What Higher Ed can learn from Dave Grohl and Sound City

I've just finished watching the excellent documentary Sound City by Foo Fighter and Nirvana legend Dave Grohl. If you get a chance to watch it, do so - it's inspiring. The documentary tells the story of the legendary Sound City studio in Los Angeles, which gave birth to some of the greatest rock albums of all time: Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' and Nirvana 'Nevermind' to name just two. But during the film, Grohl shares some insights that I feel are of particular relevance to some of the current debates in Higher Education. Let me explain.

Recently, much has been written about the way in which new technologies and pedagogies are causing students (and educators) to question the value of the classroom experience. Martin Weller has raised the possibility of MOOCs as 1st year undergraduate replacement, which the recent HEA report Flexible Pedagogies: Technology-Enhanced Learning proposes that "if students do not perceive traditional lectures and seminars to be valuable from a learning perspective then the age of campus-based education could come to an end". These articles effectively suggest that the combination of affordable personal technology, widespread internet access and availability of free online learning materials could ultimately lead to campus-based lectures becoming a thing of the past.

So what has this got to do with Sound City? One of the key factors contributing to Sound City's legendary status was its refusal to embrace digital recording technology. In the 1990s, digital audio software such as ProTools revolutionised the recording industry by making it possible for anyone to record and produce music in their bedroom. While this can be seen as empowering creativity by lowering the barriers to entry into the music business, the adverse effect is eloquently articulated by one of the Sound City team as 'making it possible for people to get into the music business who had no business getting into the music business'. By removing the filter of having to go into a studio and record music live - with other people - it became increasingly easy for anyone to create average music. 

As the film draws to a close, Grohl explains that one of the most valuable aspects of writing music in a band is the opportunity to develop ideas in real time, with the help of like-minded people. Often there is no pre-determined output other than the desire to make a record, but by exchanging ideas, trying new things, and collaborating with other musicians, it is possible to achieve great things. It is through real-time human collaboration that magic happens, the magic of creating a composition using the fragments of ideas and inspiration that exist in the minds of each musician. Of crucial importance is the need to spend time on this process, creating through experimentation, then refining ideas through negotiation, trial and error.

For me, this is what Higher Education can learn from Sound City and the process of writing music. The one element common to most university experiences is the opportunity to be in a room with like-minded people, all keen to learn and to try new things. When this face-to-face time is used effectively this is where the magic can happen, the 'light-bulb moments' where somebody asks a question and we suddenly understand a concept. Where a discussion takes place that enables us to see something in a whole new light, or from an entirely different perspective. While it is possible to access the same content from home using a computer, without the opportunity to be in a room with people and share the experience of learning we are less likely to experience the magic that comes from collaborating with other human beings.

Higher Education is currently struggling to articulate the value of campus-based education in an age of rapid technological enhancement. If it is able to refocus on the value of an effective tutor in creating engaging learning experiences for students, then campus-based education will survive. But if pedagogical models based on information transmission are allowed to persist then students will vote with their feet.

The tutor has never had more power to determine the fate of the university.

Higher Education in East Asia - students and grads share their views

In doing some research into sustainability I came across the above video from the World Bank, summarising it's report into Higher Education in South East Asia. The research interviewed students and graduates about their experience of Higher Education, and they provided some thought provoking quotes:

• "Higher Education can help us get better jobs but not necessarily the jobs we want."
• "Experience and capability are more important" than a paper diploma.
• "Lack of work experience is the biggest obstacle to finding a job. Many companies do not have time to train graduates."

When asked what changes they would like to see the provided the following responses:
  

• More room for students to be entrepreneurs
• A global teaching system that respects local values
• "What I learned was completely divorced from reality. Copying the western model is not suitable."
• "I hope schools don't become too utilitarian, teaching just for employment. There should be in-depth knowledge."
• "Developing learning methods that help teachers and students think creatively and out of the box"

What about you? What are your thoughts on the above statements? Do these statements confirm or challenge your experience of Higher Education?

A New Year's Day educational message from Seth Godin

I've had an enjoyable break from Twitter over the Christmas break. But having switched on the computer on New Year's Day I came across this thought-provoking video from Seth Godin in which he outlines the reforms he believes are needed for compulsory and post-compulsory education. In questioning the fundamental philosophy which informs current approaches to pedagogy, Godin's observations echo those of Sir Ken Robinson in highlighting the need for a fundamental reevaluation of the educational system.

Why aren't more governments and educational policy makers listening to people like Seth Godin and Sir Ken Robinson? History shows that resistance to change never succeeds in preventing change from occurring. It seems evident that the sooner governments, universities and schools embrace 21st century educational thinking the more likely they are to ride (and potentially profit from) the wave of change. And yet report after report is written highlighting the problem of entrenched views hampering the uptake of new pedagogical approaches (see, for example An Avalanche is Coming, Innovating Pedagogy 2013).

Why is there so much fear of change, particularly in the Higher Education sector which for centuries has been at the forefront of intellectual thought and new knowledge?

We are already entering a post-digital world where ubiquitous access to information should inform a fundamental reevaluation of 19th and 20th century working and pedagogic practices. MOOCs represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of a new view of education, and Thomas Friedman has issued a stark warning to universities that they should strongly consider moving away from a model of 'time served' and towards one of 'stuff learned'. Friedman believes that "increasingly the world does not care what you know. Everything is on Google. The world only cares, and will only pay for,  what you can do with what you know". Those institutions that are able to adapt their provision successfully will most likely lead educational innovation well into the the next decade and beyond.

Seth Godin, Sir Ken Robinson and all those offering an alternative view of education for the 21st century should be congratulated for continuing the march on the ivory towers of educational practice.

Summary of NADP conference, 28th Nov 2013

National Association of Disability Practitioners

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend an event put on by the National Association of Disability Practitioners in Birmingham. The focus of the event was the use of social media in the context of disability support services and we were fortunate enough to have two excellent speakers, Matt East from Anglia Ruskin University and Terry McAndrew from JISC TechDis. This blog post begins with five things I learned during the day, then goes on to provide a summary of the key points from both sessions and links to some of the online resources highlighted during the sessions.

Five things I learned at the NADP conference

1. Students increasingly expect to access resources via social media
 

This implies that support departments may need to communicate via an appropriate social media platform in order to maximise their reach and impact. However, choosing an appropriate platform is key in order to avoid issues of involuntary disclosure of a disability.

2. The growing ‘App Mentality’ has significant implications for student learning
 
This mentality is potentially causing students to be more critical and demanding of available services. Some of the quotes included “I want everything I need in one place”, “if I download an app and it doesn’t work first time, I delete it”, and, “I want information personalised to me”.

3. The preferred search engine for 16-24 year olds is YouTube
 
This statistic shows that students are very comfortable with consuming information in video format. Support departments could harness this by creating short videos about their services, and potentially turn these into a YouTube ‘channel’ to make it easier for students to find and understand them.

4. Transmissive teaching is not accessible
 
Wherever possible we need to encourage approaches to teaching which encourage participation. This has benefits for all students, not just those with disabilities.

5. Age and disability are not significant factors in determining whether someone becomes a ‘resident’ in a network
 
Research by Le Cornu and White (2011) indicated that social, participatory learning spaces provide a means for students to create a different identity. These spaces can empower non-traditional learners and those with disabilities as they prevent others from judging them on their appearance.

Summary of presentations

 

Matt East – Anglia Ruskin University

Matt argued that social media is a key factor in our successful engagement with students as it enables them to access support services in a way with which they are familiar and comfortable. The above Prezi contains some informative videos which provide a useful insight into the world of social media.

Matt shared a quote from a student who had revealed that, “using Twitter has become my first port of call rather than using the Library in many cases”. Typing a search term into Twitter will almost always bring up a list of useful resources ranging from social (blog posts and videos) to academic (journals and e-Books). This suggests that support departments who are seeking to raise awareness of their services would do well to ensuring that they were discoverable on social media platforms. An example might be regular tweets containing links back to departmental web pages, blogs and online resources.

However, use of certain platforms such as Facebook did raise issues of disclosure, particularly for students with disabilities. For instance, a significant attraction of social media is that it enables people to assume an online identity that is different from their physical identity. Consequently, a Disability support department might reasonably aim to push out their service on Facebook because they know a large percentage of students will see it. But if a student were to ‘like’ this page this could suggest to others - rightly or wrongly - that they have a disability, as their friends would see that they had liked this particular page. This highlights the importance of choosing a social media platform that is appropriate both to your needs and to those of your intended audience. For this example, Twitter was cited as a potential alternative as it is less ‘personal’ than Facebook – in other words, there is potentially a smaller reputational risk for a student who follows a Disability services Twitter feed.

Matt also drew attention to the excellent AMMOSSHE Social Media Toolkit. This provides helpful advice and guidance for anyone considering greater usage of social media. The toolkit contains both strategic advice for managers and departments as well as more practical tips for staff.

Terry McAndrew - TechDis

This presentation highlighted both the high-level, strategic aspects of social media use for institutions as well as providing links to a range of useful TechDis resources on accessibility. Terry reinforced the point that, when using social media, students with a disability often don’t want to let on that they have a disability. Highlighting the research by Vaughn and White?? around Digital Residents and Digital Visitors which revealed that neither age nor disability are significant factors in determining whether someone becomes a ‘resident’ in a network – i.e. becomes a regular contributor. This suggests that using social media provides an opportunity to widen participation, communication and learning experiences, and it is therefore important that universities maximise their usage of social networks.

Below are some of the key resources that Terry highlighted:
 

• Concept Linkage - this tool enables students to enter two different search terms. The tool then creates a visual map of all the potential linkages between the two terms, and could be useful in helping all students find out ‘what they don’t know’ about a topic.

• TechDis accessibility resources - the TechDis website has some fantastic resources, particularly on accessibility, inclusion and assistive technologies.

• Web2Access - great resource by Southampton University which evaluates a range of freely available Web 2.0 tools. The Disabilities page also contains a wealth of diagnostic tests to help you match an appropriate learning tool to a disability.

• Access For All - enables you to download a PDF Accessibility Checker, making it easier for you to check the accessibility of PDF documents.  

• Flexible Pedagogies: new pedagogical ideas - a report by the Higher Education academy into new pedagogical ideas, including social learning, learner empowerment, crossing boundaries and decolonising education.

Me – Digital Curation: how to make social media work for you

Due to a gap in the programme I also jumped in during the afternoon slot and provided a short workshop on Digital Curation. The aim of the session was to introduce participants to some practical social media tools that they begin using in their professional activities. The session introduced a simple three-stage framework to inform usage of social media - Discover, Curate, Share – with a view to providing a reason for participants to engage with social media. My main aim was to encourage people not to fear social media but rather to get involved and have a go. Only by doing so do the benefits become more evident.

The resources for my session can be found on the Digital Curation page of this blog, and I must thank Sue Waters for sharing her excellent blog post with me on which my page is based.

Thank you also to the NADP for organising a thoroughly informative and enjoyable day.

October edition of Inside Learning Technologies

 
 

There are some good articles in this magazine, including the following:

• Making the case for blended solutions – Clive Shepherd

• Is learner motivation our responsibility? – Julie Dirksen 

• The rise of video for digital learning – Kath Fleet 

Read the full magazine here.

We hear you Russell, but what's the alternative?

 
 
Jeremy Paxman's recent Newsnight interview of Russell Brand provided a platform for the comedian to wax lyrical about the woes of the current political system. The second half of the interview highlighted Brand's ability to be a convincing public speaker. After all, it takes an agile mind and flawless delivery to render Paxman at a loss for words. 

But what was worrying was Brand's call for revolution without presenting any suggestion of an alternative system of government. There have been many figures in history capable of stirring an otherwise passive public to rise up against the status quo, but these speeches usually include a proposition for an alternative system of government. To me it feels irresponsible for Brand to call for a revolution without offering a corresponding vision for how things might be different.

What struck me most about the interview, however, were the parallels between Brand's portrayal of dissatisfaction with democracy and the current debates around the future of higher education. In recent months a significant amount has been written about the viability of the current university model. Topics of concern range from the sustainability of rising fees to the impact of MOOCs and new technologies on student expectations. Anyone new to the higher education sector reading these articles could easily believe that the entire system was on the brink of a revolution.

But what is lacking, in the same way as in Brand's interview, is a convincing view of an alternative vision of higher education. While few would argue that there is no shortage of innovative ideas, pedagogic models or technologies, there is a surprising lack of debate around what an alternative system of higher education might look like. In much the same way as western democracy, western higher education has been exported across the globe. Despite its flaws, many countries strive to replicate the western university model.

The world needs people like Russell Brand and the thousands of commentators who are able to articulate the faults with our current systems of government and education. But the debate would also benefit from the voice those who are able to present a convincing alternative.

Knowledge + knowing = innovation

I've just finished reading a dense yet highly insightful article by Cook and Brown (1999) about the nature of knowledge and its relationship to organisational innovation. Although the article was written in a pre-social media age (hard to imagine now), like any great research it contains powerful insights that are highly relevant in today's world where use of social tools by businesses is growing exponentially. This post is an attempt to interpret aspects of their article and apply it to social business, but I would highly recommend reading the original research (reference at the end of the post).

Cook and Brown argue that there are four different types of knowledge: explicit, tacit, individual and group. Each type of knowledge is distinctly different and each fulfills a function that the others cannot.

• Explicit knowledge can be understood as "knowledge that can be spelled out or formalised"
• Tacit knowledge is associated with skills or know-how
• Individual knowledge is that stored in the minds of individuals
• Group knowledge constitutes the 'body of knowledge' possessed by a specialist group or community of practice

 
'Knowledge' and 'Knowing' are also understood as two separate concepts, with each enabling the other. Knowledge can be viewed as something that individuals or groups possess, and Knowing constitutes the application of this knowledge in a form of action by groups and individuals interacting with each other and the physical world. In this sense, Knowledge is positioned as a tool of Knowing with each enabling the other.

The key aspect of this interpretation is Cook and Brown's belief that the interaction between knowledge and knowing constitutes a powerful driver of innovation in organisations. Of particular significance is their argument that "harnessing this innovation calls for organisational and technological infrastructures that support the interplay of knowledge and knowing" (1999: 381).

Why is this relevant in the age of social media?

The use of social media tools in organizations can be seen as constituting precisely this sort of infrastructure, as these tools enable employees and managers to access, manage and make use of the "intellectual capital" of the organisation. Implementing a means to access the tacit and explicit knowledge that resides in both individuals and groups enables managers to tap into the creative potential of the workforce. This rich knowledge can then be applied to help the organization generate innovative ideas, products or solutions. The ease with which organisations are able to tap into this creative potential is likely to increase their competitive advantage and ultimately render them more innovative.

The recent report by the Altimeter Group about the Evolution of Social Business suggests that there is a distinct gap between businesses that are implementing a social media strategy and those that are 'deeply integrating social media and social methodologies throughout the company to drive real business impact' (full report below). The research indicated a truly social business has an approach to social which:

1. is clearly aligned with strategic business goals of an ogranisation
2. has organisational alignment and support that enables the execution of that strategy.

After surveying nearly 700 social media professionals and executives the research also found that only 34% of businesses believed that their approach to social media was connected to the goals and objectives of the business. And more worryingly, the report uncovered that 'half of all executives are not informed, engaged or aligned with their company's social media strategies in any capacity'.

There is a clear need for senior executives in businesses and organisations to understand the competitive advantage that social tools can leverage. The alignment of social tools with strategic objectives can significantly increase the potential for an organisation to harness the rich creative potential of its workforce. Using social tools, organisations can access the 'knowledge' residing in individuals and groups and turn it into the 'knowing' that can bring real innovation.


References

Cook, S. D. N. and Brown, J.S. (1999) Bridging Epistemologies: The Generative Dance Between Organizational Knowledge and Organizational Knowing. Organisation Science, Jul/Aug 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4. pp.381-400.

Li, C. and Solis, B. (2013) The Evolution of Social Business; Six Stages of Social Business Transformation. Altimeter Group 

The Evolution of Social Business: Six Stages of Social Media Transformation, by Charlene Li and Brian Solis from Altimeter Group Network on SlideShare