Archive for December, 2009
Thoughts on Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew Crawford
December 31st, 2009
I received as a gift, probably because I’m an avid scooterist and the author is a motorcycle mechanic. Imagine my surprise when I realized this book wasn’t about motorcycles at all, but about business. In fact, I would say it’s an essential item for any business leader’s bookshelf, and a pretty important item for rank-and-file employees.
Crawford (or “Dr. Crawford”, since he has a PhD in political philosophy) pitches the book as a defense of mechanical labor — the work of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and mechanics. Beyond that, it is a scholarly and wide-ranging treatise on the nature of human labor: why do we work? What do we gain from it? How is modern employment structured? How and why are we motivated to work? How does management keep us working? How have corporate governance and the economy developed to build the modern labor force?
These are wide-ranging questions, which Crawford lays out in the first section of the book. His essential thesis is that industrial society has broken down the process of labor into pieces, pieces that can be documented and simplified. The motivation to do this is to eliminate expert knowledge, and render employees into a fungible, globally efficient resource. In manufacturing, this process started with machine automation and culminated in the assembly line. Crawford recounts that Henry Ford’s early assembly lines had to hire 900 people just to retain 100. The applicants were blacksmiths, sheet metal workers and carpenters looking for steady work, but they found the task of assembly-line work so execrable that only a few would stay.
This trend continues to the modern day. Modern “knowledge workers” see their jobs broken down into pieces, then the pieces are analyzed, scripted and outsourced to non-skilled workers who work entirely from a script. Outsourcing of human resources, accounting, payroll are just a few examples. Crawford proposes that so-called “creative trades” are next on the chopping block, as creative jobs like computer programming, graphic design, and others are broken down to their fundamental building blocks, then outsourced to armies of minimally-skilled workers around the planet. If you don’t believe this can happen, go have a look at a site like , then ask yourself if consumers will know or care who develops their creative work.
A particularly good example of this trend is the development of banking. A century ago, bankers were important members of the community. Their decision to loan money or offer investment services was not merely based on a formula, but on their keen observation of people, property, and the local economy. They operated in a constantly changing landscape of risk, and only synthesis of many factors could inform their decisions to offer credit.
Yet, in the 21st century, we find that banking has been disassembled into its constituent pieces. A marketing company develops the leads, a mortgage broker finds the deal, a loan officer closes the deal, a servicing company handles the payments, the bank sells the paper to an investment firm, which securitizes the loan into tiny pieces and re-sells the investment to hundreds of downstream purchasers. Almost nobody is local, and the borrower is just an account, their identity barely known to the processes and procedures that make the loan happen. In fact, the system discourages that knowledge — anything that might derail the deal.
Well, we’ve seen the . With the local banker’s knowledge of property, people and economy eliminated, the system has been unable to properly quantify risk, with the result that something like 30% of the money invested in mortgage securities has disappeared. Now the system is poised to go the other way, with overly conservative formulae denying credit to people that would be deemed safe risks by a local expert. Now that the expertise and adaptability of the banker has become a process, it is clear that errors in the process will be magnified across the entire system.
It’s surprising how easily we have become conditioned to see standardized, formulaic handling of work tasks as normal, or even better, than local expertise. As Crawford points out, in the eternal quest for low cost, the assembly line provides more labor for less money. But it doesn’t provide more quality in less time.
Crawford proposes that the mechanical trades — building, plumbing, mechanics — are the best avenue for people who want to actually accomplish whole tasks, without large amounts of antecedent education and without the threat of their jobs being torn down, “stupidified” as Crawford might say, into tiny pieces. As a side note, Crawford admits that most of his experience is with male-dominated industries, but concedes that female-dominated tasks like gardening and nursing enjoy similar rewards and protection. Essentially, you’re looking for a combination of locality (the requirement that work be done in a specific location) and embedded expertise that can only be learned through experience.
Crawford backs up his claims with personal, and often hilarious, anecdotes from his own life. Unlike many of us, he has lived as a rank-and-file laborer, a mechanic, a “knowledge worker”, a leader (of a DC think tank) and an academic. This history gives him a unique perspective on labor.
Crawford claims that he offers no formula for job satisfaction, yet there is a message here, and a powerful one for managers and leaders that want to fully engage their employees. It’s clear that rewarding labor brings more responsibility, more autonomy, and greater opportunities to see the final results of one’s work. Essentially, if we want to have the best employees doing the best work, we need to resist the urge to break down the labor process quite so much, and give employees more opportunities to see the whole product. I was reading an article on this very issue, pointing out that the way to groom new leaders and innovators was to give them an opportunity to work across the enterprise. In fact, I’d say that’s the way to improve almost any employee’s motivation; there are awfully few employees who really want to keep their heads down on a single task for their entire career.
Crawford certainly accomplishes his task of defending the mechanical arts, and I admit this is one of the few nonfiction books that I couldn’t put down.
Attorneys Now Act Out to Be Villains
December 31st, 2009
The news of petty lawsuits filed against one medium or the other infiltrates the media a bit too often these days as a number of law firms now treat their profession as less of a responsibility towards the general public’s legal concerns and more as their own revenue generation channels.
Topic: Global Diversity
December 31st, 2009
George Siemens (2008) suggests three possible elements of distance education that contribute to more effective learning experiences in distance education, unique from those in F2F instruction: global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction.
To some degree, technology can cut across cultural differences, perhaps even dialectal diversity. Technology can even bridge a gap when true language barriers exist for a brief period through translation programs. If, by global diversity, one means reaching diverse groups of people within the English-speaking world, then perhaps distance education does have the potential to reach a greater number of diverse peoples than a bricks and mortar course can. But, does distance education reach multiple nationalities of English-speaking people? Online course offerings at a diverse organization, such as Walden University, are geared toward diverse Americans. The Laureate Group offers another online program through the University of Liverpool in Amsterdam, and has affiliation with 7 campus-based universities in Asia, 18 campus-based universities in South America, 10 campus-based universities in Mexico and Central America, and 14 campus-based universities in Europe (Laureate Education, n.d.). None of these programs are focused on true global diversity.
However, distance education may never approach what human interaction can manage when confronted with true global diversity. True global diversity in education must encompass other nations, races, ethnic groups, and even languages. Face to face instruction is best to develop a relationship where body language, facial expression, and eye contact are vital to developing communication bonds among students with diverse backgrounds, and language. Today’s technology offers programs to include video component, which is not sufficient to bridge a language barrier. So long as there exists a language barrier among learners, even accessible translation services, and software do not translate fluid language to enable full-length conversations. These are sufficient for brief contact, but only among common languages.
For these reasons, face-to-face instruction is by far the most effective format for instruction among globally diverse learners.
Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.). Our university affiliation. Available from
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). The future of distance education featuring Dr. George Siemens. [Video program]. Available from
The Problem with Innovation
December 30th, 2009
Christians?
December 30th, 2009
Click the Clip to Play
Christians are Disciples of Christ Jesus. The word disciple means, learners; they are called to be pilgrims. Living in preparation towards another earth, that which would be pure, loving, without pain, and tears. Therefore, Jesus’ disciples are single-minded and focused towards the quest thereby taking the road called “Narrow Way.” However if the disciple for any moment should look way from the “cross” which marks the spot, they shall find themselves on the other road called, “Broadway.” For that reason a disciple is like a soldier on duty who doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. It is similar to the diligent farmer who gets the produce. So should a Christian who loves Jesus must keep reminding themselves that:
If we die with him, we’ll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up—
for there’s no way he can be false to himself.
Despite our current professions, Christians are called to first be Christians wherever they are at; so if you are a lawyer, pastor, cleaner, etc. We are to be Christians first and living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The authority of our faith should go above that of our employer or any other opposing authority.
You will be mocked, ridiculed, and persecuted!
In 1 Timothy 5:6, “But they that live in pleasure is dead while they live.” Therefore we can deduce that the person who lives for pleasure is dead despite them even looking alive. Our faith goes above trying to maintain our lifestyles. Christianity is a lifestyle and not a commodity.
Online Education - A fast track option for career development
December 30th, 2009
Is Online Learning For You?
Online learning is different in many respects from the traditional face-to-face learning we’re all used to, primarily in the way we get our information and how we interact with instructors and classmates. Many people say they learn more online, and their retention is better too.
Consider that good students in the traditional setting may fair poorly in an online environment, while struggling students may excel with online courses. This can be explained in part due to differences in learning styles. Visual, self-directed learners do well at online learning, but others succeed because online instructional design is often sophisticated and planned to reach a wide variety of learners.
Lifestyles play a big role in the success of online learners too. These are the traits that successful online students possess, to varying degrees:
* Self-Directed
* Motivated
* Comfortable with computers
* Able to use email, internet browser, word processor
* Like to read and write
* Inquisitive
* Disciplined
* Independent
* Able to stay on task
These questions may help you decide if online learning is for you:
Are you self-directed and motivated?
Most of online learning happens on your schedule. You’ll need to be self-directed and motivated to complete activities on schedule and initiate the communication required to be successful. You’ll be responsible for creating the structure to finish each course.
Are your technical skills adequate?
Along with having access to a computer and not being overwhelmed by typing, online learners should be comfortable with internet browsing and searching, email, sending and reading attachments, word processing, and sometimes downloading and installing software plug-ins (a normally simple but sometimes intimidating task).
Do you have strong reading skills?
Reading can play a large part in any class, and especially online. The ability to read and comprehend subject matter without it being a chore is critical to your success.
Does written communication come easily for you?
In most cases writing is the primary method of communication in online classes, so you should be at ease with writing to express your thoughts, share ideas, and ask questions.
Will you ask questions when you need to?
If you typically don’t hesitate to seek help when you need it you’ll do fine. Since you’ll be in an online environment it’s important to let your instructor and classmates know when you need help. Remember that they won’t be able to see your looks of doubt, confusion, or other body language to tell when things aren’t going well.
Will you miss the social interaction?
Interaction with instructors and classmates in online learning is often an integral part of the learning experience. Absent is the in-person contact – being able to see facial expressions, hear reactions, and speak. Campus life may be different or non-existent too.
Do you have the discipline to study regularly?
Like a traditional school you’ll need to set aside adequate time for study. You may discover that you need to be online frequently to complete assignments or communicate with classmates and instructors. You can plan to spend at least as much time working assignments and studying as you would with a traditional course, and you’ll be setting your own pace in many instances.
If you’re satisfied with your answers to these questions, you’re likely to do well in an online learning course. The links below are furnished as additional resources to help you decide.
source: http://www.worldwidelearn.com/elearning-essentials/learning-online.htm
On Teaching & Learning 2010
December 30th, 2009
Mom & Dad house LI after snow storm
I must admit it’s been a relaxing and productive Christmas break for me. As I mentioned in a previous post, my plans of traveling to New York were scrapped due to the bad snow storms slamming DC all the way to Long Island - so I regrouped and have been getting lots accomplished here at home.
Once I accepted the fact that I wasn’t going anywhere for Christmas I started making lists of things I wanted to accomplish, but never had the time due to the demands of work. In addition to getting my house and office clean, yard raked, closets organized and clothes I no longer wear dropped off at the Salvation Army – I’ve spent a few hours each day upgrading and retooling my online classes. This has got me thinking about the current state of teaching and learning as we head into the year 2010. First off it’s hard to believe 2010 is just around the corner. Seems like yesterday when everyone was stressing out over- that was 10 years ago!
The teacher / student dynamic (relationship) has also changed dramatically since the 90’s. First of all both students and teachers (for the most part) have embraced (and become proficient with) a variety of new technologies which have been catalysts for dramatic growth in online education.
I’ll readily admit I would have retired early from teaching if it were not for the introduction of (online teaching) in the late 90’s. Teaching online introduced me to new and creative challenges just when I was starting getting burned out from traditional classroom instruction.
This brings me to the core of my thoughts on teaching and learning in 2010. Essentially I believe the attributes required to be an effective teacher are still the same as we enter the next decade of this new millennium. Great teachers are creative, innovative, passionate, enthusiastic and show sincere interest and comprehension of their respective subject area. Students on the other hand have changed over the past 10-15 years and this evolution has come about in part because of rapid advances in technology and cyber culture.
Now here’s the rub. I believe teachers (at all grade levels) have to do a better job mastering the new and powerful tools (technology) at their disposal for CONNECTING with (and engaging) their students. The attributes for great teachers is the same BUT the tools we use for teaching have changed and become much more technologically sophisticated. This is our challenge heading into the next decade.
Students on the other hand may have a better grasp on technology, however the techniques and skills required for effective learning have not changed all that much either. This is where I sense a disconnect based on my 10+ years teaching exclusively online for a variety of colleges across North Carolina. Sure… we as teachers and students have all this great and powerful communications technology (Video, YouTube, Podcasts, Screencasts, 3-D simulations, Second Life, Blackboard, Moodle, etc.) at our disposal for imparting and deciphering information, however if the students are not motivated or interested in learning and not willing to put the time and effort in to meet the instructor halfway on the learning journey then it’s not going to matter how great the technology is – learning is NOT going to occur.
Bottom line here (in my opinion) is that teaching tools (technology) have changed dramatically, but the skills and attributes 
needed for being excellent teachers and effective learners remain relatively the same. Both students and teachers must harness (embrace) technology for both teaching and learning to the point where it becomes intuitive. The days of the chalk board and overhead projector are over and have been replaced with sophisticated .
I’m excited about the coming year and the challenges facing me as an online teacher and Distant Learning Director. In reality this is not all that complicated. is over and that instructional model is just about dead and buried. As I state at the beginning of all my distance learning workshops; The easy part is becoming proficient and confident with technology – the real challenge for both teachers and students is using it to its fullest potential for both teaching and learning. 2010….here I come!
Making Money with Articles: Becoming an Affiliate
December 30th, 2009
If you can either write articles or have the promotion and marketing knowledge to publicize articles that others write, becoming an affiliate for several companies may be a great way for you to generate a good income right from your own home. You can do this by receiving part of the revenue off of sales that the company gets from people who “click through” from your website via the company’s links that are placed on your pages.
Since you will be promoting a product or service, you will need a killer sales pitch and website content to get your readers interested in the product, convince them that they cannot live without the product, and to keep them coming back to your website time and time again for more recommendations and for your useful content, which will get them clicking on your links once again. Although many affiliate companies only give you money off of the first sale you make from each customer, you have the option of promoting a good range of companies so that you can still make a profit off of your returning customers.
If you cannot write this kind of content of your own, there are many ways to pick up free or paid content to place on your affiliate website. There are many reasons why paying for such articles would be to your advantage. First, you will be able to tell the writer exactly what you want, what product you are trying to sell, and what direction they can go in to keep your readers interested and informed. On the other hand, when you search for free content, you are limited to what is already out there. Secondly, you will own the copyright to this content. That means that no one else can reuse it without your consent. If you opt for free content, you will be sharing that content with an unknown amount of other affiliate websites, plus the original author will be able to place their byline at the bottom of the article which could result in them stealing your traffic.
There are many products that have nice affiliate commission rates for those who know how to pre-sale their product and deliver click through customers who are ready to buy. As long as you choose to promote a product or service that can be very useful to a wide variety of people, then pre-selling your chosen company may not be that hard at all. The key in this situation may likely be getting those customers to your website so that they have a chance to see your recommendations and click on your affiliate links.
Free Introduction to Computer Science Program Courses
December 30th, 2009
After becoming increasingly interested in computer programming I decided to start looking for good introductions to computer science. I quickly found my way to Stanford University and their . In the introduction to computer science they have three courses. They are
After watching the first video lecture of the Programming Methodology course, I become increasingly interested in the subject as well as impressed by Professor Mehran Sahami for his teaching style. I will put the course contents here as I go through it, to spread awareness of this great contribution by Standford to our world of free knowledge.
I will also update this post with more Computer Science Program courses from other universities if I happen to stumble across them, or they are mentioned to me. If you know any others, do share!
