John Connell

I picked up a copy this afternoon of Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in San Francisco Airport, before a flight to Newark and then onto Edinburgh overnight. I managed to read quite a bit of it in the five hours or so I had on the flight to New Jersey, picking out sections that caught my eye and skipping bits once I thought I had got the point of a chapter. I will go back and read it more carefully in the next few weeks.

Given that we live in interesting times, as they say, Kuhn’s take on how paradigm shifts happen in science, I think, has some resonance for what is going on in education at the moment. His description of how a new and revolutionary paradigm is often resisted by those still wedded to the older paradigm offers a fair analogy for what is going on around us in education.

He writes, for example, that:

“…resistance, particularly from those whose productive careers have committed them to an older tradition of normal science, is not a violation of scientific standards, but an index to the nature of scientific research itself.”

The analogy with education - and it can only be an analogy - is that even where a new paradigm is accepted by some or many, it is an intrinsic component of the scientific process that continued resistance from some quarters, for whatever reason, has, in the longer run, a beneficial effect on the clarification and refinement of the newer paradigm. He mentions early in the book that science does not proceed ‘by accretion’ - neither, of course, does educational theory and practice.

Where the analogy breaks down is in the difference between developments in scientific thinking and developments in the humanities - the latter can rarely, if ever, offer a breakthrough in thinking that is eventually accepted as the received wisdom by the vast majority working in the field. Despite what some would have us believe, education is not a science - it is a messy combination of art, craft, philosophy, hope, and a few other categories besides.

In education at the present time, therefore, the resistance, whether active or passive, to the various strands of thinking around Learning 2.0 and all its variants, might - and only might - in the long run, make whatever changes that do occur over time all the more resilient and lasting. However, when we are not dealing with a ‘provable truth’ such as might be expected in science, the resistance to a new paradigm might well still win in the end - the current resistence to the kinds of educational thinking around Learning 2.0 is strong and deeply embedded in longstanding practice.

Perhaps Kuhn’s quote from Max Planck is all we have to look forward to:

“….a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather that its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”

Is this what will happen in education? Whatever proves to be the case, the older paradigm in education undoubtedly retains a powerful grip on how we currently ‘do’ education in most parts of the world. As Kuhn also says:

“The source of resistence is the assurance that the older paradigm will ulimately solve all its problems…”

There are many in education who still believe, and are working to prove, that the old industrial models of schooling can deal successfully with all the issues of disengagement and relevance in education, given time, resources, ‘new’ thinking and faith in the efficacy of what has been built up over the past hundred and fifty years and more.

We have to work all the harder to ensure this does not happen.

Technorati Tags: thomas kuhn, science, education, paradigm shift

Timing has never been my strong point. I fly out of San Jose tomorrow morning (Saturday 10th May), making my way back home to Scotland, and I find out tonight that Robert Cray is playing San Jose State University tomorrow night (and free entry too!) - he is heading up the Metro Fountain Blues Festival.

And not only Cray but the brilliant Koko Taylor too - the Queen of the Blues! Now in her 70s, Koko led the way for blues women, along with her near contemporary, Etta James, and inspired the likes of Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and so many others.

On the other hand, my timing was perfect, in that I managed to bump into Paul Reginelli and his lovely wife, Tricia, in the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. I met Reggie (as everyone calls him) when I was last in San Jose, and last in the Fairmont, in 2007, when his band played here, and kicked up a storm with some brilliant blues, lots of superb rhythm and blues and some great rock’n'roll. Reggie is a great pianist, and has played with many brilliant musicians in his time. I look forward to hooking up with Reggie again next time I’m in town.

Still…..Robert Cray and Koko Taylor! The blues indeed…….

Technorati Tags: paul reginelli, fairmont hotel, Metro Fountain Blues Festival, robert cray, koko taylor, etta james, the blues

I guess there are just networks and networks.

Technorati Tags: economist, elitism, meritocracy, class

I have been reading a very interesting report from the United Nations Foundation - written by Sheila Kinkade and Katrin Verclas, and commissioned by the United Nations Foundation-Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Partnership. The report is entitled:

Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs.

To quote the introduction:

“….the authors examine real-life examples of and trends in wireless technology solutions being used to drive change in the areas of health, humanitarian assistance, and environmental conservation.”

The eleven case studies range across global health, humanitarian assistance and environmental conservation, with topics as diverse as delivering Aids/HIV care in South Africa, delivering food aid to Iraqis, and environmental monitoring in Ghana.

A case study on ‘Text Messaging as a Violence-Prevention Tool’ in Kenya, for instance, looks at the political and ethnic violence that swept across Kenya following the allegations of vote-rigging in the December election there. Oxfam GB decided to make use of mobile penetration in the country:

“To help stem the violence, human rights advocates in the country quickly mobilized by creating a text messaging ‘nerve center.’ That center served as a vital tool for conflict management and prevention by providing a hub for real-time information about actual and planned attacks between rival ethnic and political groups. The text messages, sent in by human rights advocates, religious leaders, and others, were then relayed to local Peace Committees for response.”

Technorati Tags: united nations foundation, vodaphone foundation, mobile activism, wireless technology, social change

Is the current tragic re-ignition of conflict in Lebanon possibly the first war, civil or otherwise, caused by a dispute over an IP network?

War has, for a few years now, been fought as much across IP as across the battlefield. However, a very good Lebanese friend and colleague tells me that the ‘telephone network’ reportedly at the centre of the current conflict is actually a private IP network, presumably a VPN of some kind, that Hezbollah regards as one of their primary weapons in their hostilities against Israel, and now against the Lebanese government itself.

Whatever the cause of the violence, my planned visit to Beirut next week to meet with the Ministry of Education will not be happening, but I really hope that I get the chance to visit this incredible country and incredible city again in the not too distant future.

Technorati Tags: lebanon, beirut, internet protocol, hezbollah

“This is the Internet folks - one humongous free flowing exchange of information and as such it is going to be noisy. It’s not like picking up a phone and just talking to a single person on the other end of the line. Things like Twitter and FriendFeed are like global party lines and whether you like it or not they are going to be noisy.”

So writes Steven Hodson after reading a post by David Risley quirkily entitled The FriendFeed Orgasm And Why It Is Off The Mark.

Like Steven, I found Twitter ‘noisy’ to begin with and I know now that I did not really get it (as they so often say). I think I get it now, and I know that, as Steven says, the noise is simply part of the Twitter experience. My mistake to begin with was to try to control the noise level by restricting those I followed to a very small group of people I had some interest in, for a variety or reasons. Now that I have expanded the list of those I follow by a factor of four (and growing by the day) I realise what I was missing, and the noise is simply a part of that.

Technorati Tags: steven hodson, davis risley, twitter, friendfeed, noise

I was reminded today in a conversation with a great group of people from Oman’s Information Technology Authority (ITA) about the importance of values in education. That reminder took me back to Jonathan Porritt’s book Capitalism as if the world matters as well as a previous post of mine on the fundamental values that Porritt believes need to be accepted if we are to sustain life on this fragile planet of ours.

I suggested in that same post that I could envisage such values also forming the basis for a humane and compassionate education system for a networked world. These were:

• Recognition of interdependence
• Self-determination
• Diversity and tolerance
• Compassion for others
• Upholding the principle of equity
• Recognition of the rights and interests of non-humans
• Respect for the integrity of natural systems
• Respect for the interests of future generations

Would anyone argue with any of these, either in the round or in nuance? And can anyone suggest any additional core values for education that are missing from Porritt’s list?

Technorati Tags: education, values, jonathan porritt, jared diamond

 
I dropped in on Gordon Shukwit, Apple’s Director of IT and Learning Technologies, while in the area today. He was kind enough to take my photo and to give me a ride back to my hotel. What a nice guy - passionate about education, passionate about technology, and, of course, passionate about Apple. It was great to compare notes with someone who travels the world for Apple probably just as much as I do for Cisco.

Technorati Tags: cisco, apple, education, gordon shukwit, 1 infinite loop

Well done, the ‘Gers! As a Celtic fan, I will be supporting this great Scottish team all the way in the UEFA Cup final in Manchester on the 17th May.

Now, if they could just see their way to letting us take the SPL……….

Technorati Tags: glasgow rangers fc, eufa cup, scottish football, soccer, celtic football club

I will be 51 years old on Friday 2nd May (I know - I’m younger than I look) - wonder if I should be considering one of Microsoft’s Senior PC packages?

I’d be willing to bet that Apple will not (ever!) follow suit…….

Btw - what age do you have to be before people starting calling you ’sprightly’? Now there’s the name they are looking for: the Apple MacSprightly!

Technorati Tags: microsoft, senior pc, apple, birthday