Don’t ever start anything until it’s perfect
Maybe it’s just a function of my risk-taking personality, but I’m always bothered by critics of “the first step.” By “the first step” I mean the first phase of implementation of some larger plan. I’ve taken a lot of first steps, where I’ve rolled out something that was far from perfect, but at least it was a step in the right direction. I believe that if you wait until it’s perfect, you’ll never get anything done because it will never be perfect.
When I came across Ewan’s post on Kansas State’s podcasting initiative, I got this uneasy feeling. He questions whether this is just an extension of “chalk and talk” teaching, and whether or not a “community approach” to podcasting would be better. The comments reinforce this view, with quips like, “just another way of publishing your notes” and, “It appears technology will either be used innovatively or as a means to reduce workload and contact time.”
With the disclaimer that I don’t know everything about the KSU initiative or podcasting or community building, let me think out loud. Do we criticize libraries when they purchase new volumes of print material and don’t provide some sort of “interactive reading” system by which people who check out the same book can later discuss their thoughts and experiences? Do we know that “chalk and talk” is never an appropriate teaching methodology? Do we know how KSU faculty and students will utilize the podcasts? For example, will the podcasts allow faculty to free up class time so they can engage students in activities that would before have been impossible due to time restrictions? Do we know that faculty will not attempt some related activities based on the podcasts, such as through a community wiki/blog/discussion board/portal?
I must be missing something here. I see the initiative as a first step, not the end result. That you have podcasts doesn’t mean anything, it’s how they are used in the learning process that is important. I don’t doubt that Ewan et al would agree with that, but I’ll give KSU the benefit of the doubt that they’ve at least considered it as well.
October 23rd, 2006 - 8:51 pm
Hi!
I’m a student at Lund University in Sweden (sort of undergrad at the sametime sort of graduate, dont ask, it wont conform to US Standards ‘_*) and while I study Visual Culture and Intermedia Relations writing one of my many papers this semester, I’m also part of a small groupe of Students and Normal Human-beings (in this case: Cartoonists) who are working on creating a community online for publishers and cartoonists in Scandinavia. Sort of deviantART community but professional =)
We have no Idea what er are doing, but just as you point out, it is important to dare to take the first step and as time goes on you can learn and evolve. We also have wild ideas about podcasts, intervju series and howto sections, hell we even want to have an ask the expert corner. As we see it we will be in a continuating beta development stage just like many of googles services are in perpetual beta testing stages. Beeing in a beta stage is good, because you can change and implement new ideas that you want to test out and do small uppgrades to fitt the community as you go along.
There is no perfect service, just a perpetual state of thesis and antithesis resulting in gradual tweaking aimed to a specific audince at a specific time in history.
Chris