Roszak Chapters 9-11 and Related Articles

Roszak Part 3: For this blog we included two additional articles which pertained to the final chapters of Roszak’s book. Following the brief summation of the chapters, you will find references to the articles and some questions posed. We invite you to share your opinions (for tabulation purposes, of course).

The articles can be located at:

No Data Left Behind By Edwin Wargo http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/31/f6/d8.pdf
Building a Digital Library on a Shoestring By Kate Foster and Alma Creighton
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=25&hid=16&sid=49cf9437-057c-4e46-a709-e93ea4aefdc4%40SRCSM2


Ben Franklin’s Information Service:

Lost: Serendipity

Chapter Nine primarily discusses the library, a source of endless information for the masses. Roszak refers to the seemingly “not so overwhelming” amount of technology available for the public in the library itself. It prompts the question as to why this is so. Roszak offers several interesting comments worth considering:

• Librarians can and do use money to fund technology when the funding is available.
• Technology companies don’t find the libraries marketing grounds-a place to promote their merchandise and entice a new market. Why? Read on.
• Libraries as noted by the American Library Association in 1990, supports a “poor people’s services policy resolution” that guarantees “equal access to information for all.”
• Poor people aren’t the sort of market big companies are targeting.
• Roszak also toys with the thought that perhaps technology is also not big business in the world of libraries because it is a traditionally a women’s profession.
  
  Interesting enough, Roszak points out that the poor are those most desperately in need of information. Roszak also goes on to describe how information that every citizen of the United States should be entitled to, has now become a commodity sold by fee-for-use vendors. Fortunately, states have been fighting to change this. Unfortunately, it should have never been up for sale.
  
  Points we pondered:
• More importantly, those librarians who are lucky enough to have the funding for technology availability are pleased with the supplemental resources they have acquired. It is essential to recognize that computers with their so called infinite wisdom are not the ultimate sources to use but instead one of many sources.
• It can not be stressed enough that students have to learn to recognize that computer research is not ultimately authoritative. As a matter of fact, it is important to always question your sources no matter where they come from.
• In addition, they comment on the fact finding skill that is necessary to locate the information needed, a skill they say is not honed by a home computer user.
• Computers don’t have all the answers and if we truly believe they do, we will stop coming across things we never intended to find.
• Roszak’s reference to outdated programs. It was interesting to learn that programs are still used in which the programmers are no longer around and the programs can not effectively be manipulated by other programmers; yet, they continue to be used. This is a frightening state to think that the values, as Roszak calls them, of the original programmers may be outdated and so specifically defined to that one individual. It merely supports Roszak’s reasoning that computer’s can not possibly take in all the information (and ideas) to produce the same types of decisions a human would be capable of making.
• Roszak concludes this chapter with: “The more we are left in the care of their machines to meet our intellectual needs, the more likely it is that data will displace ideas, and the life of the mind wither.”
  “Shhh! Quiet, please.” People are thinking.
  
  
  In the Wrong Hands:
  
  This chapter is devoted to manner in which technology has been primarily used in today’s society. As Roszak states it: This is human existence neatly adapted to the level of binary numbers.
  He is, of course, referring to how data, yours and ours, has been continuously collected, stored, and sold to the highest bidder. Nothing is sacred; nothing is personal. He tells the story about the name of a boy who was contacted by the Selective Service for failing to register for the draft. As it turned out, no one lived at the address stated, as matter of fact, the boy did not exist; it was a name made up and submitted at an ice cream shop.
  
  One of the largest collectors of information is the government. It uses include: surveillance, polling, and for wartime decision making. Roszak spends a great deal of words on the election of President Ronald Reagan who utilized the polls to a great extent. As noted, polls changed the campaigns to address the concerns or preferences of the people. Technology made this happen in an efficient manner. “What matters is the candidates think the pollsters make a difference and now plan their campaigns in response to computerized information.” And it’s all about the numbers.
  
  A point we pondered:
• A form of reverse psychology? It’s a manipulation of the people to be led to believe that their opinion counts as is the democratic way. When, in fact, that is all that matters, “not the forming of opinions, but their mere tabulation.”
  
  It’s big business because as Roszak offers:
  “All these efforts are based on one root assumption: that human thought, even at its most subtle and intricate levels, is a kind of information processing; therefore, the more data and the faster the processing, the better.”
  
  Descartes’s Angel:
  
  This chapter focuses on the information processing model of thought. Roszak begins by referencing Rene’ Descartes and Francis Bacon, two philosophers who were trying to figure out how the mind works and develop a new method of understanding. Building on each other strengths and weaknesses, they combined their ideas and “formed a working alliance to produce the intellectual enterprise we call science.” They believed that the mind was “guided at every step and that business was done as if by machinery.” Roszak feels that thinking is more involved than connecting data points and feels that the mind processes data selectively, without rules, depending on the “project” that is at hand. These “projects” that Roszak refers to range from basic survival skills to higher level skills and it is teaching students the latter that Roszak feels “is the whole meaning of education”.
  
  Roszak, like Oppenheimer, stresses the idea that computers should not be introduced to students at an early age because it does not help them to become better thinkers. Young students need to be involved in building basic skills and listening to and reading various types of stories, instead of being involved with the computer. Interactions with the computer should be saved for the later years (high school and/or college).
  
  Points we pondered:
• “The best approach to computer literacy might be to stress the limitations and abuses of the machine, showing the students how little they need it to develop their autonomous powers of thought”. This is not something that many educators probably think about doing because they are too worried about incorporating the computer into the curriculum, but something that could probably prove to be very beneficial.
• The idea of intellectual adventure. When educators teach the students to realize that there are different levels of thought and that they are brought on by ideas.
  

Related Articles

No Data Left Behind: Edwin Wargo begins this article by posing the question, “If technology can affect student learning, shouldn’t it be considered in making decisions?”

As one reads this article, we couldn’t help but think about what we’ve read in the last few books. Are we living in a “data glut” society? Is the school system now following in the footsteps of the government and becoming infatuated with the “total recall?”

Edwin Wargo describes using data for decision making. Seems harmless. Right? He states the challenges of collecting the information (although, from what we’ve learned in the Cult of Information it’s as simple as signing up for a super-saver card at your local grocery store), finding what set of filters need to be created, and ensuring the filtered information is understandable and meaningful. Luckily, he also includes that “decisions are limited by the information used to make them.” However, do you think he is really as aware of what makes the data meaningful and to the right person? He refers to the stakeholders as being the ones that will take the most meaning from the data. However, as our “Educational Innovations” course has taught us, stakeholders can refer to a whole range of folks. Where are teachers on that totem pole? Don’t curriculum, instruction, learning, and assessment issues directly impact teachers on a daily basis? This would imply that the values or the set of filters should be written by teachers or at least by consulting with teachers? Do they really?
Wargo also states in one section of his article “Even if all the filters (questions) aren’t yet crafted, begin to collect the information. It most likely will be useful later.” In that section, he is referring to tracking down issues such as Internet inaccessibility, inappropriate website visits, etc. While these issues would tend to help with the maintenance of the system in place, he also suggests tracking technology usage? As a matter of fact, he mentions noting trends in the usage of technology, which teachers use the technology (for the purposes of identifying the need and effectiveness of teacher training). Should we, as teachers, see this as interference (Big Brother effect) or a way of really helping student achievement?
It’s interesting to read in this article Wargo’s emphasis on filtering information according to who is viewing it, thus, to have the utmost value and meaning. However, this makes one wonder how often the values or filters are updated to ensure the most meaning. Again, we ask, who writes the filters?
As we read this article, we realize we picked it apart with a fine tooth comb: agreeing with some points made and questioning others. As is the purpose of being an informed reader, it is important to not take anything at face value. Again, we invite you to post comments, answers, and more questions.

Building a Digital Library on a Shoestring: In chapter nine Roszak poses the question, “How likely is it, then, that the libraries of the world (including all non-English collections) will ever be totally (or largely) digitized – a recurrent computer enthusiast fantasy?” If the example provided in this article is any example, the answer we would provide would be most likely never.

This article discusses the University of South Carolina’s development of a digital library. What they have accomplished with what they have available to them is impressive to say the least, but it gives us an insight as to the complexity of creating a digital library.

In order to figure out where to begin, the university first created a team of staff members who all had interest in creating a digital library. These people added to their already overloaded work schedule and volunteered their time and energy to get this project off the ground. Could this type of situation happen in a public or school library where many educators only volunteer for things if there is a stipend involved? Would there be someone as “tech savvy” as Kate in each library to be able to get the digital library started? The university also spent little money on equipment and servers because they were able to utilize what they already had in place. Would this be the case in the public school setting where servers “crash” without notice and the equipment available varies from school to school? It also is mentioned that after a year and a half of scanning that the digital library had nine collections (100-300 images a collection). They accomplished this with the assistance of interns that they hired. Without the assistance of interns, will it ever be possible to have a digital library that is of benefit or will it simply be a waste of time and space on the server?

The University of South Carolina received rave reviews for their development, but would the same results be seen in the public setting where there is less money, and more need for human interaction with students, rather than computers?

Kerri and Marcy

Roszak Part 2

Of Ideas and Data:

Roszak sets the stage to distinguish between ideas and information. He states that, “Information may helpfully illustrate or decorate an idea; it may, where it works under the guidance of a contrasting idea, help to call other ideas into question.” He is clear to point out that information does not make ideas, as a matter of fact, ideas produce information. More importantly, his direct link to education is that he defines the role of education to “teach young minds how to deal with ideas: how to evaluate them, extend them, adapt them to new uses.” Too much information can hinder the mind, leaving one confused or disoriented.
He goes on to explain how generalizations can be made when one is encountered with facts. Depending on whether one has an abundance of information or a lack of information, one will tend to come to conclusions or generalizations regardless of the information at hand. This is done because one compensates for the lack of data by “enlarging upon” the data it has or finding a common link among the vast amounts of information it has.
Roszak continues by focusing on “Master Ideas” to clearly make his point. Master ideas are not those which we are told. Rather, it is those we come to think about through experiences in our lifetime and are the basis of our culture. He refers to several examples: Jesus died for our sins, All men are created equal, Life is a miracle, to name a few.

Computers and Pure Reason:

Roszak begins this chapter with the clear functions of the computer: storing data and processing data. Computer enthusiasts stick to their claim that the computer can be creative and lead to new ideas. However, he reverts back to the master ideas which are not ideas that have been scientifically proven or been the result of processing information but instead have been the inspiration for scientific research.
Roszak’s mentionable references:

• Marvin Minsky: in 3-8 years there will be a computer with the intelligence of the average human being. (Predication made in 1970)
• The Department of Defense is a huge proponent of Artificial Intelligence
• Ridiculous to believe that all facile remarks can be reduced to some kind of formal description—but they try
• AI research looking to take over the production process (skilled/semi skilled workers, perhaps, management). Again, as pointed out in the previous blog, what happens to people’s sense of living?
  
  The Computer and the Counterculture:
  
  This chapter was actually interesting in that it discussed somewhat of the evolution of the personal computer. IBM was mentioned as the giant in computer technology which primarily worked with big businesses and the Department of Defense. It continues to mention how it overlooked a major consumer in the market.
  Smaller companies emerge with the determination to “free” the people. These companies were comprised of sometimes drop-out scientists who “deplored the fact that the computer was being monopolized for profit and power by the same military-industrial complex that already controlled every other major technology.”
  To sum it up (in the words of a radial hacker newspaper of the 70’s): “Computers are mostly used against people instead of for people, used to control people instead of to free them. Time to change that—we need a …people’s computer company.”
  Thus, from this rebellion, the Apple was born.
  
  The Politics of Information:
  
  Data Glut: too much information!
  He mentions how Information Technology is well imbedded within politics and refers to the 1980 elections when Ronald Reagan erroneously gives information taken from simulated war games. By the time the error had been noted, the program “Star Wars” had been implemented.
  We had to chuckle when we read Marshall McLuhan’s prediction in the 1960’s. He predicted that several media (television is what he had in mind) would transform the planet into more participative citizens. We don’t think he ever envisioned the junk we’re exposed to on a daily basis.
  Just a side note: As a matter of fact, to take this comment one step further, it reminds us of references a few authors have made regarding the use of technology to escape reality or else the power to envision different realities (I believe Sherry Turkle also refers to the psychology behind this phenomenon in her book Life On the Screen). It’s interesting to see that TV has changed so much over time with its major focus on reality shows.
  
  
  Our thoughts:
• Luckily, Roszak states that ideas are integrating patterns when it satisfies the mind when it asks the question, What does this mean? What is this all about? He goes to say that one’s idea may not be the same as someone else’s. Consequently, as we read through these four chapters of Roszak’s, we, too, work to integrate patterns and ask ourselves, What is this all about? Overall, we get the idea that Roszak speaks to differentiate between ideas and information and how the brain works in relation to both. Some liken this process to the brain, however, as we understand it, Roszak, strives to exemplify that there is much more the brain takes in to formulate ideas and that a computer does not have that innate capability. To simplify human nature into the inner workings of a computer which is capable of storing data and processing it is ludicrous. Yes, it can be done, however, with limitations.
• Have we lost sight of the basic ideas of our culture? So much that we demand proof for them, otherwise, they are of no use. We don’t have faith in the master ideas. We believe that is what Roszak is attempting to emphasize. Roszak mentions that “We are gifted as a species with a crowning tangle of electrochemical cells which has become an idea-maker. So spontaneously does this brain of ours make ideas and play with ideas that we cannot say much more about them than that they are there, shaping our perceptions, opening up possibilities.” He concludes that “it would be a great loss if, by cheapening our conception of experience, memory, and insight, the cult of information blunted these creative powers.” This powerful statement is worth noting, in that we both agree that “data processing” does not come close to the dialogue we take part in when discussing issues.
• Ideas create information makes sense to us and not the other way around.
• In Computers and Pure Reason, Roszak describes the programs which are used regularly in the business world. It is quite frightening to come to this realization that most businesses do use these types of programs to do major consulting. Consumers rely on the “expertise” of the consulting firms but in reality we are allowing our decisions to be made by programs that were designed to factor in only specific criteria. In a sense, we are no longer depending on the education and skill of man, especially if man has relinquished his abilities and work to a computer. Frightening realization!
• With so much consequence of destruction of human life, why would the Department of Defense trust the “mind of a computer”??

Kerri and Marcy

Roszak Part 1

We apologize ahead of time for the following brief and succinct posting but our original posting disappeared after an error message on the computer appeared. GO TECHNOLOGY!





"Information Please"


In this chapter Roszak puts major emphasis on the meaning of information. He states that "the word comes to have vast generality, but at a price; the meaning of things communicated comes to be leveled, and so too the value." He references Claude Shannon, the publisher of "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," in which his theory states that "information is no longer connected with the semantic content of statements." Here Roszak mentions the destruction of human life to be considered simply a "game" without the real sense of consequences or having a full understanding of all involved.





The Data Merchants
This chapter reminded us of the Jetsons, the futuristic cartoon from the 1960's (later episodes created in the 1980's). This cartoon was about a family who lived with a robot named "Rosie." She possessed humanistic characteristics and took care of the household's necessities. These types of characteristics is the selling point of technology. In the book, Roszak mentions several enticing technologies that are appealing to the masses: fully automated office, high industrial future, information center, intimate technology (friendships/warmth to "electronic sex"), and the geriatric robot.






The Hidden Curriculum

"Can we invent a machine that does what a teacher does?"

As with the two previous books, Roszak makes reference to the fact that technology is all about the Benjamins and that companies are receiving credits for providing schools with technology.
In addition, Roszak makes several thought provoking statements that are worth mentioning. In order to be concise and to maintain the brevity of this blog (part deux), we will list them:

1. Educational millions are being budgeted for machinery at a time when the average teacher in America has a starting salary that is barely above the official poverty level.
2. Roszak believes that some kids click with computers while others also click with violins or paintbrushes. "But there are no millions being spent to bring violins or paintbrushes into the schools."
3. Good software is expensive and time consuming. It is thought that more worthwhile, in depth, and challenging software requires more time and more equipment to ensure that all students have equal access.
4. They have spent generously on training teachers computer skills, "but that does no good when there is no clear idea as to whether the schools are to teach about computers, or through computers, or by way of computers."

The Program Within the Program: The Case of Logo


This chapter deals entirely with Seymour Papert's program Logo, which was inspired by the philosophies of Jean Piaget. According to Papert, it is a program that emphasizes "procedural thinking." Logo promotes program design with the ability for students to fix it along the way.





Roszak mentions a few instances in which Logo is used in the educational setting. One example includes the use of the program to teach art. However, children's creations are limited to the geometric shapes available to them. Furthermore, it does not expose children to the use of artistic mediums such as pencils, crayons, etc. In the end, this program does nothing more than teach programming and not art. Furthermore, it limits the creativity and imagination of the children as they are limited to what they can use.



However, Roszak, sees "bugs" in the approach by saying that is does a good job teaching basic programming, however, that is all it does. He further approves of it by saying that some kids will excel at programming, while others will not, nevertheless, it is beneficial to expose them to the program.

Points of Agreement:
"At times, one cannot decide to weep or laugh at what the Information Age supposedly has in store for us."

• Geriatric Robot: We both agreed that this was a sad reference to the state of our family units in today's society and how we are no longer taking care of our elderly.
• Will the "information center" at one's home create lazy humans when people no longer have to leave the house to go to school or work, turn on lights, or identify malfunctions within the home. Or will this free up more time for us to do other more worthwhile activities?
• "Even at the low level task of drill, it helps to have human intelligence at work, offering an encouraging smile here, a jibe there, a wink and a nod, perhaps catching the blush or stammer that reveals the nature of a student's problem." This statement on its own does a adequate job of summarizing the role of a teacher and that there is more to it than just lecturing and giving information.
• "If teachers do not have the time, the incentive, or the wit to provide that, if students are too demoralized, bored, or distracted to muster the attention their teachers need of them then that is the educational problem which has to be solved - and solved from inside the experience of the teachers and the students. Defaulting to the computer is not a solution; it is surrender." We agree that the computer is not the solution; however, there are more factors which need to be involved in order to tackle the educational problem (i.e. family).

Kerri and Marcy

Oppenheimer Part 3

In the third section of Oppenheimer's book, he emphasizes greatly the observations noted as he visited several more schools.


Chapter 11: Getting Real at New York's Urban Academy High School
This school was established in 1985. It was a school designed to take in children who were failing at other schools. It was also referred to as a "second chance school" and the "last chance" school.
Urban offers classes that are competitive and comparable to some college courses. It is not a high tech school and emphasizes its school credo as having a sense of family. Individual needs, and not institutional needs, drive this school. Urban is about teaching students to think for themselves and overcome their obstacles. They strive to teach their students to think and question.

Chapter 12: A Word from the Army - KISS
This chapter summarized ideas from several people.

Snyder Ideas: Families that talk at dinner are more successful in reading comprehension. However, the underlying message is communication. He visualized technology to bring individuals together and not to keep them apart. Oppenheimer, however, states that it's not that simple, since families who typically enjoy family dinners enjoy other finer things in life.
Albrecht Ideas: "It's not the computer that has excited the students; it's the physical machinery, the presence of a real tool, and a real world activity." When comparing use of technology and Albrecht's use of a foldable ruler which caused the same ooh's and ahh's in his classroom. Albrecht feels that the same effect can be achieved using $50 worth of manipulatives rather than using computers that cost several times more. Albrecht emphasizes the importance of appropriate tool selection. The use of electronic manipulatives (those that simulate the effects of real hands on tools) is not appropriate tool selection.
Schwartz Ideas: Believes technology is not going anywhere and we just need to learn to "confront its powers and its weaknesses." He prefers to stick to simple technologies.

Chapter 13: The Human Touch
Oppenheimer examines two K-5 schools, which literally sit side by side (share the same building) and whose students share the same demographics. Student numbers are roughly the same in each.

• Starms Discovery Learning Center School: devoted itself to current educational reform ideas which included technology. Starms received several generous grants and utilized the money for technology while maintaining a teacher/student ratio of 20:1.
• Urban Waldorf School: focused on the "avoidance" of technology especially in the early grades. The money received by Waldorf was not as substantial as Starms was, however, with the money they did receive they hire two specialists to work with their special needs children. Waldorf's emphasis is to learn through the senses while maintaining a teacher/student ratio of about 20:1.

Concepts we favored:

• We actually both enjoyed reading about Urban, especially when it gave specific accounts of courses taught at Urban. One such example, was Wally Math, a course taught by Walter Warshawsky who uses puzzles to teach math. He took his kids on a field trip to Staten Island. They were equipped with a straw, the height of the Statue of Liberty, and a semicircular angle ruler. Students were to work in teams to determine Staten Island's proximity to particular points on Manhattan's shore. This was all part of a Trigonometry lesson. We liked the lesson because it was a hands-on lesson rather than a simulated lesson that had the students working in groups around a computer.
• Wally says that "there's nothing more sophisticated than our brains." We agree with this statement made by Wally and feel that Oppenheimer references this several times throughout the book as well, stating that the use of computers takes the imagination and creativity away from the students.
• "In the U.S., we do things quickly. Then we have to do them over and over again." This seems to be the current prevailing thought when it comes to teaching the curriculum. As teachers we are instructed to continue moving along the pacing guide despite the lack of mastery achieved since concepts will be revisited again.
• Smaller class sizes seems to be an effective reform paired with increased salaries to promote the recruitment of qualified and effective teachers. This has been known as an effective way of increasing student achievement for quite some time, but yet nothing has been done.

Concept that made us shake in our boots:

• Looping for 8 years (or even 5). While we both agreed that this would provide for deeper relationships and a better understanding of each individual's needs, quite honestly, there are relationships that just don't work with certain children (or their parents). Looping with a student who clearly does not relate well with the teacher would instead be a hindrance and could be potentially frustrating for all parties involved.

Notable Quotes from the Conclusion:

• Now that educators know how youngsters excel: "One would think that the nation's policy makers, armed with this information, could come up with something better than a lengthier sheet of multiple choice questions, millions of new test essays, and a corps of evaluators who don't have a skill or the time to do their job."
• "For decades, we have taken people who we hold responsible for the intellectual and moral development of our children, put them in chaotic, overcrowded institutions, robbed them of creative freedom and new opportunities for their own learning, imposed an ever-changing stream of rules and performance requirements that leave them exhausted and hopeless, and paid them about $40,000 a year for their trouble-far less, proportionately speaking, than teachers earn in most other industrialized societies."
• "Then when our children seem aimless and turn to machines and violence to feel some sense of power and self expression, we wonder why. No we don't, actually. We blame the teachers."

Oppenheimer concludes with his hopes for teachers. The ones that stand out include:

1. More funding for education.
2. Check out fancy research claims prior to embarking on the new trends.
3. Schools should address physical needs of school (logistical issues) prior to spending on technological needs.
4. Offer teachers a decent living.
5. Don't fall for the latest and greatest in technology without doing the research (be sure it's effective and useful)

Marcy and Kerri