Back in the swing of things, first week teaching, down and the semester is off to a good start. It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, which is a national day of remembrance and celebration. I spent Tuesday in the Global Languages and Cultures Room planning activities for the semester, and met my Everyday Learning cohort on Wednesday morning. I’ve also had meetings, lots of things to sort out at home and overall, arriving at Friday morning feeling that the week has been busy but productive.
Last week’s issue was a bit long I noticed, of courses there were some fun photos to include from San Francisco, and we had some catching up to do. So I’ll try and keep this one relatively brief and on message. Ho hum.
I enjoyed a meeting yesterday where we discussed establishing a new center, a project that will take some time and require a great deal of collaboration, ambition and (of course) funding. Some of this no doubt will come from industry partners who I’m sure will want to benefit from some of the research that this center would facilitate. It was heartening then to hear a colleague suggest that there should be room for (as they phrased it) “ the inconvenient”. I love this, inconvenience suggests disruption in a way that makes us think again, a challenge perhaps to the norm, and how that has been defined.
So, let’s seek inconvenience, generate it if necessary.
Stephan
Teaching & Learning
It was nice to meet my new students, after a few false starts they began to chat and join in discussion, and by the end of the session we were all friends and looking forward to meeting up again. I’m always amazed by the mix of subjects that the students are enrolled on, but I think it is becoming less important to state your major, as there are many detours through other subjects that really just being a student of this institution is label enough.
I’m not sure that students set out to fulfill particular job roles. I’m probably wrong about this, but I don’t think categorizations such as designer, developer or translator, interpreter, business exec or for that matter, chef, electrician or medic really fit the bill. Students want to leave uni so that they can have interesting experiences. They want to have several careers, work for different companies, maybe travel and work with interesting people; and some may be happy doing one thing, well. Whatever that might be.
It seems to me that they’re already doing this, choosing different courses, exploring ideas, concepts. One student shared a list of courses, which seemed incredibly diverse, but the threads were easy to see: storytelling, narrative, design, social and cultural issues; it seemed such a varied and interesting journey through their degree.
Life Lessons
As I was organizing materials for the course Everyday Learning: Designing Learning Experiences in Times of Unrest and Uncertainty, I was reminded of the reason for its creation. The course was born from the desire to reflect the numerous ways communities used education and shared resources during the initial lockdown period in March 2019, and later during the protests following the killings of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. People took to the streets to protest and demand an end to police and government brutality in the fights against systemic and institutionalized racism. In response, many educators included resources on anti-racist teaching, re-evaluated their work, decolonized teaching materials, explored critical pedagogies, shared communities of learning, and worked to protect those who were most vulnerable in our society - those who were oppressed and harmed by others.
For a moment, it seemed as though we were moving in a positive direction, though we still had a long way to go. Fast forward to 2022/23 the right wing backlash has been violent, with a culture war erupting against the teaching of history, against recognizing, learning, and celebrating difference, and the fight for equality. This is evident in school board meetings discussing the dismantling of staff development and diversity training, in libraries where books are being banned, and in government and the judiciary where protections are being removed and freedom of speech is being denied or granted only when it serves to oppress and isolate those marginalized voices. Just this week the republican governor of Florida moved to ban African American studies class from high schools in the state.
The question now is, where do we go from here? In the US, it is a Christian nationalist movement that is imposing its doctrine and beliefs on others, deciding what is taught or discussed in schools and universities. It is uncertain whether this is a loud and powerful minority, allowed to dominate decision-making by others’ lack of interest or complacency, or whether it is a growing fascist movement that will bring great harm before it is defeated.
It seems that education is on the front-line of this battle, and courses like Everyday Learning, which focus on critical-thinking, are considered dangerous and subversive. In reality, courses such as this one are asking students to think critically, reflect and use evidence to shape philosophies or, at the very least, an opinion or view. As educators, I see it as imperative to continue to unsettle, disturb and challenge this complacency that exists, and to protect the right to education for all individuals, regardless of their background or beliefs.
Lost and Found
VR is helping people to cope with anxiety. Although I was pretty anxious that the new Meta Quest Pro I ordered arrived in one piece. I still have a few Oculus Quest 1’s hanging around and I probably need to get rid of them now, I’ll see if anyone wants them, but I think this year will be the last year that there will be updates for it. In other Quest news, John Carmack, responsible for the development of Rifts and Quests has decided to quit Meta, critical of working with the company and frustrated with the culture. I met him at Oculus Connect a few years ago and we talked about the ambition for more educational content, he was engaging and interested, and I was pleased I got to say hello, if just for a couple of minutes.
Each week there is a new article about the use of Chat GPT, especially how it can be used to support SLA. We’re even planning to have a chat about this in our department meeting. One NY school district has banned its use and some institutions, as in the UK, are asking lecturers to adjust assessment methods. About time too.
I thought Scite, which is another AI tool, albeit one that seeks out citations and publications, looked quite useful, I’m hoping we have an institutional license.
I tried to get a few positive app habits started this week with the arrival of a new Apple watch SE, it is a little bigger on my wrist and has a bit more memory and sprightliness than my older watch which I’ve recycled through Apple’s scheme. I’m trying to close my rings, and get active, I need to build up some strength now that my foot is better. Apps-wise I’m learning Spanish with Duolingo, I’m trying Letterboxd to list films to watch or log ones I’ve seen, and finally, I’m doing a new animation course on domestika.
…and just because, sometimes you need to see the world through Martin Parr’s camera.
Thank you
Each week, when I’ve written out my newsletter I look through my phone to see what photos I took that week, it’s my favorite part of putting this together. Next week I may add the photos first and then write around them for a change.
I hope thing are good with you, that the start of the semester has gone well. There are always ups and downs, this time of year can be bleak and tough to get through, this is when its okay to watch tv shows or read books, or do a jigsaw puzzle or find a quiet corner to do a sketch while listening to the radio and occasionally sipping a mug of tea.
You might even have some time to help your kid make that Astro Boy model he got for Christmas.
Take care of yourselves, see you next week.