i think
thoughts and ramblings
Teaching?
How can my idea on what I do be based around learning and teaching when I openly state I am not a teacher and I do not teach?
Edupunk by definition? v1
## Nov 1st 2011) ##
I say this is version 1 as through time I know I am going to change my outlook on the whole concept (if there is a concept here at all), but I want to show/track my thoughts as my research develops
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I sat for around three hours this morning gathering thoughts and stating a case that Edupunk is not dead. Those who follow the cause so to speak would already know that but how? Is there a definition of an Edupunk?
I get paid a decent salary for my job as a college lecturer. I use cloud solutions as part of my every day work to help myself, the student and ultimately the college (as it saves them money). Does that make me an Edupunk or an Edupreneur?
#### just thinking ###
My thoughts and beliefs are with the concept of the Edupunk but am I? I suppose it depends how hard you look at what I do. I have the option of the VLE and Microsoft Office, but I choose Google Docs and cloud storage.
I’m going to have to go for a walk, a bath or whatever and think this one through a little further before I continue to write.
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It’s been three hours since the paragraph above. Yes I am an Edupunk. I had to think about is because if you read the post by Jim Groom titled “Dear Edupunk” there are a series of heated responses. This I don’t get. Jim Groom coined the phrase as a way of working because that made sense to him and he could not think of a better analogy at the time. I like the name because it has beep roots with the 2nd generation Punk movement of the early 80′s, fundamentally it is a way of thinking outside the corporate guidelines we are asked to follow.
I have no idea how college funding works in other countries, but in Scotland, a college is allocated a set number of student places and we get paid on that basis. Okay, there are some other factors but that’s the main source. From that the college pay rates, wages, software etc. My Edupunk approach may save the college money somewhere which will only be spent somewhere else but is the main point not that I am passing this approach on to others. I am showing my students that there are alternate ways to do things and from that I make no monetary gain. The legacy of my teaching methods will hopefully be taken forward into the next generation, which brings another argument on should I do this, should I not just go with the corporate big-guns? That is another post I think.
My Edupunk definition?
A D.I.Y. Attitude towards learning and teaching which involves sharing and collaboration with no direct monetary gain.
This could be argued and counter argued. Who says I am correct in anything I do as an educator… I teach web design — there are other ways to do it. I teach 3D modeling — there are other ways to do it. Arguably, find a different way to do anything in learning and teaching then you are an Edupunk… Which poses another question in How Edupunk are you?
Please feel free to comment, I would appreciate all thoughts and views.
Edupunk’s not dead
So the research starts.
For the last 6 or 7 months I have been collecting my thoughts about the whole Edupunk concept.
Edupunk (2008-2011) is an approach to teaching and learning practices that result from a do it yourself (D.I.Y) attitude. The New York Times defines it as “an approach to teaching that avoids mainstream tools like PowerPoint and Blackboard, and instead aims to bring the rebellious attitude and D.I.Y. ethos of ’70s bands like The Clash to the classroom.” Many instructional applications can be described as DIY education or Edupunk. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edupunk)
The term was coined by Jim Groom who distanced himself from the ‘movement’ in a heart felt blog post titled “Dear Edupunk“. The parallel between this and the punk movement of the 70′s is uncanny. In the late 70′s the main band (in the UK) was The Sex Pistols. A manufactured band who played with aggression which they channeled into the unsuspecting youth. The band split in 1979 and there were cries on “Punk is dead”.
The truth of the matter is that this was only the beginning. After the winter of discontent, unemployed youths formed bands and played for free at small local halls. Rather than sign to major record labels they formed their own. Rather than take any profit, they put the money back in to promote a new band giving them the chance. The bands further connected with the troubled youth of the time by singing about real life issues such as Unemployment, Nuclear War and Political Unrest making them more aware and together they stood up and said ‘No’.
There was an honesty about punk which was refreshing. By ‘being a punk’ it was more than listening to the music, it was a way of life, it was an attitude. Even at the rife old age of 44 I still hold the values I had as a punk, in fact, as a middle aged (respectable?) guy, I AM STILL a Punk.
I remember in 1984 during the Miners Strike that there was a gig at The Hayfield Centre in Kirkcaldy.
It was a pokey little place. There were 15 bands playing and it was FREE to get in, all you had to do was bring a food donation for the miners. The place was so small that the bands were mingling with us and talking about the music and their thoughts, looking back it was quite surreal.
So back to Edupunk. In the Dear Edupunk post, Jim discusses the Edupreneur, people who make money from education and quite rightly so, this goes against the whole idea of punk. Sure, money was made by punk bands and promoters but it was frowned upon when the big record labels or promoters tried to jump on the band wagon. The whole punk ideal was to help each other without personal gain or profit… so are YOU an Edupunk? For me, as an educator in 2011 I NEED TO BE. My employer can not afford to pay £20k on specialist software licenses every three or four years, especially where there are free alternatives. My employer can not afford to send all staff on training courses costing thousands of pounds, especially when there are cloud communities with people at hand to advise and point us in the direction of a good tutorial.
Call it what you will, the Edupunk movement is very much alive and it will continue to grow as long as there are people willing to help, share and collaborate. For many it will be a tough journey because as with the Punk movement of the 70′s and 80′s there will be an element trying to cash in while others will back off and fight against it which will be brought on partly with fear of change but more of ignorance.
Further info:
UK/DK – A story about punks and skinheads (skip through the music and listen to the views of some of the bands)
- F = lm(dot) ve + ( pe - pa ) Ae (that's rocket science), <a href=http://smithereenz.com> smart ass </a> (that's web code)
- I'm a tutor @carnegiec come along and I'll show you how to do it. Its not rocket science
- I build websites on occasion and I can almost guarantee a top google listing... Am I an SEO specialist? No I just know what I'm doing.
- RT @bkmacdaddy: A New Way To Think About Privacy - http://t.co/8ZdWuMqj
- Now have @hamacleod. And @jar. as co-supervisors. Exciting and hard times ahead :)
- http://t.co/Fs2Hs7HG nice
- @pedagoo Scottish education is very good, but there are cultural differences we can benefit from
- @pedagoo not sure, possibly add "through a collective understanding from educators from around the world"?
- Steve Jobs: Bill Gates 'unimaginative' - Telegraph http://t.co/nbeEqb8Q via @Telegraph
- @pedagoo not really, I subscribe to websites in the U.S. Maybe reword it slightly to encourage collaboration?
