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| Getting to Know the Generational Curriculum | History of the Generational Curriculum | The Virtual Book in Cyberspace | Mining the Generational Curriculum | World Information Bank |
a. Gregg's report 4 is composed of three parts. Part A is a diagram of the Generational Curriculum. Part B describes the organization, growth and implications of the Generational Curriculum. And part C which refers to two articles about the site. Gregg's diagram is neat and simple. It gives the viewer a breakdown of all the parts of the Generational Curriculum. It is in part B that one can begin to further understand how the curriculum functions and 'develops chronologically'. Gregg refers to the site as 'a naturally expanding phenonmenon in cyberspace'. He also talks about how we can learn from those before us. This is precisely the primary function of the Generational Curriculum. It serves as a 'learning tool'. This 'learning tool' is constantly evolving as the curriculum grows with each new generation. Gregg also discusses tour guides and search engines. I definetly agree with Gregg when he says that the Generational Curriculum is an 'informational tool'. I felt that Gregg's descriptions on the organization and growth of the Generational Curriculum were quite accurate. As I was reading his report, I found that I viewed the curriculum in a similar way. The diagram which Gregg created of the Generational Curriculum was a useful graphic that he provided to viewers so that they could have a better understanding of the curriculum as a whole. However, the diagram I had in my head of the curriculum was a little different from the diagram that Gregg had posted in his report. The idea that I had in mind was that the the Generational Curriculum as a whole, has many different parts to it. One of the important parts that I felt would have been nice to include was Dr. James. I think that Dr. James should come right under the Generational Curriculum and under him, Traffic Psychology and Cyber-Psychology and so on. After all, Dr James is the instructor and acts as a director, president or Chief Executive Officer. I thought that it was great that Gregg included the different generations, the student reports and the Daily Round Archives. Hopefully, as the Generational Curriculum grows, more branches (with different course topics) will be added resulting in learning community that is broader and more diverse.
History of the Generational Curriculum
The Generational Curriculum is a project that first started in 1970. This project was based on interactive community learning and is multi-generational. Under the direction and with the guidance of Dr. Leon James, students were assigned 'course integrated web activities'. Prior to classes going online, in the beginning of the Generational Curriculum, the students' reports were collected, bound and then preserved in the Daily Round Archives (DRA). The reports were bound in volumes organized by semester, course, topic and students. However, with the World Wide Web (www) students have been able to create their own web pages and publish their reports at their web site. Currently, the DRA is slowly being added to the WWW. Eventually, all the generations will be accessable through the Internet, adding to the growing learning community on the internet.
The whole idea behind community learning is so that students can learn with and from eachother by interacting with each other and past generations. The way that the curriculum is set up currently, students are not only interactive learners but also independent learners. Because the class only meets once a week for approximately two and a half hours, the students are basically autonomous learners (on their own to learn independently). The students are responsible for their own learning. The monitor their participation and involvement within the class and also motior their work and progess. Since it is a community, the students can look to their peers for help and support. I think that the Generational Curriculum is indeed an innovational way learning. However, the majority of the learning takes place outside of the classroom on your own, I feel that it may not be for everyone. Some people need to be in a structured classroom and others may feel more comfortable meeting with the class and instructor more than once a week. While that is one opinion, others may feel that autonomous learning is great for their lifestyle. The freedom to learn on your own and not have to go to class every other day etc. Utilizing the Internet is a great way to conduct a university course. Overall, I think that the Generational Curriculum is a positive concept that promotes, interactive learning, student responsibility and autonomous learning.
a. Here Dr. James describes in his words what a home page is. He refers to it as his 'other house' and just like you would regularly clean and repair your house or home, he updates and reorganizes his home page. Afterall, you are expecting visitors and you never know when they'll visit your home page. Dr. James has a very unique way of looking at the internet, this view of his seems to be an internal one. An extenal one would be, the costs involved, how it is utilized, who is using it and how it can be used as an educational tool. The external view is focused more on purpose and business, not at all warm and fuzzy. There are three types of home pages that Dr. James decribes. Artistic home pages used as a form of expression, where as Indexical home pages are used to organize subjects and Standard home pages introduce topics. There are also different types of links. A Sequential link functions as an aid in exploration. Reciprocal links complement and enhance the content. A Circular link guides exploration. And Central links assist and familiarize access.
b. I view this page (the one you are now reading) as a page in a book, the Virtual Book being, the internet itself. When you open up a book for the first time, you don't know what lies ahead, but when you go ahead and proceed, you are exploring. The exploration that you embark on, could be boring and dull or it could be an adventure that you will never forget. Perhaps, it could even change your life or the way you think about something or you may even learn something new. There are endless possiblities all waiting to be discovered. A 'virtual book' is simulated and exists only online in hypertext. I compare it to those story books that I had as a child. They were a 'create your own story' type of book. Each time you came to the end of a page, you were given a choice and had to make a decision. Depending on your choice, you were then directed to proceed to a certain page and it continued until you came to the end. Each time you read it the story changed, just like the way that the Virtual Book is constantly changing, as different viewers (readers) explore or read. The decisions that I had to make as a child reading the book can be compared to the links presented to the viewer or visitor. The visitor has a choice, either to click or not to click. And whether he or she clicks on the link, has a direct effect on how the story turns out. If they clicked on a link or decided not to click on a particular link, would have changed the outcome and the path of exploration entirely.
c. Dr. James described the Virtual Book in Cyberspace as being a 'teseract'; a house with rooms all connected. Because all of the rooms are connected and the Virtual Book is constantly changing, this poses the problem of possibly getting lost. This complex may affect navigation by making it difficult to follow a planned course.
d. Erin explains the ups and the downs of designing a web page. She decribes feeling 'lost,nervous and clueless'. She gives many helpful tips about how to design a web page and fore warns you how time consuming it can be. She refers you to a 'Crash Course in HTML' and Jeffery Glovers' web page to see if your web page 'sucks'. These were useful sites to visit. My first impression of Erin's report was WOW!! This is exactly how I feel. I had to go through the same thing explaining to friends why I was always on my computer trying to fix my web page. It was a relief to know that I am not alone and that students from previous generations have felt the same way that I do. I could identify with Erin in feeling 'lost, nervous and clueless'.
George explains how at first he only was interested in sports, stocks and things that interested him; however, Dr. James encouraged him to do other things on the web. Thus, George was introduced to a 'whole new world'. I can identify with George in this way, for I too only wanted to play and look up horoscopes etc. And I aslo found out that there is a 'whole new world' out there just waiting to be discovered, for the world is at your finger tips. I thought that the links to HTML help sites and information on weaving your own web were good ideas to incorporate into his report. I found these to be useful, so I learned from a previous generation. Yipee!! Most of all the most important thing that I found while readind his report was the message to Dr. James, advising him to 'keep teaching this class'. I absolutely agree and also belief that many future students can also benefit from the Generational Curriculum.
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