Monday, February 06, 2006

Developments in Learning Technology: reaction

Well, there was sposed to be 5 of us but there were only 3. I thought I saw Adam walking past the door but I can't be sure.
Initially the idea of Learning technologies seemed a really interesting idea and something I could really get my teeth into.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like I'm going to get the opportunity as this looks to be yet another ambiguous module where I am going to have to teach myself everything!
There is a new twist though, from what I can gather, it is more about my learning than what I learn? or was it the path my learning has taken? I don't know something about my learning! either way this doesn't bode well.
I've said it before, i'll say it again:
"I went to university to be taught because I can't teach myself from books. But all that's happened is I go to a lecture we get informed of the existence of this information, methods and theories and then we're sent away to teach our selves everything we need to know for an assignment or an exam. So I might as well have gone to the library! I would have saved thousands of pounds and a lot of time and pain":
Q: How close to hypocracy is that?
Q: How are we to achieve a good grade deliberately if we cannot possibly know whether our point of view or perspective is right until we get our marks back?
Q: What is that teaching us?
eg: One lecturer said that they can tell whether someone has actually done the work or just gibbered and we have to trust in that! How are we supposed to trust people's integrity who don't tell us what on earth they want from us, inform us that they did this on purpose and then ask us to trust their judgement?
Q: is that more hypocracy?

Back to this module:
There are obviously a lot of theories that have already been published about what we will be doing but it looks like Jon wants us to draw our own conlusions...maybe...again I'm not clear. Now if nearly all of the thinking form nearly all of the angles have already been done, why don't we learn about these and then see if we can take them further or learn how to apply them? It seems a poinless waste of time to teach our selves something that has already been done, also how can that be assessed? From some angles I feel like a test subject, as if someone is assessing my learing abilities again! It makes me feel judged and oppressed, especially as I am the one paying to be taught! This is a situation I rarely react well to, I can see this module being very testing for me.
I really, really hope that this is not another module that was just a good idea but has not been thought through properly, I spent a lot of time and got really ill trying to stop that last year and the consequences were nearly very dire all round, they'd be worse this year, especially for me; damn my princaples!

On the less pessimistic side, I may, as times goes by, understand more of what this is all about and actually develop a clue of how to get a good grade
"deliberately"!

Additionally I haven't read through all the blurb yet, so I may take it all back by the next entry!!!
Q: would that be hypocracy?

ps: Q: Can I be accused of liable on a weblog?