The Edupunk revolution in academia

Perversely, the Easter break is one of the busiest work periods in a student’s year, what with the rush to finish summer term’s essays. A flying visit to the library to pick up my body-weight in books and a metro got me thinking about what learning means, and sharing my thoughts with The Badger seems as good a form of procrastination as any.

Edupunk is one of the hundreds of great new words the internet spews out every week. It basically describes a set of ideas involving the use of ICT as an alternative to mainstream learning methods. The ‘punk’ part of the word comes from the idea that by challenging traditional learning you are taking on traditional authorities on learning.

There’s been a lot in the news lately about government plans for the latest round of changes in the school curriculum particularly in suggesting that pupils should be taught how to use blogs, Twitter and Wikipedia. Part of the reason that former teachers and education commentators might have a problem with these changes is that in the past they have had the monopoly on writing text books and deciding what should be learnt. Many of these online resources are written by unpaid non experts.

‘I believe that society should do the job of educating itself’

Studying blogs and Twitter may sound like education dumbed down, but if you can sort through the irrelevant chatter you can read history in action. The skill of any learning is to sort the relevant information from the mess, the good from the bad, and draw meaning from this. Of course, by pooling our knowledge we generate problems; but with so many people involved, these problems are corrected over time as the information becomes more and more accurate. Eventually, with more people having access to correct information, it becomes more and more detailed and these details become more and more accurate. Especially as many of the people who take the time to amend such information are experts in their interest or field – even if not formally recognised. To assume that a resource open to editing by all should somehow be inherently weaker is to assume quite a low opinion of the average human intelligence.

Considering the amount the core curriculum has been messed around with over recent years (for example now even gearing the education of children as young as eleven toward market forces) teaching children about the simple and wonderful act of learning seems quite sensible. Today we see schools in deprived areas unable to afford up to date text books when internet access is being rolled out to almost every classroom. Our principle method of transferring information can no longer be said to be through published books, nor face to face learning. The worthiness of alternative methods should be considered.

One of the most used arguments in support of free tuition fees is that society should pay to educate itself. I believe that society should actually do the job of educating itself and not stick to old, controlled systems. It seems we’re quite uncomfortable with this and it’s not just related to academia but a whole range of skills. We’re a society that increasingly can’t carry out simple household repairs, yet we spend more and more every year on DIY and self-help books, ignoring our ability to reach out to those around us to learn from them.

By being at university we accept being part of a system and accept the benefits of it; information is given to us by more experienced lectures and tutors, we are advised to learn through certain sources of information, written by other academics and endorsed by them. In order to pass the degree you need to demonstrate your learning through writing essays. Rules dictate that your arguments are backed up with evidence from academically respected sources. I just worry that we could be limiting ourselves from new innovative theories and ideas because they are from the “wrong” sources.

We should take more advantage of non-traditional / non-hierarchal learning. Open your mind to all the information that is out there, and what skills you can learn from the people around you. Talk to someone on a completely different course to you about something you’re studying, and you may be surprised at the insight they provide and what you might think of anything they share with you. Try reading a book that wasn’t written for your course, or by a traditional academic. If there’s someone out there who can do something you’ve always wanted to do, see if they’re willing to teach you and what you could offer in return.