Comments on: Are We a Cult of Amateurs? http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/ Teaching, Learning and Technology Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:26:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jason Bedsaul http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/comment-page-1/#comment-28937 Jason Bedsaul Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:37:15 +0000 http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/#comment-28937 Excellent! If I could write like this I would be well chuffed. The more I read articles of such quality as this (which is rare), the more I think there might be a future for the Net. Keep it up, as it were. Excellent! If I could write like this I would be well chuffed. The more I read articles of such quality as this (which is rare), the more I think there might be a future for the Net. Keep it up, as it were.

]]> By: Graham Wegner http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/comment-page-1/#comment-334 Graham Wegner Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:28:37 +0000 http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/#comment-334 Patrick, I scrapped the blogroll concept altogether on my blog. It was too limiting in a number of ways and instead I post my Google Reader shared items in the sidebar as a way of showing what I am finding that is valuable from my edublogging network. Unless you are planning to blogroll only researchers, then the definition of "learned" can be fuzzy as well. Many edubloggers are classroom practitioners and don't have the room to participate in much more than their own version of "action research". Even someone as well respected as Will Richardson has been known to come from the "throw it against a wall and see if it sticks" perspective. (I heard that in a podcast back in 2005.) Then the researchers don't have the day-to-day picture of how implementing technology in the classroom actually works. As far as I can tell, you just have to work out whose voices are giving you the "signal" you need. The skills you develop through this process will be invaluable when you work with your students in helping them become information literate. Patrick, I scrapped the blogroll concept altogether on my blog. It was too limiting in a number of ways and instead I post my Google Reader shared items in the sidebar as a way of showing what I am finding that is valuable from my edublogging network. Unless you are planning to blogroll only researchers, then the definition of “learned” can be fuzzy as well. Many edubloggers are classroom practitioners and don’t have the room to participate in much more than their own version of “action research”. Even someone as well respected as Will Richardson has been known to come from the “throw it against a wall and see if it sticks” perspective. (I heard that in a podcast back in 2005.) Then the researchers don’t have the day-to-day picture of how implementing technology in the classroom actually works. As far as I can tell, you just have to work out whose voices are giving you the “signal” you need. The skills you develop through this process will be invaluable when you work with your students in helping them become information literate.

]]> By: pwoessner http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/comment-page-1/#comment-331 pwoessner Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:34:01 +0000 http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/#comment-331 Marianne, Thanks for the links and well-spoken remarks; I agree that it IS our responsibility to think(read) critically and our students must master that skill as well. On the whole, I don't agree with Keen (and I'm not going to even suggest that main stream media is always accurate and unbiased), but I think his "message" can be useful in raising awareness about the ease with which opinions can be misconstrued as fact via the Internet. Teaching is part art, part science, and the edubloggers that I follow and respect have an understanding of both aspects of the profession. Unfortunately, their voices are often lost among myriad posts from "professionals" who base their approach/advice to teaching and learning on nothing more than "gut instinct". The vetting process works, but it works slowly, and I'd like to help it along. In requesting resources, I'm hoping to steer colleagues toward those quality voices that, while we shouldn't accept as gospel, we can considered learned. The links you sent were great regarding Keen (thanks again) and I'm hoping to compile a new blog roll that highlights the real "signals" in education and instructional technology. I know who I would put on the list; I'm curious who my peers would place there. pat Marianne,

Thanks for the links and well-spoken remarks; I agree that it IS our responsibility to think(read) critically and our students must master that skill as well.

On the whole, I don’t agree with Keen (and I’m not going to even suggest that main stream media is always accurate and unbiased), but I think his “message” can be useful in raising awareness about the ease with which opinions can be misconstrued as fact via the Internet.

Teaching is part art, part science, and the edubloggers that I follow and respect have an understanding of both aspects of the profession. Unfortunately, their voices are often lost among myriad posts from “professionals” who base their approach/advice to teaching and learning on nothing more than “gut instinct”. The vetting process works, but it works slowly, and I’d like to help it along.

In requesting resources, I’m hoping to steer colleagues toward those quality voices that, while we shouldn’t accept as gospel, we can considered learned. The links you sent were great regarding Keen (thanks again) and I’m hoping to compile a new blog roll that highlights the real “signals” in education and instructional technology. I know who I would put on the list; I’m curious who my peers would place there.

pat

]]> By: Marianne Richmond http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/comment-page-1/#comment-330 Marianne Richmond Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:39:30 +0000 http://pwoessner.com/2008/04/19/are-we-a-cult-of-amateurs/#comment-330 Pat, I realize you have only recently started blogging and I am not 100% sure if you have read Keen's book or are in agreement with him BUT I think you may be missing some important points. Of course not everyone that blogs is an expert with credentials and empirical evidence with footnotes to support their statements. Are you implying that man stream media is reliable? One of the important ways in which WE as blog readers separate the experts from the amateurs is by making it OUR responsibility if I may borrow from the MICDS mission statement to "think{read}critically". That is, as we do not accept every print journalist or TV reporter as gospel, we should not accept every blogger as an expert. Likewise, as bloggers we must be transparent about our own expertise and our own limitations. There is a blog culture and it is built upon honesty, transparency, and passion. Technology has enabled "Citizen Journalism" and wit it lots of "noise"....however, it has also put the world's knowledge at our fingertips. That is a gift....open it wisely. As far as Keen is concerned.... I suggest that you might want to read: Cory Doctrow: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/12/lessig-publicly-humi.html Ethan Zuckerman: http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/02/02/searching-for-common-ground-with-andrew-keen/ Lawrence Lessig: http://www.lessig.org/blog/2007/05/keens_the_cult_of_the_amateur.html Jeff Jarvis: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/05/10/your-advice-should-i-debate/ I think you could feel confident adding them to your blogroll. Marianne Pat,

I realize you have only recently started blogging and I am not 100% sure if you have read Keen’s book or are in agreement with him BUT I think you may be missing some important points.

Of course not everyone that blogs is an expert with credentials and empirical evidence with footnotes to support their statements. Are you implying that man stream media is reliable?

One of the important ways in which WE as blog readers separate the experts from the amateurs is by making it OUR responsibility if I may borrow from the MICDS mission statement to “think{read}critically”.

That is, as we do not accept every print journalist or TV reporter as gospel, we should not accept every blogger as an expert.

Likewise, as bloggers we must be transparent about our own expertise and our own limitations. There is a blog culture and it is built upon honesty, transparency, and passion.

Technology has enabled “Citizen Journalism” and wit it lots of “noise”….however, it has also put the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. That is a gift….open it wisely.

As far as Keen is concerned….

I suggest that you might want to read:
Cory Doctrow: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/12/lessig-publicly-humi.html
Ethan Zuckerman:
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/02/02/searching-for-common-ground-with-andrew-keen/
Lawrence Lessig: http://www.lessig.org/blog/2007/05/keens_the_cult_of_the_amateur.html
Jeff Jarvis: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/05/10/your-advice-should-i-debate/

I think you could feel confident adding them to your blogroll.

Marianne

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