Most education is provided by some organization or institution that, with the best of intentions, attempts to decide what we should know, or what skills we should have. This is not a bad thing, as many of these efforts are led by people just like you and me. They've been practitioners, or they've seen a gap in offerings, or they've seen a need in the market, so they step up to it to do something.
The problem is that most of these forms of learning are one-size-fits-all. Each of us has different learning preferences, speeds, and focuses. You may be interested in Java, I may be interested in C#. Should the learning provider create versions of classes in both languages, and invite people to one or the other, or should they create one class that teaches concepts and techniques, and assume that the language doesn't matter?
When you are the provider, you are forced to make specific decisions about investment and potential return on investment each time you consider these options.
Community ownership will offer a very different set of options. There is no cost (at least, beyond that of some individuals or groups who donate their time). There is, therefore, no consideration of return on investment.
Let's say that I see a challenge that addresses a particular technique in Java. "Oh, that's cool! But most of my friends don't speak Java - they speak C#. Hmm." At that point, if the challenge moves you to take action, you can create an alternate version of the challenge (the "quest") in C#, share it with some other C# folks in the community to get their agreement, and make it available to the general Mastery Quest community.
Of course, key to this is my idea that all quests serve three purposes:
The problem is that most of these forms of learning are one-size-fits-all. Each of us has different learning preferences, speeds, and focuses. You may be interested in Java, I may be interested in C#. Should the learning provider create versions of classes in both languages, and invite people to one or the other, or should they create one class that teaches concepts and techniques, and assume that the language doesn't matter?
When you are the provider, you are forced to make specific decisions about investment and potential return on investment each time you consider these options.
Community ownership will offer a very different set of options. There is no cost (at least, beyond that of some individuals or groups who donate their time). There is, therefore, no consideration of return on investment.
Let's say that I see a challenge that addresses a particular technique in Java. "Oh, that's cool! But most of my friends don't speak Java - they speak C#. Hmm." At that point, if the challenge moves you to take action, you can create an alternate version of the challenge (the "quest") in C#, share it with some other C# folks in the community to get their agreement, and make it available to the general Mastery Quest community.
Of course, key to this is my idea that all quests serve three purposes:
- Learning
- Gaining real, useful experience
- Fun
There's no doubt that some quests will not quite meet #2.
For example, at the end of the ACCU2011 conference in Oxford there was a crypto challenge. Solving the challenge required solving some quadratic equations (well outside my range of capability, btw). For those to whom this seemed like fun - whether because they like quadratic equations or because they can't resist a technical challenge or they love cryptanalysis - the activity certainly satisfied #1 and #3. I'm not sure how useful it would be. Note that I'm not saying that it's NOT useful, just wondering.
And that's okay. Some learning is valuable, even if we can't see where or when or how we'd use it. Like learning Algebra for most of us, right? 
The idea of community ownership, then, is about a community of practitioners coming together to define quests, learning, and achievements that they - the community of practitioners - believe contribute to real, useful, fun, meaningful learning. Ultimately, then, those who complete the quests, along with some real-world experience (10,000 hours types of experience), can be recognized for their experience and achievements.
No certification organizations for us, but a community of peers whose goal is to see that all the other members of the community have every opportunity to learn and achieve, and to gain recognition amongst their peers and their marketplace for that learning and achievement. I believe that this will "lift all the boats".
>>Most education is provided by some organization or institution that, with the best of intentions, attempts to decide what we should know, or what skills we should have
ReplyDeleteI guess this is the thing I most question - I think that at the core most educators would dispute this assumption. Yes, on the surface there is some 'skill-set' that some test will say that you have learned this or that. But what the true educator is pushing not the skill set but to learn how to learn.
When we speak to a processor, we speak C#, C++, Basic, Pascal, Cobal or Fortran or many other dialects. The language is irrelevant, we speak a way to represent thoughts, logic into something that represents value. The dialect is a means to the end, of no real importance... One can argue that Shakespeare translated to any other language still holds the same artistic value. The same holds true with languages meant to talk 1's and 0's.
I completely agree with your definition. I find it interesting that you said "...the true educator...". Do you feel that most people and organizations out there are serving as true educators?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your very provoking and interesting lighting talk.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Kent Beck proposed in Agile 2005 a system of peer recognition for agilist like the one for babysitters... that was also a good idea.
LinkedIn reccomandations are also a good idea but of course nobody would ever write a negative one there, still the negative are just as important then the positive ones...
Anyway I don't play MMORPGs but I did lots of RPG including table ones. I'd like to help if I can.
I would like to believe so, I think that in many formal situations sometimes there is a disconnect in expectations between teacher and student, ways to bring those expectation in line could be very beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI come from a family of educators, all physics (except me). Dad was a prof at an ivy league, one brother chair of a state univ dept and brother who teaches in HS.
The other issue is keeping fresh in teaching knowing and continuing the passion.
Outside of formal organizations, it is a joy to be taught and to teach in the this fast changing world of writing code.
Wow! Great work. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally congruent with what we are working towards with TastyCupcake.org community site for sharing games to learn and do serious work.
Not sure how wide you want to take this, but related areas for me would also include Innovation Games, Game Storming, and Open Space.
Play on!
You're right on the mark, Michael. I've already spoken with both Luke Hohmann and Jason Tanner at Enthiosys (Innovation Games), plan to connect with Sunni Brown about this (we both live in Austin), and am an active Open Space facilitator.
ReplyDeleteIt's like you knew me! :)