Sunday, April 8, 2012

OLDaily: Review: The Edupunks' Guide, by Anya Kamenetz

OLDaily: Review: The Edupunks' Guide, by Anya Kamenetz: OLDaily: Review: The Edupunks' Guide, by Anya Kamenetz

I certainly do not feel qualified to offer any opinions on Edupunk, but it was interesting that one of my "feelings" about the whole edupunk movement was somewhat confirmed:
But watching a video instead of watching a person (or taking a class) isn't what makes something edupunk. It's the act of taking matters into your own hands, and making pizza for yourself, instead of buying frozen or ordering delivery. And it's more than that: it's growing your own wheat, grinding your own flower, growing mushrooms and peppers, and grinding your own pepperoni. None of this is suggested anywhere in [the] guide. Which is unfortunate, because it's misrepresenting what has overall been a pretty good movement.
Having that great, all-consuming passion for something is laudable, but generally I've thought that to do Edupunk, DIY Learning, and MOOC participation properly would be too much of a time commitment. I can barely keep up with my Facebook friends. So, for me, I'm happy to pay "the man" for the exact short cuts that Downes identifies:
It's *hard* to learn this way; in fact, it's *harder* than going to college. The educational system as it is currently structured is intended to offer a set of short cuts - access to qualified practitioners, creation of custom peer networks, guided and scaffolded practice - for a certain price.
Or maybe I'm anti-social...

Either way, it is nice to have a suspicion confirmed.

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