What would David Say? (A message from beyond.)

What would David say?

(A message from beyond.)

Will the nations’ hallowed universities quake and crumble when confronted by the onslaught of the dreaded, technology laden, heartless cMOOCs and xMOOCs?  Will our esteemed professors become endangered species?  Are MOOCs dystopic?

“Isn’t it ironic – a heralded skeptic like me, located in what some call the “hereafter”, being asked to share my thoughts with you on such an important subject.  What a remarkable universe!  What an honor.

“…Anyway, in a nutshell, in my view, human nature and the institutions which humans create are endlessly adaptable to the challenges that new science and technologies bring about.  And, as our friend Darwin and modern business practices strongly suggest, when humans and their institutions don’t adapt, they die.  Both have an innate and powerful desire to survive and prosper - so extinction certainly is not going to happen. 

“MOOCs have come about because of serious deficiencies in world’s educational systems, leaving vast numbers of the worlds’ young uneducated - throttling their innate innovative capacity, their economic opportunities and their liberty.  These very facts run counter to all the hopes and objectives of Enlightenment thinking.

“In summary:

(1)   There is no question in my mind that universities will creatively and aggressively integrate MOOCs into their curriculum, and,

(2)   Professors’ and educators’ roles and approach to teaching will continue to change, but they will be no less important – maybe even more so.

“Most heartening of all, MOOCs will help unleash the energy and potential of hundreds of millions of humans around the globe.  Accordingly, economic prosperity and liberty are certain to grow by leaps and bounds.

“Finally, even though I have strong views against superstition and miracles, I quite like the idea of my toe being stroked by such a large and diverse group of young people!!...

With Great Affection and Hope,”

David Hume

(The photos of young people were purchased from Photos.com.  The David Hume statue photo was copied from the “Frost Scottish Anatomy” article “Touch bronze: David Hume’s sculpture becomes a lucky charm for Scottish students”.  The Hume toe sculpture photo was taken form an article by Richard Wiseman entitled “The world’s most annoying stature”. And the remaining pictures came from iStock.)

#edcmooc Psychological Posthumanism

The many definitions of "posthumanism" are a bit challenging to work with when trying to relate them to educational strategies..  Unrelated to the idea of "enhanced humans" through one means or another, the Badmington paper refers to Freud witnessing "...the waning of humanism...", with humans "...unmasked as a creature motivated by desires which escape the rule of consciousness....(and) that consciousness may not be the most universal attribute of mental processes, but only a fractional part of them...."

In that same spirit, David Brooks, the well known and highly regarded New York Times OP-ED columnist, in his recent book "The Social Animal - The Hidden Sources of Character, Love and Achievement" also focuses on the vast influence of our subconscious.  His thoughts on human nature include:  "...We are primarily products of  thinking that happens below the level of awareness - unconscious parts of the mind...where most of the decisions and many of the most impressive acts of thinking take place..."  Furthermore, Brooks says:   "... We have inherited an image of ourselves as Homo sapiens, as thinking individuals separated from the other animals because of our superior power of reason...In fact, we are separated from the other animals because we have phenomenal skills social skills that enable us to teach, learn, sympathize, emote, and build cultures, institutions, and the complex mental scaffolding of civilizations..."

I'm still trying to figure out how all of this thinking relates to the importance or challenges of MOOCs.  Help!!!