> From: "Cornah, Deborah" <DEBCO92@psy.soton.ac.uk>
> Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 10:20:46 GMT
>
> 1. Does 'skywriting' promote interaction or isolation between students?
That's an empirical question, and Skywriting is so new that the data
are still coming in, and far from settling the matter yet. For one
thing, we have Hawthorne ("first-time") Effects to allow for; then
there's the question of whether the pattern when Skywriting is brand
new and just catching on (and still unfamiliar, perhaps even aversive
to many) is representative of how things will be once they have settled
down into the steady state.
But here's some data: It promotes both interaction and isolation,
though not necessarily in the same students. There are some who are
afraid (or uninspired) to speak in class, but come into their own in
Skywriting; there are some who shun Skywriting (but some of these do
it a priori, without first giving it a try, to see if they would have
liked it). There are some for whom it becomes an obsession, to the
exclusion of other, face-to-face activities. And there are some
(pathologically shy people) for whom it becomes a substitute for the
face-to-face interactions they always found so stressful.
But you could have asked the same about the phone (and probably gotten
the same answer) -- except phoning is not Skywriting (Chat Radio is
closer)...
I think one can only gain from it, rather than lose (except if one
becomes obsessed with it, to the exclusion of all else): The live
classes are still there for live discussion; one is not happening at
the expense of the other.
Those who are interested in this question might want to look at
"The PostGutenberg Galaxy," If you are reading this in the Web Archive,
click here:
ftp://cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Harnad/harnad91.postgutenberg
or go to the Web and click on 4b in my Home Page:
http://cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/inpub.html
> 2. Will it replace tutorials? Has it? Can it? Should it?
Initially, I think it should supplement rather than replace them; only
if it proves to be better should scaling it up be considered. For my
part, I am just as available for T3 interaction with my tutees as for T2
interaction. (T2 is the pen-pal version of the Turing Test; T3 is the
Total Turing Test: full, face-to-face, robotic interaction, visual,
auditory, etc.; again, if you are interested, see:
ftp://cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Harnad/harnad94.mind.robot
or go to the Web and click on 4a in my home Page:
http://cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/genpub.html
> 3. Given that a lot of us clearly have things to say about aspects of
> the course(s), why aren't they aired in the lecture room? Is this an
> alternative, or some kind of remedial compromise?
This is a supplement, over and above what is and always has been
available.
> 4. What makes skywriting a turn on/off (delete as appropriate) for people?
Future dissertations will be written on this topic. Sometimes it's
something trivial, like computer-phobia (same thing that keeps people
from word-processors, statistical packages, etc., though it needn't
because, as anyone who has tried it knows, email is different: a lot
more like phoning or writing letters). Sometimes it's something more
profound: Not wishing to expose one's thinking in front of other
people, especially in permanent written form (but this too, is a
reticence that usually quickly vanishes once you have tried it). It is
also a potential compulsion, because some people derive a great sense
of power from being able to grandstand to a vast audience whenever
they wish; it also leads to "flaming," which is a thoroughly modern
form of insult and abuse that happens on the Net where the usual social
cues of face-to-face interaction are absent.
Lots of room for psychologists to study a new medium and its culture
being born...
Chrs, Stevan
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