mtl3p

it feels so good to read this after seeing so much poorly thought through support of the project and equally poorly thought through criticism.

Sic Transit Gloria Laptopi

“As far as I know, there is no real study anywhere that demonstrates constructionism works at scale. There is no documented moderate-scale constructionist learning pilot that has been convincingly successful; when Nicholas points to “decades of work by Seymour Papert, Alan Kay, and Jean Piaget”, he’s talking about theory. He likes to mention Dakar, but doesn’t like to mention how that pilot ended — or that no real facts about the validity of the approach came out of it. And there sure as hell doesn’t exist a peer-reviewed study (or any other kind, to my knowledge) showing free software does any better than proprietary software when it comes to aiding learning, or that children prefer the openness, or that they care about software freedom one bit.”

It goes on. The author is for constructivist learning. The way that I’ve written about this project before might make it seem that I’m against it. I’m not. I just had a big problem with this not being openly discussed as a huge experiment with enourmous cultural consequences if they deployed at the scale they wanted to.

Anyways - fantastic article by a key person in the OLPC project.

With this comment (out of the 35 so far) being my favorite:

“Guido van Rossum said,
May 14, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
I’ve thought for a while that sending laptops to developing countries is simply the 21st century equivalent of sending bibles to the colonies.”

This whole deal reminds me of the unbridled enthusiasm I/we had around creating software to “improve third places” through ISF. Kind of a clusterf@#$. I guess something to be appreciative of is that we weren’t successful. That’s a little bit too hard on ourselves, because at least we were going to try and design in such a way that respected and extended the existing spaces and put time and thought into that (that’s what first drew me to University of the Streets). But still, as technologist interventions go, it was pretty damning mix of geek chauvinism and ignorance.

I think I’m going. And why isn’t anybody talking about and promoting this?

Net Neutrality Rally (May 27th, 2008)

Speakers = Charlie Angus - NDP MP and Mauril Béllanger - Liberal MP (more to come)

Participants
Michael Geist - http://www.michaelgeist.ca/
Charlie Angus - http://www.charlieangus.net/
Mauril Bélanger - http://maurilbelanger.parl.gc.ca
CIPPIC - http://www.cippic.ca
Campaign for Democratic Media - http://www.democraticmedia.ca
TekSavvy Solutions - http://www.teksavvy.com
National Union of Public and General Employees - http://www.nupge.ca
Acanac - http://www.acanac.ca
National Capital Freenet - http://www.ncf.ca
Google - http://www.google.ca
P2PNet - http://www.p2pnet.net

lazyweb request. My friend is writing an article on Canadian innovations (for an engineering mag). Anybody know of some good ones that he should include?

I bought 4 books today for 4 dollars. Yes!

The No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade

The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development

This totally fits with the JRS and University of the Streets idea that difficult things can (and should) be spoken about intelligibly in regular language.

The Three Questions - Prosperity and The Public Good - an old Bob Rae book because I’m interested in him now. And because he uses Hillel’s questions as the frame. (and because it’s a dollar!)

and The Vanishing American Jew - because I am one (well, not american). And I find the question of maintaining identity and of communities having control fascinating and something that comes up again and again. The latest example is about ISF and net neutrality. Basically how we contravene it in order to promote other community values. Anyways - not enough time to get into that stuff now.

so I was really surprised to see that my interview with Jon ended up as the most popular conversation of March on IT Conversations. At first I thought it was the most popular show of Jon’s of the month - including interviews he did with Ward Cunningham (inventor of the wiki) and Adrian Holovaty (Chicago Crime Map and now Everyblock), but apparently it was the top show of all of their series for that month - so including a bunch of other interviewers/series. Kinda weird. I half suspect that their calculation is blorked (no offense, Ed. it just seems like the right word).

Also I listened to it again, and I was much happier with it this time. I’m fairly proud of it, actually. I just wish my voice were more dynamic, but I think once you settle in, it’s a pretty neat interview.

in other late-breaking news in my solipsistic mtl3pverse, rugby hurts. my finger is all swollen and kinda purple (well, it was last night, now it looks fine and just feels like an overstuffed breakfast sausage), my skinnless knees alternate between singing me sirenic serenades of agony and then itchyness, and my limpy gait from a minor pull in my hamstring and a hyperflexed knee has left me with the pimproll of a old greek. Considering that litany is after only two(!) non-contact practices, i’m not sure that I’m going to make it in one piece to the regular season. Also, I’m too banged up to do contact improv tonight, which is really the highlight of my quasi-pathetic bachelor existence. Add that to the hunch that winter + spring have choreographed their little dance specifically to f#$! with me and the jury is definitely out.

Mir is writing about the OLPC project and she linked to a wikipedia page criticizing the project. There’s criticism about the hardware, software, the costs and the environmental problems but nothing there about the pedagogy.

Googling for pedagogic criticism of OLPC I found this on the OLPC learning page - but in the “discuss” section of the page since the page is locked down.

“Constructionist learning is clearly a very progressive pedagogical foundation for OLPC, but to present it as the right way, the most effective way to learn, is a hegemonic imposition of moral proportions. To insist on constructionism is to insist that, “education means making creators. . . . You have to make inventors, innovators—not conformists,” as Piaget is quoted in Conversations with Jean Piaget (Bringuier, Jean Claude, 1980, p.132). And since most of the people contributing to this project are from societies, cultures, or at least educational systems that value this individualist, entrepeneurial, non-conformist esprit, we don’t question that it is universally good, and we don’t look for the good in traditionally conformist, communitarian cultures. Thus there is an underlying, unstated goal to OLPC, that is probably subconscious to most of the developers and contributors….”

from user Jdmitch. emphasis added.

it’s funny. I thought that we were supposed to be post-colonialist. Silly me.

here’s this criticism. It’s similar, but about the sometimes faulty engineer approach to problems.

I think the whole OLPC story fits more into The Constant Gardener than anything development related. Arrogant scientist thinks that he and his pal have *the* solution for learning. They are frustrated in NA because they’re ideas are too far ahead of their time to get buy in. As in:

“Papert lives in Maine, where he has founded a small laboratory called the Learning Barn to develop methods of learning that are too far ahead of the times for large-scale implementation.” - from his homepage. I guess everyone has to toot their own horn, eh? Even MIT profs.

Pair decides to take their show on the road to countries that don’t have pesky rules and processes that determine how and what is taught. In these countries they will find equally-outside-the-box partners and together they will vindicate the ideas of the two brave visionaries who will return home to see their plans put in motion in their own communities. Curtain falls.

Pretty much just the same story of a drug company going to developing countries to conduct trials because THE FDA JUST DOESN’T UNDERSTAND, GDAMMIT!!

The first sketchy thing I remember reading about the OLPC project was NN saying that the whole “textbook replacement” thing was just a scheme to get these countries to buy in and that the OLPC wasn’t about that at all. Not that I think it should be a textbook replacement, but the double-speak about the project just made me nervous.

It’s funny, what initiated my de-fetishization of tech was the over-the-top and unquestioning attitudes of the transhumanists and the OLPC project. It struck me that I really needed to be able to distinguish my own thoughts and methods from theirs.

Miriam’s the woman in charge of one series. My friend Lynne is in charge of another.

univcafe website
———————————
Spring Schedule of Public Conversations!

*Version française ci-dessous

Monday, April 7 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Data-mining, young people and privacy:
What are the trade-offs to posting your stuff online?
Guest: Steven Mansour
Moderator: Miriam Verburg
Venue: Atwater Library, 1200 Atwater Avenue

Thursday, April 10 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Art and Oppression: Do we need oppression in order to create?
Guests: Sami Al-Kilani, Rachael Van Fossen
Moderator: Lynne Cooper
Venue: Arts Café, 201 Fairmount O.

Monday, April 14 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Youth Citizens: How does media help young people have a voice, even if they can’t vote (yet)?
Guest: Paul Shore
Moderator: Miriam Verburg
Venue: Café Pera, 2055 Bishop

Monday, April 21 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Ego Trippin’: If we’re all making media, then who is watching?
Guest: Isabella Salas
Moderator: Miriam Verburg
Venue: Café Ciné-Express, 1926 Ste-Catherine O.

Tuesday, April 22 • 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Earth Day 2008: with CBC Montreal:
Should we worry about water?
Guest: To be confirmed
Moderator: Geeta Nadkarni
Venue: Centre St-Ambroise, 5080 St-Ambroise

Thursday, April 24 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Art and Oppression: Does money change the way we create?
Guests: Émilie Monnet, Guilaine Royer
Moderator: Lynne Cooper
Venue: Café Culturel Volver, 5604 ave du Parc

Tuesday, April 29 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Does public education benefit the public?
Guests: Noel Burke
Moderator: Michal Gomel
Venue: Coop La Maison verte, 5785 Sherbrooke O.

Monday, May 5 • 7 to 9 p.m.
University of the Streets Café 5th anniversary!!
Conversation Space: How do we build a conversant community?
Guests: Thomas Haig
Moderator: Elizabeth Hunt
Venue: Arts Café, 201 Fairmount O.

Thursday, May 8 • 7 to 9 p.m.
Art and Oppression: What are we using art for?
Guests: Pascal Contamine, Ilona Dougherty
Moderator: Lynne Cooper
Venue: Café Culturel Volver, 5604 ave du Parc

Tuesday, May 13 • 7 to 9 p.m.
The Ethical Engineer: How can small decisions in design lead to socially and environmentally responsible solutions?
Guests: To be confirmed
Moderator: Mario Ciaramicoli
Venue: Coop La Maison verte, 5785 Sherbrooke O.

Wednesday, May 14 • 7 to 9 p.m.
University of the Streets Café 5th anniversary!!
Conversation Space: How is a conversation a community?
Guests: Eric Abitbol, Janice Astbury
Moderator: Elizabeth Hunt
Venue: Café Sarajevo, 6548 Saint-Laurent

Horaire printanier des conversation publiques

Lundi le 7 avril • 19h à 21h
L’exploration des données, les jeunes et le respect de la vie privée: Quels compromis face à la diffusion de vos
renseignements personnels en ligne?
Invité: Steven Mansour
Modératrice: Miriam Verburg
Lieu: Atwater Library, 1200 Avenue Atwater

Jeudi le 10 avril • 19h à 21h
Art et oppression: Avons-nous besoin d’oppression pour créer ?
Invité-es: Sami Al-Kilani, Rachael Van Fossen
Modératrice: Lynne Cooper
Lieu: Arts Café, 201 Fairmount O.

Lundi le 14 avril • 19h à 21h
Les jeunes citoyens: Comment les médias aident ils les jeunes à s’exprimer même s’ils ne peuvent pas (encore) voter?
Invité: Paul Shore
Modératrice: Miriam Verburg
Lieu: Café Pera, 2055 Bishop

Lundi le 21 avril • 19h à 21h
L’aventure narcissique:
Si nous participons tous aux médias, alors qui nous regarde?
Invitée: Isabella Salas
Modératrice: Miriam Verburg
Lieu: Café Ciné-Express, 1926 Ste-Catherine O.

Mardi le 22 avril • 17h à 19h
Earth Day 2008: with CBC Montreal:
Should we worry about water?*
Invité-e: À confirmer
Modératrice: Geeta Nadkarni
Lieu: Centre St-Ambroise, 5080 St-Ambroise
* Veuillez noter que cette conversation publique aura lieu en anglais,
mais les interventions en français sont toujours les bienvenues.

Jeudi le 24 avril • 19h à 21h
Art et oppression: Est-ce que l’argent modifie notre façon de créer?
Invitées: Émilie Monnet, Guilaine Royer
Modératrice: Lynne Cooper
Lieu: Café Culturel Volver, 5604 ave du Parc

Mardi le 29 avril • 19h à 21h
Does public education benefit the public?*
Invité: Noel Burke
Modératrice: Michal Gomel
Lieu: Coop La Maison verte, 5785 Sherbrooke O.
* Veuillez noter que cette conversation publique aura lieu en anglais,
mais les interventions en français sont toujours les bienvenues.

Lundi le 5 mai • 19h à 21h
Le 5e anniversaire de l’Université autrement: Dans les cafés!!
Place à la conversation: Comment une communauté peut-elle
être en conversation?
Invité: Thomas Haig
Modératrice: Elizabeth Hunt
Lieu: Arts Café, 201 Fairmount O.

Jeudi le 8 mai •19h à 21h
Art et oppression: À quelles fins utilisons-nous l’art?
Invité-es: Pascal Contamine, Ilona Dougherty
Modératrice: Lynne Cooper
Lieu: Café Culturel Volver, 5604 ave du Parc

Mardi le 13 mai •19h à 21h
L’Ingenieur consciencieux: Comment est que les petites
décisions en design peuvent mener à des solutions
environnementales et sociales?
Invité: À confirmer
Modérateur: Mario Ciaramicoli
Lieu: Coop La Maison verte, 5785 Sherbrooke O.

Mercredi le 14 mai •19h à 21h
Le 5e anniversaire de l’Université autrement: Dans les cafés!!
Place à la conversation: Comment une conversation
représente-t-elle une communauté?
Invité-es: Eric Abitbol, Janice Astbury
Modératrice: Elizabeth Hunt

if that’s what you’re into — flight of the concords. i’m psyched to get the rest of the season.

from a friend with good taste. In case you’re jonesing for some theatre.

Dear all,

I believe in the power of “word of mouth” and I believe in encouraging an artistic project that moves me to the bone.

I just saw Blood Claat playing at the MAI (3680 Jeanne Mance) and produced by Black Theatre Workshop (www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca) until the 13th of April.

It’s a one women show, and seriously one of the most magnificent performances I have ever seen. It is naive, brutal, sexy, tender, funny, harsh, historical, passionate and mesmerizing. It captured my soul….and I thought I should share with you that it’s a “must see” and it deserves a full house. It rocked my world to see how a performer can so skillfully craft amazing characters and make them exist in such a masterful and lovable way.

I hope you get a chance to see it…

I’m loving lykke li.

video

next two concerts are definitely going to be her (in a couple weeks?) and MIA in June. Hope that tickets are available. I’ve gotten confusing info from their websites as compared to venue websites.