Hi Mark + fellow idcers,<br><br>What you term _link jockeys_ I term _versionals_:<br><br>"Institutionalised information facets that are currently viewed as
"factual" are not immune to the versional effect. Canonized
distributions embodying previously established credibility markers such
as scientific methodology>evidence>history-as-truth are being
repulsed to encourage more elastic variations on present non-credible
information sources like Wikipedia, who draw on constantly changing
data sources. Versionals, being post-[singular]identities, act to
obfuscate regular information hierarchies and rewrite "credible"
information source-points via blogging, wiki creation, photo
aggregationism, p2p file sharing, textual moment-capture and
info-flagging [microblogging, instant messaging, tagging, social
bookmarking], video snippeting, and identity diffusion. Versionals are
the new cultural black."<br><br>[ <a href="http://www.furtherfield.org/displayreview.php?review_id=281">http://www.furtherfield.org/displayreview.php?review_id=281</a> ]<br><br>Chunks,<br>Mez<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 6:49 PM, Mark Marino <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:markcmarino@gmail.com">markcmarino@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Hi, IDC-ers:<br>
<br>
Please consider the proposal below in the spirit in which it was intended...<br>
<br>
Today, sitting in a left-handed chair-desk in a mandatory writing<br>
class, with a not-so-mandatory technology component, I asked my<br>
students: Do we really need libraries and librarians in the age of Web<br>
2.0?<br>
<br>
One replied: Couldn't we ask the same thing about everyone? Even teachers?<br>
<br>
(collective gasp from students)<br>
<br>
Well, why not?<br>
<br>
What if we just got rid of teachers, the way we've gotten rid of<br>
journalists and books, VCRs and retirement funds? Let's follow open<br>
content to its natural conclusion...<br>
<br>
Instead of that Web 1.0-notion of professors and Instructors, we could<br>
have Link Jockeys<br>
<br>
Chronicle Job Description:<br>
Wanted: NTT Link Jockeys. Instead of teaching classes,<br>
delivering lectures, and creating wicked midterm essay questions, we<br>
seek Link Jockeys (or Tag Mavens or User Yentas) to spend their time<br>
networking students with pre-existing online content, social scholars,<br>
and a demographically balanced mixed of like-minded students. Salary:<br>
Gift Economy Karma/Linden<br>
<br>
Duties of the Link Jockey:<br>
No more office hours. No more lesson plans. No more wrestling with<br>
students' dispersed attention spans. (Google has already made them<br>
stoopid. No need to make them angry, too.) Link Jockeys will busy<br>
themselves:<br>
<br>
1) Creating "syllabi" of entirely (Free) online content:<br>
viral videos: Ted videos, youtube (Charlie Bit My Finger<br>
101), videojug<br>
sharable widgets<br>
free readings<br>
link lists<br>
blog feeds<br>
<br>
2) Connecting students with online mentors:<br>
These social shirpas help students find scholars to<br>
"friend" and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Social Bookmarking sites<br>
Students rinse themselves in the streams of content<br>
regularly coursing forth from these web-springs.<br>
<br>
3) Compiling lists of listservs and discussion forums for the students<br>
to join. (Toss those tired discussion starters.) And if that's not<br>
enough interaction:<br>
<br>
4) Assigning students into cohorts based on an interest survey (a la<br>
Friend Recommendation). Collect them in Ning or Facebook groups<br>
<br>
5) Compelling all "students" (--aren't we all students?--) to blog,<br>
bookmark, and Twitter so they are rebroadcasting their reflections and<br>
discoveries<br>
<br>
Wash, Rinse, Repeat.<br>
<br>
(Note by wiki-izing this process, the job tasks below could be<br>
crowdsourced -- or better yet re-distribute this job to the millions<br>
of users trying to register for adult content sites in the manner of<br>
Captcha. Users could become passive micro-contributors to online<br>
education by correctly tagging, say, an LoC holding about<br>
globalization as either "international relations" or "global conquest"<br>
or "Web 2.0")<br>
<br>
Such a bold move would alleviate the troubles of grading, fretting<br>
over a particular class or student, or even finding a job in a down<br>
economy.<br>
<br>
You might be thinking: Does he mean online education like Open<br>
University? THE University of Phoenix?<br>
<br>
No, not at all. I don't mean teachers would be paid to teach courses<br>
online, nor do I mean students attending online unis. There would be<br>
no courses really and certainly no teaching in some old-fashioned,<br>
hegemonic, spoon-feeding, outline-following, learning-outcome sense.<br>
The goal is simple: make links with the hope that the students will<br>
begin to make their own.<br>
<br>
Aren't we awfully close?<br>
<br>
Would this really be so bad?<br>
<br>
I wonder. I wondered aloud to those same students who were either<br>
text messaging weekend plans to their friends or Twittering my<br>
revolutionary proposal to the world.<br>
<br>
Thoughts?<br>
Mark<br>
<br>
--<br>
Writing Program<br>
University of Southern California<br>
<a href="http://WriterResponseTheory.org" target="_blank">http://WriterResponseTheory.org</a><br>
<a href="http://CriticalCodeStudies.com" target="_blank">http://CriticalCodeStudies.com</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
iDC -- mailing list of the Institute for Distributed Creativity (<a href="http://distributedcreativity.org" target="_blank">distributedcreativity.org</a>)<br>
<a href="mailto:iDC@mailman.thing.net">iDC@mailman.thing.net</a><br>
<a href="https://mailman.thing.net/mailman/listinfo/idc" target="_blank">https://mailman.thing.net/mailman/listinfo/idc</a><br>
<br>
List Archive:<br>
<a href="http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/" target="_blank">http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/</a><br>
<br>
iDC Photo Stream:<br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/idcnetwork/" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/idcnetwork/</a><br>
<br>
RSS feed:<br>
<a href="http://rss.gmane.org/gmane.culture.media.idc" target="_blank">http://rss.gmane.org/gmane.culture.media.idc</a><br>
<br>
iDC Chat on Facebook:<br>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2457237647" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2457237647</a><br>
<br>
Share relevant URLs on <a href="http://Del.icio.us" target="_blank">Del.icio.us</a> by adding the tag iDCref<br>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>: <a href="http://augmentology.com">http://augmentology.com</a><br>: <a href="http://knott404.blogspot.com">http://knott404.blogspot.com</a><br>: <a href="http://netwurker.livejournal.com">http://netwurker.livejournal.com</a><br>
<br>