A vision of students yesterday
October 28, 2007 — Daniel LivingstoneMichael Wesch (of ‘The Machine is us/ing us’ fame) has a new video on YouTube - produced in collaboration with his class - “A Vision of Students Today“. Many of the elements of todays vision, Facebook and laptops aside, are actually pretty similar to my own undergraduate days… students buying books they don’t read or skipping half the readings or not paying attention in class. The tech has changed, but the students largely seem the same.
Look closely at the following picture (click to see the full size version) of a medieval university to see just how much hasn’t changed.
In fact, this was Peter Norvig’s point at ALT-C earlier in the year, and I think he used this very picture. I’d actually seen this one before when I studied a little to learn about the origin of Doctorates and PhDs - when I also came across the fantastic little book ‘The Rise of Universities’ by Charles Homer Haskins. A great read, fantastically fun to realise just how little students and lecturers haven’t changed over the ages. (Though there are less sword fights after class nowadays)
October 30, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Not sure where Michael Wesch is going with this video, it does say “to be continued” at the end. The students looked a bit uncomfortable to me, not quite certain that it was OK to boast about their lack of reading, missing lessons or not paying attention.
My idea of a University is that it ought to challenge and be difficult in a way that is also engaging but without pandering to engagement in a populist, philistine manner. Michael Wesch may be engaging his students but it’s not clear where he is going to take them or even whether he sees that as part of his role.
October 31, 2007 at 12:51 am
I also don’t know where he’s going. But the results presented are survey results, not necessarily (as far as I understand it) representative of the student holding the paper (or laptop).
I wonder if it might be used as evidence that today’s students are different, when it largely shows that they are pretty similar to yesterday’s.
I agree that university should *try* to engage, but we have to accept that engaging all students is unlikely in the best of circumstances.
I have to say that I find the comments on the video interesting to dip into. Full range from ’students have no-one to blame but themselves. It is their responsibility’ to ’smaller classes are better’ to ‘lecturing is outdated’ to ‘college education is a waste of time’… and pretty much everything in between.