHHHHHH

sensor63 falls into MAGMA lake and sizzles like a sausage.

END

Thank you @cogdog for inspiring this tragic investigation into the ownership of cultural CAPITAL
[cash in post]


Please note Social Capital is all MINE.


CASH IN POST

Enclosed:

New Cogdog Bank note:  #d$106 dollars  

What I learnt from the Michelin Man...(breaking the mould)

I confess to an emotional attachment to Michelin.

I know that this will be seen by many as suspect. After all it's a multinational corporation we are talking about here. It's not fashionable to profess one's admiration for such a company.

I had better explain myself.

I have been living in Clermont Ferrand for almost half my life, As one arrives in my city, the capital of Auvergne in France, one is met by a gigantic billboard announcing factory buildings; this is the capital of Michelin.

Nobody in Clermont Ferrand can ignore the might of the company in the fabric of the community. For you, Michelin maybe only mean tyres and Bibendum, the company's logo, here it also names a family: Edouard, Andre, Marcel... streets, stadiums and schools. Clermont and Michelin are indissociably linked, for better or worse - fact.

As in all family histories, there have been shadowy stories and tragic instances. Stories of collaboration with the German occupier during the second world war or resistance to it followed by deportation and imprisonment. Triumph,..untimely death punctuate its saga.

Major conflict, industrial/internacine dispute, innovation, competition, domination, secrecy, distrust run deep here; emotional attachment does not preclude reasoned detachment or harsh judgement.

For all its failings, Michelin indisputably knows how to make trust-worthy radial tyres for your car, plane, tram, bike, tractor, truck or space shuttle.

One might remark: one tyre does not fit all.

Last Sunday, we took the kids to the park and while they were tiring themselves out, running, sliding and swinging. I fell into discussion with a Michelin man. He had just arrived in the capital after stints in the USA, Germany, the UK...

He was unquestionably, a Michelin man. Michelin men seem all to be of the same mould. Analytical, reasoned, reliably dressed and attached, Jean-Claude (we will call him JC), had worked in other corporations before being adopted by the Michelin family, thus giving him means of comparison.

Elsewhere, he had been used to being driven, his time and productivity counted to the last toc. The Michelin mind-set came as rather a shock.

"Yes, we think the fit between us is good, come and work with us." They had said at the interview.
"Oh right," said JC, "Er what shall I be doing."
"Oh don't worry about that." came the reply, "Trust us, come and work with us."
"Eh bien d'acord."

JC signed his contract.

A little while later, he was given an office and the vaguest of missions.

"OK, you have a month. Go and talk with us, see what we do, see what interests you. We'll talk together about where you'll be working after. Trust us."

A month later after observing JC from afar and chatting with other company men, the men came back and assigned JC his first real job. A variety of assignments around the world followed at regular intervals. Michelin invests in such men who will manage.

JC was now about to enter the lofty heights of the corporation's headquarters.

Financial director for agricultural tyres, his career was taking off. Happy, analytical, if not un-critical, JC expressed his admiration for the Michelin way. As the kids were whooping with joy in the play park.

I made mental notes:

Questions:

How many older kids in school get to seriously play freely? Should they be so driven? How much time do we give them to find their route? How much of our observation is done from afar? How much time do we take to imagine their missions with them? Are we so impatient to mould them to be competitive that we tire them out? Do we confuse education with manufacture? What do we do to help them break our mould?

Qualifications:

One tyre doesn't fit all.

You can't assemble a company or a community without trust.

Constant adaptation is essential to remain en route.

Freedom of action does not come without constraints.

Apprenticeship cannot be dissociated from research, repetition, or revolution.

Capital growth is rooted in social responsibilty.



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