Why Listen? As they say, listening is the most important
feature of cognitive learning. You listen to what others have to say,
especially if it pertains to something that they have been through and
you haven't. You need words of advice. You need words of encouragement.
You need help... so listen! Reading what other students have to say
about their reports and about class is always a big "+" (plus).
Why Learn? That's a pretty brainless question.
Of course, we all should learn. This is the "lifewater" of anything
else you may want/need. No matter how "good" you get, there is
always going to be somebody who knows more and is better than you. I'm
willing to bet that there is somebody out there who knows more than
Bill
Gates! Taking advice, and applying it to suit your home page needs
is the ideal Utopia.
These three criteria can only be met if there are previous generations to
base them upon. How do you look at a sample report if
there are none to read? How do you listen to a previous
student's gripes, troubles, and tips if there are none to hear? And how
do you learn without looking and listening? You can't.
There are eight direct sources of proof that objectively illustrate
the fact that the generational pages have been improving. They are as
follows:
The next four represent the technical aspects of improvement, dependent
on the technological advancements of time and progression. Whenever a
new applet, multimedia tool, etc. arrives in the technology scene, only the
individuals of that particular generation are able to take advantage of
it. The previous generations cannot because they were not readily available
during their term, and the following gerenations may not be able to use
them because they could be outdated or replaced by new technologies by
the time they arrive. For example, even though my site tries to use
some of the latest "bells and whistles" (applets, java, font adjustments,
gif89s, etc.), this page will be rather dated and boring once the next
generation takes a look at it.
Now, I will attempt to break down each measure of proof to illustrate
this growing phenomenon a little better.
Quality
First of all, what is the Generational Curriculum (G.C.)? In the
reading, my professor explains it as being "a cumulative collection of
student work on many topics of interest to education, science and lifestyle
issues" (see original).
My professor's reasoning behind starting the G.C. was to search for "an
instructional approach that would provide a platform for authentic
student writing" (see original).
Through hard work and determination, and the
unwillingness to accept second best, Dr.
Leon James started the G.C. project, which is still going on strong
today.
Very extensive in nature, the G.C. may comprise of as many as 24 or more
general subject areas. These may be as non-Freudian as the topic of
flossing one's teeth, or as Freudian as Dream
Interpretations. The G.C. also maintains 19
Principles for both written and oral assignments that my professor
meticulously assigns.
Yes, it is a full-load, but I think it's all worth it. Now, that I am
almost done with the course, I look back and feel good about what I have
accomplished. I know I could never have achieved this level of
performance if I was not as challenged as I was in this class. Do other
students feel the same way as me about the experience? Let's find out...
Ragna Borries of
G2 had this
to say about her technophobia being diminshed thanks to patience in the
course.
Catherine Heller of G3 had this to say about her involvement with the Internet via
this course.
Grant Muranaka of G3a had
this
to say about the continuation of the G.C.
Ross
Takara of G4a had
this
to say about being associated with the G.C.
Leslie
Agena of G4b had this to
say regarding her feelings about being a part of the G.C.
Lori Morita of G2 had this problem regarding using
Netscape for the very
first time.
Janel Kushimi
of G3 had this problem regarding getting connected via a new
computer.
Chong Yun of G3a had this problem regarding dealing with stress.
Jean Leong of G4a had this to say about frustration.
Cherilyn Okazaki of G4b had this to say about her navigational problems.
First off, the G.C. needs to get their own server. Right now, our school
resources are low and there is not much room for improvement. If
anything, I feel that this whole project is not being whole-heartedly
encouraged by the system. As the G.C continues to grow and flourish, our
resources will become less available and we would have to make major
cutbacks in the site. Obtaining, operating, and maintaining our own G.C.
server would mean that the only limitation for the project would be our
pocketbooks (purchasing more drives, trunks, lines, etc.), and we would
have more control with accessibility, down time, etc.
Another solution to survival and success would be to redesign the entire
web site so that it is a little more "surfable." With 100's of links
going every which way, a newcomer to the web site may be a little
overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. Perhaps getting more help to
work on different sectors of the web site would help. As of press time,
my Professor, was taking care of most of the web work. A densely
populated and ever emerging web site like this needs more than one person
running the show.
The first four, represent the scholarly aspect to generational
development, which directly relates to improvements via error reduction,
and cognitive excellence. Having really tough questions compliments of the
professor helps too! =)
With this, and the following three measures, there are 5 criteria with
which to define each (1 - length, 2 - sub headings, 3 - references like
links, 4 - the detail of topics, and 5 - developing the topic to
integrate it into psychology and science). Some measures will relate to
the criteria more than others.
The improvements in quality are readily apparent. When you look at the
the reports from the students in the latter generations, you can see a
significant difference in qualitative writing and application. One
possible reason behind this is, again, the ability to see the work from past
generations. This advantage that the current students have is a heavy
one. We can readily read and evaluate what was said previously, and more
importantly, apply these to give us better quality in our reports.
Depth
Like the quality aspect, depth is much greater in our reports than they
were previously. Aside from the ability to read other the generation's
reports, I think a lot has to do with the professor and his expectations
of the students. Since he's been through and witnessed the trials and
tribulations of all of the generations, my professor
knows what is capable of our online reports and then pushes us to achieve
that level.
Richness
Richness is similar to depth and quality in that our reports are no
longer acceptable if it doesn't meet the standards that my professor sets
for us. Tough, but answerable report questions are given to us, and we
see to it that they receive the best effort that we can put forth. The
result? Reports with great richness to them.
Scholarship
Again, to achieve the level that our papers reached, our reports were
pushed to its limits and never laid to rest. Thus bringing forth a quality
paper that is scholarly in nature. As with anything
that seeks constant improvement, our reports were seen to it that
nothing but a high level, scholarly paper was done.
Technique
With this, and the following three measures, there are 6 criteria with
which to define each (1 - links, 2 - navigational buttons, 3 - appearance,
4 - special effects, 5 - an index, and 6 - a table of contents). Some
measures will relate to the criteria more than others.
Technique develops over time. If you don't know anything about HTML-ing,
then you are going to have to start with the basics and work your way
from there. You develop a certain technique and stick with whatever
works best for you. Having web site examples of previous generations, as
well as technological advancements of time sice G1 started, only helped.
We could view the source from the previous students, as well as discover
new applications ourselves on the web. Whatever technique we chose was
the one we followed and succeeded in.
Connectivity
Connectivity had a lot of different meanings for each of us. For one, it
was the ability to connect to the Internet itself. There were many
different levels of connectivity. Some, for reasons unknown, had only the
lab time to work on their web site. Many had to connect from
school, but outside of class time. Others had the luxury of
connecting
from home through a modem. Yet, even here, there were some that could
not connect to the University's congested modem pool or their Service
Provider. And then, there were those who had a dedicated provider with
an instantly accessible connection to the Internet. These individuals
had no problem with connectivity. One can even take connectivity a step
further by thinking about ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital
Network) or ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) possibilities.
Site Integration
Compiling and integrating our pages to make them "fit in" to the general
flow of the entire web site was a big task. Aside from 6 well-written
online reports, we had the difficult task of integrating all of them
together and making the web site work. A main Home page had to encorporate the site, as well having
nicely placed links, special effects, buttons, graphics, and possibly, a
table of contents. All of these had to work together and still keep the
integrity of the web site.
Navigation Capabilities
Closely related to Site Integration was this web site's Navigational
Capabilities. We were pretty lucky to have relatively few pages required
from us, thus making the task of creating an "surfable" web site easier.
As the web site gets bigger, with a huge number of pages, it starts to
get difficult keeping track of every web page and how they interconnect
with one another. Leading a visitor to your web site to a page that
doesn't work or exist is a no-no and should
try to be avoided. Also, making your links and navigational buttons
simple and to a minimum is always good.
To get a better understanding of the Generational Curriculum and what it's all about, one can
read the Introduction to the Community Classroom Generational
Curriculum. From there we can begin to explain this progressive
phenomenon that has been going on since 1975.
Linda Wong from G1 had this
to say about her experiences and anxiety when first starting the
course.
Something that comes along with the package of the G.C. and being online is
having PROBLEMS learning and adapting to the Internet. As with
anything that may be a new experience, there will be problems. Those
who can overcome them are on there way to sheer "netopia." Let's
hear what kinds of problems plagued the students from each generation...
Grant Harada
of G1 had this problem regarding losing his work to technology.
Managing the G.C. project to ensure long-term survival and success would
be a difficult task to handle. One that my professor is taking the
responsibility for right now. Comprising of a multitude of available
links and resources, with many more to come, the Generational Curriculum
is going to need some kind of reform and management system to not only
ensure the general organizational structure and "navigatability" but
to nurture its development and enhance its chances survival.
