Navigating the Flood

revolution

Clay Shirky (2009, Chap. 4) said, "We are living in the middle of the largest increase in expressive capability in the history of the human race," in a revolution in communications tools that eclipses previous revolutions (e.g., the printing press, the telephone, recorded media, radio, television). Further, he posited that increasingly ubiquitous access to internet social media, especially mobile social media, that turns "the former audience" into publishers, and then communities, is spurring a profound, unprecedented restructuring of society itself.

unfiltered

I carry in my pocket right now (it's an iPhone 4 and I'm still trying to figure out why young people keep telling me that it's an OLD device...) access to essentially the sum wisdom, knowledge and understanding of humankind. Also to the flotsam and jetsam of idle adolescent conversation from six years ago. Also contradictory, offensive vitriol on multiple sides of every issue, past, present and speculative. Also fiction parading as fact, and fact that seems fiction. And what's more, I can contribute to the fray--instantly and effortlessly--unfiltered. Just like everyone else. Shirky described this phenomenon as the change from "filter, then publish," the old order, to "publish, then filter," the new order.

not the sage on the stage

As an educator, I find the implications profound, though, I think a little reflection will lead anyone, in any industry or walk of life, to similar conclusions. The sea change, for education, is that dispensing knowledge or information is no longer relevant (see sentence one of paragraph two, above). Filtering, teaching and learning how to critically filter, the information--the fact from fiction, the authoritative from the seemingly authoritative, the credible from the incredible, the appropriate from the inappropriate, the meaningful from the meaningless--becomes primary, and a prerequisite to then critically thinking about, synthesizing, making meaning of, and positively contributing to that information and knowledge.

the ocean is flat

In the old order, information flowed as if in rivers--contained in manageable channels, kept from flooding or drying up by a system of content producers, publishers, editors that acted as dams, and following a predictable and understandable, if limited, course. Ubiquitous access, and "publish then filter" has flooded those rivers and created an undifferentiated ocean of information--another kind of flat world.

Indeed, a restructuring. Without a river to follow, I'm going to need a good compass (or GPS, to be more technologically apropos), to find where I'm headed, and to keep from going in circles. And, you know what? We are all in the same boat.

So my question for the week: what is that compass? 

implications for educational leadership

As a school leader, as well, my responsibility increasingly expands beyond dissemination of information and knowledge to the management of information (accurate or not) disseminated by others--students, teachers, parents, and community members. In my own career, web tools (we have only just begun calling them that) like Facebook, Twitter, and similar services have evolved from being distractions to be policed, to being viable and vital channels of communication and forums for community. This year, our tech system has lifted the block for Facebook access, and instead encouraged an official presence. As Ingvi Hrannar Ómarsson points out in a recent blog post (which I discovered when a colleague posted it to Facebook), embracing mobile computing and social media is a vital step for 21st century schools.

Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. New York: Penguin.