In principle, I think that being able to customize your degree, across many institutions is a great idea. In practice though this is problematic.
I was reading yesterday that learners:
* know what they know
* know what they don't know
* don't know what they know
* don't know what they don't know
This last bullet is the most problematic one, and one that set curricula aim to remedy. If students don't know what they don't know, the problem with picking and choosing your own courses means that you might end up with a perpetual blind spot that you aren't even aware of.
I think that educational institutions can do A LOT with the first 3 bullets by allowing students to customize a set (but not set-in-stone) curriculum so that they don't have to repeat things they know, and they don't have to repeat things they know in order to know that they know them.
Apostolos Koutropoulos
Posts made by Apostolos Koutropoulos
I agree,
the benefit of a tool like this is to expose you to things that you might want to explore, rather than telling you what you already know.
the benefit of a tool like this is to expose you to things that you might want to explore, rather than telling you what you already know.
I think a similar tool is needed because Hunch is obviously geared toward products. Educational uses *may not* just want products, but other things as well.
There are two issues here that piqued my interest:
1. the issue of Privacy
2. "bombardment" of ads
As far as Privacy goes, we don't really have privacy; what we DO have is a faucet and we can choose how much to turn the faucet, and in what area. If people we know got together, they COULD piece together info about us, even though we might have given each member a different piece of the puzzle. The internet, and web 2.0 services, make this much easier.
I don't have any delusions of Privacy when using these services; after all they do get hacked, apps get written that take advantage of the info I've stored in private areas, and ToS do change and once private info becomes public. What I want (as a "net-generation" member) is finer control over who I give my info to, the shelf-life of that information, and how these people/apps/places can use my info.
As far as ads go, I don't want to be bombarded with ads - period. Neither ads that are pertinent to me, nor ads that are not. Watching Hulu (a video streaming service in the US), I get A LOT of ads that are not pertinent to me, BUT they are amusing in their own right. I get ads for car insurance that are pretty funny (allstate with "mayhem"), I've seen some pretty imaginative HP printer ads, and of course the "Hello, I'm a Mac" ads. Some (or all) of these don't pertain to me, but I watch them anyway for their artistic (or humor) value.
The product isn't the only thing that matters - presentation is equally important. I'd be happy to watch ads for products that don't pertain to me if the ad is interesting.
1. the issue of Privacy
2. "bombardment" of ads
As far as Privacy goes, we don't really have privacy; what we DO have is a faucet and we can choose how much to turn the faucet, and in what area. If people we know got together, they COULD piece together info about us, even though we might have given each member a different piece of the puzzle. The internet, and web 2.0 services, make this much easier.
I don't have any delusions of Privacy when using these services; after all they do get hacked, apps get written that take advantage of the info I've stored in private areas, and ToS do change and once private info becomes public. What I want (as a "net-generation" member) is finer control over who I give my info to, the shelf-life of that information, and how these people/apps/places can use my info.
As far as ads go, I don't want to be bombarded with ads - period. Neither ads that are pertinent to me, nor ads that are not. Watching Hulu (a video streaming service in the US), I get A LOT of ads that are not pertinent to me, BUT they are amusing in their own right. I get ads for car insurance that are pretty funny (allstate with "mayhem"), I've seen some pretty imaginative HP printer ads, and of course the "Hello, I'm a Mac" ads. Some (or all) of these don't pertain to me, but I watch them anyway for their artistic (or humor) value.
The product isn't the only thing that matters - presentation is equally important. I'd be happy to watch ads for products that don't pertain to me if the ad is interesting.
It's a pleasure to meet you!
What do you mean by "didactics"? Does the term mean the same thing as "pedagogy"? :-)
I too am interested in using technology to enhance education and I also just finished a degree in applied linguistics - I didn't think there would be too many of us here with the same interests as me :-)
Apostolos
What do you mean by "didactics"? Does the term mean the same thing as "pedagogy"? :-)
I too am interested in using technology to enhance education and I also just finished a degree in applied linguistics - I didn't think there would be too many of us here with the same interests as me :-)
Apostolos