In the Service of Education

I am a big fan of Science Friday on NPR. If I can't manage to listen to it live, I make a point to catch the podcast. Ira Flatow is a great talk show host; he is conversant enough in the topic at hand, and gives his guest the room necessary to provide insightful contributions to the discussion. The topics covered are very broad, and almost always focus on subject matter about which I know nothing. So the opportunity to learn something new is very high, and the chance that I will enjoy the process is high as well.

Last Friday, there was a great conversation called "the art of the Natural History Museum." Basically, the discussion was all about how to present the natural world to museum patrons in the form of exhibits. This process is basically a long collaboration between scientists & artists in navigating how to create pieces that are accurate & engaging, all within the constraints of time and budgets.

For me, the parallels with instructional design came early in the discussion. As I listened to a paleo-anthropologist describe his process of working with an artist, he sounded very much like a faculty member concerned with getting things right. At the same time, the artist scrambles to learn enough about the subject to be effective and keep up, much like those of us involved in course development often do.

Not surprisingly, I found myself attenuating more to the artist's comments. One in particular resonated with me. When asked about his work within the larger wold of art, he stated that his job was to create art in the service of science. It was fundamentally different from expressive art, and that perspective changed how he worked. He has to be more amenable to criticism, and be willing to set aside some amount of creative impulse because his role is to support scientific accuracy.

It was a statement that I felt really summarizes by feelings toward technology for instruction. To paraphrase the artist, I see the appropriate approach to be one of technology in the service of education. Much like artist's techniques, it's necessary to stay abreast of new tools to accomplish this end to the best of our ability. But it is fundamentally different from developing technology for its own sake.

Anyway, give it a listen if you get a chance. There's also an exchange about some prestiges museums not wanting to incorporate animatronics into their exhibits because they have doubts that these technologies contribute anything to the learner experience. That had some echos in conversations I hear on the job as well, but that will have to wait for another post.