Tagged: reading

Reading response: In-class ideas

My pal Memphis had some excellent take away ideas from this week’s reading by Vannevar Bush. She even wrote a blog post about it – making my job easy..here’s a link!

In summary:

– The reading re-affirmed the importance of technology in this course, and utilising the technology available to us.

– Re-visited the idea of active learning and adapting with technology instead of doing what we’ve always done out of habit. A good example of this is how we learn at Uni. Why keep having traditional lectures and write essays to prove knowledge when we can move forward with technology? Be active in learning, not passive!

Reading week 4

As We May Think by Vannevar Bush

It is quite strange to read this article, written in 1945, and realise that Bush is discussing technologies we use on a daily basis, and has pretty much predicted the future. Advances in science and innovation in technologies are usually taken for granted by us Gen Y’ers, but it really is amazing how reliable the technology is that we have so openly integrated into our lives.

This quote stood out for me

” For  years  inventions  have  extended  man’s physical  powers  rather  than  the  powers  of  his  mind.  Trip  hammers  that multiply  the  fists,  microscopes  that  sharpen  the  eye,  and  engines  of  destruction and  detection  are  new  results,  but  not  the  end  results,  of  modern  science.  Now, says  Dr.  Bush,  instruments  are  at  hand  which,  if  properly  developed,  will  give man  access  to  and  command  over  the  inherited  knowledge  of  the  ages. “

This is so true of ‘recent’ technology. The internet comes to mind straight away. We are so lucky to have “access to and command over the inherited knowledge of the ages”.

I will often claim “what did I ever do without the internet?!” sure, I was in Primary School and preoccupied with climbing trees and writing in my *physical* diary, but for older people being introduced to the internet must have been like opening a huge door of information. Even though I tend to waste this privilege by watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians online (hardly brain-expanding, but hey, it’s my guilty pleasure), I do appreciate the wealth of information available online.

This also makes me question the future, how can we expand these technologies even further? What else is left to expand of the human experience now that we have covered physical and mental expansion?

Chris Argyris reading

When I first opened the reading I was like…

Chris Argyris: theories of action, double-loop learning and organizational learning looked intimidating. As a Prof Comm student, anything with the words ‘theory’, ‘models’ and ‘research’ makes me want to cry then take a nap.

Which seemed kind of ironic once I started reading, particularly this statement about Model I:

Touche, Argyris, touche.

So maybe I was being a bit defensive coming into this reading (and also this subject), but it was difficult to break it down in a way I could understand. The main points I took away from this reading are SIngle and Double-Loop learning, and Models I and II.

Mental modes are subtle patterns of reasoning. They are personal mental maps that determine how we plan, implement and review our actions.

Single-loop learning: When you identify and correct a problem without having to change the underlying policies and objectives.

Double-loop learning: When you have to modify the organisation’s policies, objectives and norms in order to solve a problem.

I think this concept of double-loop learning is quite liberating, and can be applied to more than just how we learn. When you are honest with yourself and investigate the reasons why you want to achieve a specific goal, you are no longer just going through the motions, you have changed the foundations of your own personal ‘policies’.

For example, I recently became a vegetarian. I realised that all my life I had eaten meat without much thought because I had been brought up that way. I might occasionally cut down on meat to achieve a health/weight loss goal, but hadn’t thought about why I eat meat.

When I delved a bit deeper and was exposed to some horrible truths about the meat industry, I made the decision to re-write my personal beliefs and stop eating animals. This evaluation of my own ‘policies’ has been the most confronting part of becoming vego. I also think it has enhanced my potential for growth, because I am no longer ignoring or ‘moving away from’ that fact that most of the animal products I ate came out of suffering.

Model I: Win, don’t lose, control the environment, treating one’s views as obviously correct, avoid embarrassment.

Model II: Shared leadership, focus on achieving shared goals, free and informed choice, encouraging public testing of evaluations.

These models make me think of the course so far; it’s broad, open to interpretation, and we’re encouraged to share anything and everything. Very Model II. This model makes me want to hide and save myself embarrassment (just call me Model I Molly), by not expressing much, not having questions, and avoiding involvement in class conversations.

So even though Chris Argyris wrote about all of this ages ago (and, like, without the inter webs!), it is still relevant to us.