Stephen's Web

Edupunk

Well - I was into cyberpunk in the 1980s, eagerly devouring Gibson, Sterling, and the rest, so I guess I can get behind edupunk in the 2000s. The term was coined by Jim Groom in a recent post and captures the imagination. "'Edupunk' gets us there - with its implication of technical accessibility, a DIY ethic, quick and dirty over grand design, and a suspicion of corporate appropriation it hits a lot of the right notes."

So what, exactly, is edupunk? It's hard to explain exactly, but (Groom notes) Keira McPhee's front lawn (a melange of garden and jungle) is edupunk. "She has converted her front lawn from a useless showpiece that consumes unknown quantities of wasted energy and resources, into a lush, fecund organic garden that burgeons with the fruits of her labor. She is an activist, teacher and mentor all at once." Well, the organic front garden is a bit hackneyed (every neighbourhood has one; there's one next door to us here in Moncton) but the idea is worth exploring. Mike Caulfield, Weblog, May 27, 2008. [Link] [Tags: Accessibility, Mentors and Mentoring] [Previous][Next]

Comments

Re: Edupunk

Anymouse, May 28, 2008

We could have edupunk that's like punk music: we question "the man" and rebel against pointless rules with little resources at our disposal. We could have edupunk like cyberpunk, where at some point we realize that technology isn't the answer to everything, but it certainly helps/makes things interesting. Or we could have edupunk like steampunk, where we create bizarre combinations of old and new technology but it's sort of a background element to the real stories of our lives.

I don't think Keira's edupunk, she's permapunk, or just punk. But I do think that edupunk is an idea with legs. The two teachers who refused to give their state's standardized tests this year, and the students who turned in blank practice exams? That's edupunk. Saying that the online tools being sold to school districts are lame and using the same social tools that the real world uses? That's edupunk. Maybe edupunk (and punk?) is following common sense and personal ethics instead of blindly following the rules. [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]

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