“My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.” – Arthur Conan Doyle

The study of systems and analysis always has one foot in opinion and the other in ignorance. That is what I have learned in class and within the reading. I have observed that the need to dissect, quantify and qualify, illustrate and diagram, identify and label all seek to satisfy an intellectual craving to understand the complexities and mysteries surrounding and involving and consuming us. Everything must have a name, both common and Latin. Every life-form must have a kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. The human body has a nervous system, a respiratory system, an endocrine system, a digestive system, a skeletal system, a reproductive system, a muscular system, an integumentary system, a lymphatic system, a urinary system, and a cardiovascular system.  The chemical elements identified to date number 118.  Our wealth, or lack thereof, is kept in a banking system, people are educated in an educational system, and the roads traveled on is a system of the county, farm-to-market, state highways, thoroughfares, and interstates. Systems, upon and within systems, within systems, on top of systems, ad infinitum.

 System thinking is a psychological adaptation to address the subconscious fear of the unknown manifested in the belief and illusion that one is in control over one’s environment. To attempt to identify the infinite number of interrelated and extraneous combinations of possibilities inherent in the fractal chaos of systems thinking by categorization, dissection, and component labeling could be considered the beginning of insanity, for the infinity of the scope can become consuming of the self, the mind, and the soul. The quotation at the beginning by Arthur Conan Doyle gives a glimpse into an intelligence consumed, an addiction attended, and a craving unsatisfied; Thus, he wrote and wrote and wrote.  

When one goes down the trail to analyze anything, let a caution be made of the dangers that lie ahead. When the mysteries of the Universe, the Solar system, the planets, the Earth, flora and fauna, and the human-animal are examined down to the last atom, electron, and quark, one will say that they are wise and know everything. But their discovery will be empty, their knowledge still wanting, their longing endless, futile, and maddening. It is far better to enjoy the wonderous smell of a rose than to know it as 2-phenylethanol, ß-ionone, ß-damascone, ß-damascenone, citronellol, rose oxide, geraniol and nerol.

Part 1: Impressions of a Tuesday Night: Observations, Opinions, and Answers

            To reflect on my experiences in a class discussion during the synchronous Zoom meeting begins with an impression. As a singular self-conscious being in a group of other self-conscious beings with a mandate to answer questions asked, ask questions seeking answers, and interact with others, it is observed that most present during the discussions have no intention to participate. Many students are consumed with getting dinner, exhausted from a day’s work, and attend only under threat of lost points or poor grades. Many turn off their video and are presumed to be listening and attentive; however, it is one opinion that engagement is the last thing on their minds. It is not that the concept of synchronous meetings is not educationally valid and valuable, but it lends itself to tedium and boredom. Zoom cannot replicate people being people together in a face-to-face classroom. As the Zoom meetings have been the only option, I intentionally enter the digital space to ask as many questions as possible, offer every opinion I can, and interact with everyone I can to avoid any perception that I am not involved in the coursework, and to make the most of a bad situation. I have often left the session with the impression that I only aggravated the instructor.

            When asked what I learned, I am inclined to shrug my shoulders and say I do not know. What I do know is that I have been exposed, through conversations, readings, reflection, and viewing, to a stream of likeness and concepts, all similar in context to varied ideas, principles, and structures which constitute a perception of understandings with similarities and interconnection to other perceptions of similar and dissimilar topics and subjects experienced. Often, the only concrete recognition of what I learned takes the form of recognizing that I have forgotten, which generally takes me back to looking up the answer or searching for the once-known idea once again to strengthen its internalization into long-term memory. However, I am not a believer that memory is learning. Memorization has its place, but memorization is not intellectual processing. I can recite a poem I memorized in the third grade, which is impressive at a party at the right time, but it holds no value in the grand scheme of systems thinking.

            What material or subject do I want to learn additionally? The cycle of learning in its various iterations emphasizes the value of prior knowledge as the first stage, and it is here that the answer to the question of additional learning takes place. Before I want to learn more, one must appreciate the relationship between what one already knows and the deficiencies within that domain of inquiry. Recognizing that we all know a little about a lot but not a lot about anything particular is where one can learn more and where further investigation occurs with self-directed research and inquiry.   In my inquiry, I have identified the systems comprising Texas education of K-12 schools. Specifically, parental influences, rights, and perceptions of the education their child is receiving. I cannot say that I have any depth of collection of resources at this time. What it says about my way of learning and motivation rests on the same plane as cooking. Before I dig out a recipe and invest in ingredients to make a dish, I have to establish a hunger, desire, and nutritional need before the work begins. Experience has taught me that all good intentions in cooking do not result in edible food. Lesson one is to ask me what I might do differently to make my learning and understanding more effective and efficient; I might go out to dinner.

 Part 2: The Raw Materials Required

            The University of North Texas System, governed by a Board of Regents appointed by the Texas Legislature, is the executive branch governing three administrative units: The University of North Texas, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, and the University of North Texas at Dallas. It is at the University of North Texas, located in Denton, Texas, the primary educational system with which one is currently involved.

            The Board of Regents governs the hierarchical structure of the University of North Texas System. The Chancellor reports directly to the Board of Regent, and the University of North Texas President reports directly to the Chancellor. At the system level below the Chancellor, other systems such as Communications, Marketing, Transportation, Student Affairs, Compliance, and Finance report to the Chancellor.

            At the University of North Texas, Neal Smatresk is currently the President of the University cabinet, consisting of fourteen members: The Provost’s office, the Division of Student Affairs, the Division of Finance and Administration, the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access, the Division of Enrollment, Director of Athletics, the Division of Planning, Division of Integrity and Compliance, the Division of Digital Strategy and Innovation, the Division of Research and Innovation, the Division of University Advancement, the Division of Brand Strategy and Communications,  a Chief Information Officer, and Human Resources. Each division and office has organizational structures inclusive of departments and sub-systems governing the divisions.

            The University of North Texas offers 112 bachelor’s degrees, 94 Master’s degrees, and 38 doctoral degree programs within the University’s 14 colleges and schools. Each college and school can be considered a system within the hierarchy, with a Dean, department heads and other professional positions managing the delivery of curriculum and each department’s affairs within the College of Information. One’s role in the system is that of an online distributed student in the College of Information undertaking a doctoral degree plan in the Learning Technologies Department. In perspective, I am a piece of raw material fed into a monolithic system that produces decreed and hopefully skilled and educated people to feed capitalism and the other systems under the legislative purview and whims of the State of Texas.

Online Distance Education

“In all affairs, it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” – Bertrand Russell.

Perception is an interesting and elusive word. The etymology of the Latin words per “thoroughly” and capere, “to grasp or take,” implies that a thing is perceived with one’s senses in its entirety. To perceive seems simple enough as undertaken via the senses every moment of every day of life, but what one perceives is not always what others perceive, for what a person thoroughly takes in is subjectively interpreted through a filter and history of individual experiences. Perception can be a slippery slope. It is the domain of opinion-making and bias. It is the playground of beliefs, learning, misconceptions, and contemplation, and the thin line between genius and the insanity of creativity. One can see a circle as a square without edges or a square as a two-, four-, or as eight- triangles. It is a matter of perspective.

            To express one’s current perception of a training and educational system that one considers relevant, one need not look further than the monitor: online distance education. Online learning is a matter of perspective, like the circle and square. Online distance learning is a description that is somewhat an oxymoron, somewhat accurate, and somewhat false. The perceptional impression is that distant online learning equates with face-to-face learning, but in fact, one perceives a difference. Is online distance education really education or a box of recipes? Do many perceive online distance education as valuable, or do others perceive it as valueless? It can be said that it is convenient for those at a distance from the source of its origin. One may perceive its value in the structure-less individual nature of its form to participate at the time and leisure of the student. It can also be perceived as unstructured and overtly individualistic to the point of isolation.

            Online distance education is a system of systems. Depending on one’s perspective, it can be seen as a hierarchy of authority, a series of concentric circles with each authority a part of the whole, or from some vantage points, as a circus of clowns with little structure but to entertain. However, like the wizard behind the curtain, someone somewhere is in charge. It could be a politician in the system of governance, a Board of Directors in the system of education, a Dean in the system of a college, or a teacher or professor in the system of a course. The statement is often heard that the whole is the sum of its parts, but cannot the parts be the sum of the whole? It is a matter of perspective.

            The resources of online distance education require varied talents and skills. Some are applied effectively, others not so much. Learning management systems, programmers and instructional designers, decision-makers, project management, financing, subject matter experts, digital delivery infrastructure, and instructional personnel for delivery. Applying the resources required can be orchestrated to produce rhythm, tone, volume, and notes combined to produce melodic pleasure or unpleasurable, discordant, painful noise. Some love Prokofiev, others Beethoven. So, it is with online distance learning. Distant online learning is either applied well or not. It is practical, or it is not. It is of value, or it is not. Although the observation is presented as rather black and white, it points to mediocrity when one sees gray. Once again, it is a matter of perspective.

            The online distance learning system’s economic and social impact also has positive and negative aspects. Economically, a person with a degree becomes more employable and a contributor to the enterprise, no matter how obtained. When educated individuals make more money, they pay more taxes, along with the employer. The taxing authority uses the taxes as fuel for the engine of social order. Educated people generally have a political inclination that sustains social cohesiveness and maintains the implementation of social philosophy. Online distance education has become an adjunct product/service of the more extensive economic system of education. Whether it is a profitable enterprise or an investment with an expected return is questionable, but that, too, is a matter of perspective. In Newtonian physics of motion, every action or force in nature creates an equal and opposite reaction. The nature of education as an action or force must also comply with Newton’s third law. The complexities of an educational system such as online distant learning push against a student’s personal, economic, and intellectual needs, and the opposite reaction is to propel the student away from the educational force in equal measure into society towards a personal, economic, and intellectual resolution of their need. Perspective matters.

 

Reflections on Theory Implementation as assigned by Scott Warren PhD. LTEC 6220 Summer 23

Characteristic in the structure of academic discipline is the entanglement and dis-entanglement of knowledge in an evolutionary process in search of truth. In a never-ending cycle of thought and question, the scholar consumes facts and fancies, thoughts and ideas, theories, and practices, often aimlessly searching for the ultimate universal knowledge. Therefore, from the morass of literature and thought concerning the implementation of learning theory, Situated Learning Theory, presented by Lave and its implementation as suggested by Wenger, was chosen with purpose. The theory presented, and the practical application of the learning theory coincide with one’s interest in Creating, generally discussed as the pedagogical practice of Making specifically and represents a knowledge transfer process that is intuitive and representative of a natural process practiced inherently across every aspect of human development long before any theory of learning was proffered.  

            It may be obtuse to say, but everything I have learned, I learned from another person. Of course, I learned to find information myself, but another person taught me how to do that. I was taught how to write, read, and to count. Others culturally groomed me on how to act, speak, what to wear, how to sit, and what fork to use. The community may have been a family unit or a classroom full of peers, perhaps it was a gaggle of girls giggling about boys, or perhaps it was, as Hillary Clinton noted, “It takes a village to bring a book into the world, as everyone who has written one knows. So many people have helped me to complete this one, sometimes without even knowing it.”One can say unequivocally that for all I know and for all I am, I have been educated “without even knowing it.”

            Situated Learning Theory conceptually subsumes that learning occurs authentically in a context, is cultural, and has intentional and unintentional activities promoting learning in collaborative groups based on the exchange of real-life experiences. A community of practice can be a complex social learning system of individuals with structure, identity, and cultural meaning, comprised of complex relationships within boundaries, or as simple as a club where groups of people share a concern or a passion for something they do, with each learning from one another through regular interaction. Examples such as book clubs, women’s organizations, and artist associations are all engaged as social activities; however, exchanging information and experiences from novice to mastery becomes the essential learning environment for what Lave and Wenger call “legitimate peripheral participation” (Lave and Wenger 1991). 

            One’s participation in implementation projects involving technology or pedagogy, specifically recognizing situated learning theory as the implementation of the theory as a community of practice, was experienced with creating artist instruction courses for the Rockport Art Association in Rockport, Texas. As a community of artists, the Rockport Center for the Arts annually organizes workshops, classes, and activities such as art shows, community displays of works, and competitive highlighting of juried talent. Each member of the art cooperative participated socially and collaboratively in group settings sharing techniques, procedures, and shared experiences throughout the years. In the truest sense, it was the theory of situated learning in practice. As a community, the Rockport Art Association and city and county participation have recently opened the newly constructed an eight million dollar center for the arts. Indeed, it took a village.

Publication bibliography

Lave, Jean; Wenger, Etienne (1991): Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation: Cambridge university press., checked on 5/29/2023.

A response to the reflection questions posed by Scott Warren LTEC 6040 UNT

In Caravaggio’s painting of the Greek God Narcissus, the youth kneels before the puddle and peers into his reflected image with contemplation, admiration, and introspection. His name has come to define a mental health condition characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Like Narcissus, introspection of one’s conscious thoughts and feeling requires throttling, for when asked what one “thinks,” it can light a fuse of opinion, beliefs, speculations, and ramblings that cannot be extinguished. The narcissistic ego exalts in recognition with a premise that their view, opinion, thoughts, and intellect are worthy of an answer; however, those who ask for “thoughts” rarely are sincere or care what one thinks. Perhaps the wisest among us is the fellow whose ignorance and who apathetically says, “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”  

            Addressing one’s reflective thoughts about education and training would lend itself to the previous statement, with no more than observation, conjecture, and uninformed opinion. I have observed distance education as a modality and method. I have experienced it with disdain to capitulation but have a sustained opinion on purported effectiveness and a perception that any perceived value and efficacy lies squarely in its cost-effectiveness for the educational institution. Unfortunately, education has become a product, and distance education is just the packaging du jour. When future generations forget the value of face-to-face instruction and distance/online learning becomes the de facto method of education, then the question and answer will be immaterial. 

            Regarding the dipolar scale of pros and cons, a negative or positive view of distance learning and training, one offers no opinion worthy of consideration. There are too many variations, derivatives, and applications:

• disparate elements of quality, form, and presentation
• a broad scope of environmental considerations and variables
• a multitude of incongruent student profiles involved
• questionable return on investment funding
• modest empirical research upon which to establish the fact.

One cannot view distance learning beyond speculation.