tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14194674.post7062819453129245829..comments2024-03-28T07:47:53.949-04:00Comments on Transforming Grounds: The End of Ted Talks and MOOCsErik Stolterman Bergqvisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10368024740643883412noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14194674.post-35120130420674737312013-02-10T10:41:01.170-05:002013-02-10T10:41:01.170-05:00TED talks are an excellent way to get exposure to ...TED talks are an excellent way to get exposure to polished concepts and interesting people. Their ease of passing around information in that form is an excellent use of the affordances of the Internet in general and social media in particular. I think the critiques based on the content or form of delivery are incorrectly believing that access to knowledge to be a zero-sum—as in, if they see it in a TED talk they won't pay attention to the deeper and more rigorous work that is being done behind it. In fact, my experience is exactly the opposite: a 5-20 minute investment in my time can lead to entire bodies of work that I would not have found otherwise. The fact that there a many non-academics up on those stages is also a plus, as some of the projects being done in the name of art or science but without academic institution are just as inspiring and valid as a long journal paper.<br /><br />My gripe with TED is the elitism and exclusive nature of the process of getting those talks into cyberspace. The cost to go to "Big TED" is prohibitive, and people invited to speak tend to already be those who are established or well known in their circles. As Bar camps were to FOO Camps in tech, there are responses to this exclusivity in the form of Ignite talks, Pecha Kucha and other local gatherings of people who volunteer to share their interests. Even TEDx, which was supposed to tap into that localized love of sharing knowledge, is a highly controlling organization that has far too many rules of engagement about what can and cannot be done around their events. Although I loved the content of our own TEDx Bloomington, as someone trying to tie in that content to related events around our community, there was no support and in fact active suppression of those kinds of activities. TED and TEDx have a very Mad Men way of thinking about brand and community that I find distasteful.<br /><br />But to your larger nod toward criticizing the massive online courses that have and continue to grow in popularity, I think that again is a bit of zero-sum thinking. The reality of the coursework is that (a) the content and video instruction is top-notch, (b) the assignments do help move people to some understanding, and (c) the time needed to really invest in each learning community to even approach a classroom environment is significant. It is billed as a panacea of self-led learning from world-class educators, but without the barriers of application/rejection and someone else's schedule. For all of the people who sign up, a very small percentage get that kind of experience and only with a big commitment. For casual learners, the pace is too fast and additional disincentives accumulate too fast.<br /><br />Institutions of learning are looking for ways to expand their reach and impact on education, both to improve reputation and to tap into new sources of revenue. The learning experience isn't inferior or superior to classroom instruction, but it does have significant differences in how one can interact with the learning. Coursera is a great initiative, but it isn't going to kill learning elsewhere. If anything, the courses should be presented in a more modular way that concludes with ways to continue learning both online and off.Kevin Makicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567480687265854009noreply@blogger.com