We get to put a dent in the universe.

- Wilson Miner

Wilson Miner – When We Build from Build on Vimeo.

We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.

– marshall mcluhan

For any matched pair of non-trivial examples
there exists (n == 1) pattern that the creator of the examples intended to highlight
but there also exist (1 < n <= infinity) unintended patterns that students will find.

It’s difficult to live-code programming examples… the conventions we use by habit often invite students to find the unintended patterns.

As an instructor, how do I get students to see the single pattern in which I’m interested, rather than the possibly infinite patterns that exist? Or, is that even the best goal? Should I, instead, be encouraging students to look beyond the first pattern they detect in order for them to appreciate the inherent complexity of interpretation?

Classrooms are, at their best, learning communities. Unfortunately, with the rise of the PERSONAL computer (PC), computing classrooms have evolved to meet the needs of the computer, rather than the learner. In so doing, often both the needs of the computer and the learner go unmet. Consider the all too typical situation of a room that has been retrofitted to provide dozens of electrical outlets and network connections, but with no improvements in the air conditioning. It seems to have escaped the attention of the room’s designers that computers, even at idle, generate many BTUs of heat… as do students! The body heat from 15-20 students in a room is considerable.

I stress the personal aspect of personal computer here not because I think you don’t know what I mean by a PC. Rather, it’s because that individual context, the idea that the computer is meant for individual, personal use is important in a learning environment. PCs are designed with the individual in mind. Even when the idea of having multiple users was adopted in consumer PC operating systems, the idea was still that one user would be logged in at a time, working alone. In the more advanced operating systems, you can switch between the individual user contexts.

What you can’t do easily with a personal computer is collaborate, and that’s a problem for educational uses of computers both in terms of the operating system design and the design of computing classrooms.

Ideally, computing classrooms would include

• room configurations that support collaboration
• movable tables to support small groups, seminars, and lectures
• ready access to power outlets, both on the walls and in the floor
• wired network access for a portion of the users, since not all devices support wireless
• sufficient wifi coverage to support a full class, all downloading needed software at the same time, since not all devices support wired connections (e.g., iPhones, iPads, Macbook Air, other ultrabook format computers)
• a high-resolution projector, so that applications that use significant screen real estate can be projected: Photoshop, Blender, Xcode, other programming integrated development environments.
• network storage that supports collaboration (where will students and groups share files?)
• a storage strategy that supports collaboration (how to handle collisions among students saving?)
• software that supports collaboration
• MoonEdit,
• SubEthaEdit,
• Google Docs,
• Wikis,
• GIT,
• etc.

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

― Isaac Asimov

“At school, you’re not allowed to fail; the wrong answer is a bad thing,” Dyson says. “But all failures are valuable because they all teach you something. I have lots of them every day.”

— Sir James Dyson in The Seventh Disruption: How James Dyson reinvented the personal heater

Students reasonably need to understand what is expected of them in a course. Educators need to make clear what is acceptable and unacceptable student engagement with a course. The syllabus is the natural place for this to happen, as long as both students and educators recognize it for what it is.

Students shouldn’t approach the syllabus as the maximum they’ll do… education is about expanding your horizon! The syllabus is the absolute minimum you should expect to do; the engaged and interested student will use it as a lower bound, not an upper bound.

For me, the take away messages from this speech are:

• Find your passion
• Learn whatever you can wherever you are
• Life is a learning experience
• Looking forward is impossible; looking backward is deceptively obvious
• Rejection is not failure
• Rejection is only temporary
• Be gracious
• Be humble
• Be dedicated
• Be of service

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

— Steven Paul Jobs

Education researchers have shown that the most powerful way we learn is by trying to articulate what we know, believe, and feel (Connally, 1989). The creative process of transforming what is inside our heads into a form that can be shared with others is difficult but absolutely necessary for meaningful learning to take place. How many times have you passively listened to someone (ME!) talking about a topic thinking to yourself how boring it was or how obvious or how random, but when you later tried to explain it to someone, you found it nearly impossible to do so?

Writing is not about simply producing the correct number of words in the correct format; rather the writing process itself is part of the learning process. Writing requires us to think about what we know and to confront what we don’t know. In the process, we find out where we need to focus more attention and find the gaps in our understanding.

Few of us have healthy writing habits, unfortunately. Maybe you share some of these habits:

• You believe that writing is about producing a finished product.
• You believe that once it’s written, you don’t have to think about it again.
• You put off writing until the last minute.
• You write papers the day or night before they’re due.
• You write in marathon sessions, spending whole days struggling with writing.

Such habits are self-defeating. You feel guilty for putting off writing, so you put it off even more. You feel stressed, because you have an unpleasant task to do. You don’t write carefully, because you’re on a deadline. Everything you turn in is, by definition, a first draft… and first drafts are almost always bad drafts (even for professional writers!!!). You then feel guilty about the quality of your work (“I just can’t write well!”) and anxious about the feedback you’ll receive.

If this isn’t you– if you’ve already found a successful writing strategy for yourself that promotes your learning and leaves you feeling good about your work– then congratulations and keep up the good work!

If this sounds familiar, however, then here are some suggestions to help you develop a positive and productive writing habit:

• DON’T BINGE WRITE. Instead, find a 30-60 minute time block 3-4 times per week that you schedule as your writing time; ideally the same time each day, so that you develop a habit. If you’re writing a little bit 2-3 hours per week, you will be a very productive writer; more productive than a single 5-6 hour session!.
• DON’T SKIP YOUR WRITING TIME. Don’t schedule other meetings during this time. You wouldn’t want to skip meals, class, or sleep, so why should your writing be any different?
• DON’T TRY TO WRITE AND EDIT AT THE SAME TIME. They are different cognitive tasks that require you to apply different skills. Focus first on getting your ideas recorded without worrying about gramer, speeling,,, or punctuation!!! Just get your ideas down. I sometimes go so far as to turn off my word processor’s grammar and spell checkers so I’m not distracted by colored underlines all over my document. Later, during your next writing session, perhaps, switch your mind to editing mode, turn the grammar and spell checkers back on, and clean up what you’ve written.
• YOUR FIRST DRAFT IS GOING TO BE ROUGH. Accept it. Embrace it. Writing is a process and processes happen over time.
• DON’T BE EMBARRASSED TO SHARE YOUR WRITING. Writing is about communicating. Don’t hide your writing assuming it will get better on its own. Share it with people you trust to be honest, get feedback, and be gracious about the feedback you get. You don’t have to incorporate every change someone suggests, but you should think about the suggestions.
• PLAN ENOUGH TIME TO EDIT YOUR FIRST DRAFT. You need to spend at least one of your writing sessions editing your first draft, before turning it in. So, plan to finish the first draft at least a day or two before it’s due, so that you can dedicate a writing session to re-reading and editing your work.

As for your writing process, here are some methods I’ve found helpful both to get started and to keep writing:

• START WITH YOUR CLAIMS. To get started writing on a topic, simply write 10-20 one-sentence statements that you believe to be true about the topic. Don’t try to write full paragraphs or to justify your claims at this point… just get what you believe to be true out of your head and on to the page. You can re-order, modify, add, or remove claims later. I’ll often write down claims for a paper as my last task of the day, before going to bed. That way, I have something to engage my mind during my next writing session.
• ADD OVERT STRUCTURE TO GUIDE YOUR READER. Cluster related claims together and add section headings between clusters of claims to explain what each cluster is about.
• For general persuasive writing, use headings that clarify your narrative.
• For scientific papers, often you’ll want to use: Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Analysis/Results, Discussion, Conclusion.
• FILL-IN YOUR EVIDENCE. Use each statement as the opening of a paragraph and use the remainder of the paragraph to explain why you believe the claim to be true. You might provide examples, relate your own experiences, or appeal to authority by citing the work and experiences of other authors.
• EDIT, EDIT, EDIT. The secret to good writing is good editing.
• There is no great writing, only great rewriting. ~ Justice Louis Brandeis
• Perfection is achieved, not when there’s nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. ~ Antoine de Saint Exupery
• I cannot think of anybody who doesn’t need an editor, even though some people claim they don’t. ~ Toni Morrison

Writing is a skill that you develop with practice, like any other. No one creates fully formed, polished, finished work on the first try.