[Technical] Using IRC for student development collaboration

[Con Zymaris]

On Tue, Aug 23, 2005 at 07:11:00AM +1000, Stephen Digby DEET wrote:
> A resource is usually neutral.  It does not, of itself, deliver utility or benefit.  It has to be mined and refined carefully and
> its use directed only to socially beneficial ends.  This does not happen without strong social rules and conventions.
> many resources (e.g. (TV, videos, games, internet access, Online Chat etc etc) are cases in point.  They have no natural tendency to
> enrich the minds of children (or the general public).  Indeed, with uncontrolled and irresponsible use (as I would argue is in
> evidence over most of the planet), they have resulted in a "dumbing down" of the general population (although there are significant
> sub-populations of both the public and students that have been very significantly enriched).
> In a school, the availability of online chat (such as I have just shut down in "moodle") results in a classic cascade of loss of
> purpose.  Start with a specific purpose and objective.  Students naturally explore.  They find the resource can serve alternate
> interests which, although they will openly admit are non educational, are nevertheless immediately gratifying.  Even well focused
> students eventually get sucked into the vortex with that mindless smile which educators often interpret as "engagement" these days.
> They literally remind me of the irresistible return of the rat to the dispensing control in classic habituation experiments.
> 
> Thus, chat is not for me - or my students - until it can be shown to deliver higher learning objectives in a shorter period of time
> without the immense collateral damage.
> In schools where it has been opened for significant periods (and I have had reports from staff and students from a few), only the
> technophiles refuse to admit the evidence of the log files - i.e. that the tool is an enormously damaging distraction within and
> between classes.
> 
> And I haven't started on the problems of legal liability for abuse from conversations within an heaven forbid from outside school
> communities !!

Two points.

1) Can you set word wrap on your mail client to 72 columns ;-)

2) Can you read my response to Mark and see if that solves a few of the 
   issues you mention above.


Cheers,

Con Zymaris

- CEO, Cybersource Pty. Ltd.
- Director, Open Source Industry Australia, Limited.
- Convenor, Open Source Victoria (A Government-funded industry cluster.)

-- 
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Con Zymaris <conz at cyber.com.au> Level 4, 10 Queen St, Melbourne, Australia 
Cybersource: Australia's Leading Linux and Open Source Solutions Company 
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