Confirmation of Status Viva
July 1st, 2008Hurrah! My Confirmation of Status Viva came and went on the 26th of July. The format of this milestone was a fifteen minute presentation by yours truly, followed by an oral examination, all of which passed without any major faux pas. In retrospect it was an enjoyable, insightful experience and I got positive feedback from the internal and external examiners.
I have been advised to develop more practice driven material which will be used to create a digital archive of test elements. This doesn’t seem to daunting but I can’t afford to be complacent, there is still a long way to go and sustaining the momentum is perhaps one of the most onerous tasks of the PhD.
One Laptop Per Child
June 7th, 2008“Why would a kid in the developing world need a laptop…take the word laptop and substitute the word education…eliminate poverty create peace and work on the environment”
Nicholas Negroponte
This is the sentiment which drives Professor Nicholas Negroponte’s OLPC initiative, Negroponte, co-founder of the MIT Media Lab first launched his non-profit making enterprise in January 2005 with the aim of supplying laptops for children in the developing world. The first phase of the program delivered hundreds of thousands of XO’s but many countries were apprehensive about buying machines which did not run Microsoft’s Windows operating system.
Following a deal with Microsoft Negroponte has now launched revamped XO2 machine which operates dual Microsoft Linux system. The new device incorporates laptop, e-book and electronic board capacities within a neat book like format. This appliance can be used by more than one child simultaneously, is more energy efficient and more than 500 e-books can be stored.
Some people have been critical of the OLPC initiative, questioning the provision of laptops as opposed to uniforms, desks etc. However the web was originally intended as a global gift to aid education by giving people free access to knowledge. Sadly not everyone has been in a position to access this privilege but hopefully initiatives like OLPC will help balance the equation.
Net Neutrality
June 6th, 2008The ethos that shaped the internet and made it the success it is today is under threat. Tim Berners-Lee’s gift of a free democratic World Wide Web provided a facility for personal and corporate interaction which promoted creativity, commercial enterprise and freedom of speech but all that could change in the not too distant future. The US Congress has been put under increasing pressure by the telephone and cable companies to change the telecommunications laws regarding net neutrality. If the internet providers get their way it will elevate them to the position of internet gatekeepers, a powerful position whereby they could dictate/sensor content and speed of content creating a hierarchical system where money talks.
Over the last decade free access to knowledge has enlightened, informed and inspired a generation.
How will the proposed changes impact on education?
‘Free Culture’
June 5th, 2008Lawrence Lessig’s final ‘Free Culture’ speech, which took place on January 31st 2008 in Stanford University, was a stirring ‘call to arms’ for the continuation of the Creative Commons movement he founded 10 years previously. Lessig has decided to shift the emphasis of his energetic input to what he perceives to be a more urgent issue, that of ‘corruption in Washington’. He used the platform to deliver an impassioned communique which succinctly highlighted the essence of what he has selflessly focused on for the last decade. I wish him well.
In this, his ‘resignation’ speech, Lawrence Lessig has offered a very personal view of the state of the World Wide Web as he now sees it. Included within his presentation are clips from various sources to help illustrate his point of view. At one point, images of the Iraq war with dubbed commentary are shown. This highlights the dilemma:
By my inclusion of this video piece, am I also taking a political stance?
Can it be inferred that I also support Lessig’s views on global issues beyond that of web issues?
What ‘risk’ have I just taken for including this material?
Will it have unforeseen consequences for my supervisors who may not know that I have uploaded this and, in turn, my University?
From my perspective, I just wanted to let people know that the web ‘guru’ isn’t at all happy with current developments and that people might be interested in why. The irony is that my University has no knowledge that I have now included this link to my blog. If they did, what might they do? Who within the institution might be asked to ‘deal’ with it? Who might the person be who asks the ‘person’ to deal with it? …and so on.
Views on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
