Forget Esoteric, Let’s Get Practical.

We need writers, photographers, audiographer (My new word for a person recording sounds. Is there a better word for this?) and other content provider to focus on our schools. I want this to be based in and around Pittsburgh but anyone is welcomed to bring issues to the table.

What is going on in our schools is a mystery. I may know a few things about my daughter’s school but I know nothing of anyone else’s school. The same is true for most people. How did the PTO/PTA meeting go? What was the assembly about? Who got elected as school president? Did a teacher or administrator stop working suddenly?

That last question can raise some issues of defamation and libel. So we should respect the privacy and reputation of people. After all, most of these people are not public figures. But if they’re elected officials they’re fair game.

Other things we might want to know is the condition of your schools. Working bathrooms? Security official arrest anyone?

Lets start out with something to focus on covering. It's up to anyone though to determine what is news. There will be some rule to deterimine appropriate content but just a few.

Borrowing from My Missourian, a citizen journalism project, is a distinct possiblity. The rules are:

• No personal attacks
• No profanity
• No nudity
• No attacks on race, creed, or religion

Post a comment to further this discussion.

Media Technology and PeaceMaker

I finally finished proofreading/minor editing a game called PeaceMaker.

This was truly a labor of love. I say this for three reasons.

One – An engaging game that seriously informs and educates the player to peacefully resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is enlightening and moving.

Secondly – Getting a chance to work on the only computer ‘game’ that I would ever seriously play in my adult life was an experience I couldn’t pass. It’s like being an extra in a “Citizen Kane” or a Storm Trooper in “Star Wars,” but a documentary. It was small part but still very cool.

Third - The guys in the company have a thing called a “crawler” and are reading this right now.

Crawler? What the heck is it? It is an automated search that looks for links or other information on the web. So the guys at ImpactGames can find out who’s writing about PeaceMaker using a crawler. I never heard of it until they told me. (Hi, Joe, Asi and everyone in the office.) What a smart bunch of guys! One could expect nothing less from the company that will bring you this game on February 1^st.

The crawler is a new peice of media technology, to me anyway. Boy, these really are interesting time. Reading about fact-based, conflict resolution, video games on a blog being searched by crawlers. Never could have imagined. But here's more about the game.

Playing PeaceMaker taught me more about the conflict in the first thirty minutes then all the news reports I read, watched and heard in my entire life. I’m saying this as a journalism, mass communication master’s student.

This is the main reason I offered to help proofread the content. If you haven’t checked out PeaceMaker’s website please do it now or the rest of this blog becomes harder to follow.

I was so impressed how well “interacting” with this game taught me information according to my personal logical dictates. Media technology transformed the learning experience. In other words, I wasn’t merely passively reading the history of the conflict. I was playing with history to imagine our future. By playing I learned as a child learns by playing. We need to interact/play to see what works and what fails. This is how we make sense of the world.

Child-like playing was how we learned to understand and get along with classmates. We didn't read about our peers. Perhaps adults playing/interacting with game based on actual history and up-to-date news we learn something about our global affairs.

So many other were also impressed with the game, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Reuters, and the list go on.

Cynicism might make you think I’m biased because I worked on the game. However it’s the other way around. I wanted to volunteer my time helping because I thought the game was amazingly impressive.

So now the media technology part of the blog.

Sometime the etymology of a word is worth studying. Media is plural of medium, in Latin. “Of course,” you might say. But in terms of communication it literally can mean, “All the thing in the middle or between us and the others.” In a sense, news, books, movies and words are technologies bridging us to others. Actually in hindsight… read the up-coming blog to continue this esoteric topic.

I think this PeaceMaker should stand on its own. To anyone that seen “Battle of Algiers” this is the video game equivalent with more facts.

(If you see a misspelling here or in the game that’s my fault, sorry. Leave a message here; don’t bother those guys at ImpactGames they’re really busy.)

Rational Discussions

I'm considering adding "rational" to the mission statement. Some are asking to themselves, "Is he crazy? What about tradition?" Perhaps this kind dramtic change with such high stakes will keep you reading. I'm sure the title scared away the weak of heart.

My reply is that we're not here to support dogma. I can hear the gasps and sighs of disbelief.

Since rational will be hard to define this might build the tension needed to maintain readers. In other words, there nothing like calling another person "irrational" to get a good fight going. Really, try it sometime.

Everyone thinks they are behaving rationally. Just like everyone thinks they're a good driver. Try this one too. Go ahead and ask the next car owner whether they're a good driver. Whether they drive too slow or lost their license from speeding or crashed numerous times, most people truly think they're the good driver.

Rational is not even subjective but people perceive themselves to be rational even when no one really is rational. How can we as humans be truly rational? Don't we all have a few things we value or believe in that we can't really explain? If we can't explain or express it, then we can hardly be rational about it.

However, that doesn't mean we can't have a rational discussion about things. In other words, once we start discussing a topic and someone say, "Well, that's just what I believe" then reason stops. We have crossed over into the land of metaphysics. Of course we can talk rationally about metaphysics but things inside the metaphysical just "is."

People might believe I'm attacking faith or religion. Let me make this clear. Faith and religion can be rational. There is no inherent contradiction between faith and reason.

So lets tie this with citizen journalism and education news. No one will be the judge of rational and irrational. I just hope people will keep “rational” in mind when writing about education.

My personal belief is that schools should teach rational thinking. Let faith be taught outside of schools. Not that there is no place for faith in America but simply not in our schools. Public schools should develop the mind. I believe, for an aesthetic reason not a rational reason, that education is about logic and proof.

Some may ask, “How can you teach morality without faith?” Love and caring can be rational, in fact it might be even better when understanding is involved. But this is getting way off the subject.

Like I wrote earlier, “rational" can cause a lot of tension and drama. Hopefully this drama will spice up the topic of education.

For a quick update: I'm still reading a bunch of articles and researching “citizen journalism.” This is just transparency in the strategy of hopefully getting and retaining readers.

What’s your thought? Please leave a comment; maybe we’ll start a dialogue.

News vs. Policy analysis

Again, another exciting and sensationalistic headline. Surely every one is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to read the sizzling drama in the following words.

Two great sources of information battle it out to give YOU empowering knowledge. Which shall win?

News… because that’s what I primarily want to do. (And my advisor told me to.) Eventually, policy analysis would come into play.

Right now this blog is helping me form the concept of running a citizen journalism website devoted to local education. Again another thrilling adventure story jumping out of the screen. Sorry for the sarcasm I’ll stop it now.

It would seem the “news” is something everyone can cover. See it and write about it. On the other hand, policy analysis would take a lot research and intellectual talent. I’m not up for that anytime soon. I doubt anyone would just jump up and take this task on without any pay right, so this won’t happen. (See, there absolutly never a need for sarcasm...doh.)

Students, parents, teachers and administrators could report an original breaking story. Perhaps they would try to keep their biases out. Note I don’t write “objective.” These stories will be posted and each would have a discussion board attached so everyone could dialogue on the topic.

That seems like a good start for the news aspect of this project. But I imagine more than just news. Policy analysis and wiki/community defined terms related to education.

I touched on policy analysis so let’s move on to the wiki thing for a moment. An anecdote explains this well:

Teachers, according to state legislation, must live accordingly to community morale standards. Otherwise they can be fired. One teacher in Austin got fired for some artistic photos of her half nude. But how can we define what the whole community believes to be “moral.” Perhaps a wiki can help. Most likely not but it can’t hurt. At least we might get some intelligent discussion on the matter. And if not, intelligent at least public discussion.

I would like to get in to Habermas’ concept of “Public Sphere” but that could get so exhilarating it might be obscene.

Again let’s read what you have to say. I would love to read something about possible news stories written by the public.

"Community of Citizens" - Adventure and Excitement, not really

There is something about both word "citizen" and "community" that rings hollow. Perhaps the words are overused to point they have become banal and hackneyed. The words lost any luster they might once have had.

The only time I can imagine the word "citizen" used with any power is from some movie. This image is buried deep in my mind. Caesar is standing on a balcony in front of tens of thousands of Romans. "Citizens of Rome," he would say and the masses would roar with cheers. Where this memory is conjured from I have no idea. But I see it clear as day.

Today I hear "citizen" and my eyes roll. I feel like I'm in social studies class being taught other cliche's such as duty and responsibility. "Community" gives me the same feeling but with a claustrophobia of provincialism surrounded by white picket fences.

“Denizen of our district.” That doesn’t seem to work either. Though denizen seems more appropriate than citizen when referring to a school. After all, one doesn’t need to hold citizenship to attend public schools. (I mean that in a good way)

Why worry about the connotations when the denotative functions of these words suffice? Well, because there is such competition to get peoples attention. I’m afraid “Citizen Journalism” and "Local Education News" won’t grab people’s imagination.

Does anyone have a better phrasing? Right now “Our Schools” is a name I’m tinkering with. Post a comment and write what you think.

Architecture of Citizen Journalism

I’d like to make an analogy of this project and building a structure.

Right now I have a rough idea of what the finished building should look like. It’s large and practical. It can house offices and as well as personal space. It will probably even have a bathroom covered in graffiti.

I’m still surveying the land. Right now there are no other structures in the area and the ground is rough and hard. But the weather might be turning for the better and ground breaking will better in the spring.

That’s just the beginning. The foundation will have to be solid. We’re talking three-foot thick wall of solid information. Plumbing the flow of information and electricity to power citizen journalist and readers will be a major consideration.

The entrance will be welcoming and always open. The rooms will be large and spacious so there’s room for everyone. Hopefully people will stay and mingle. Office space will provide a place for people to get some serious work done, if anyone is so inclined.

Then there’s the lounges where people relax and get things off their minds. And you know how public restrooms are. Filled with graffiti and slander for those who want to rant anonymously, but what can you do.

But I haven’t even drawn the blueprints. Maybe there are other rooms and amenities that you can suggest. Perhaps we can build a library and classrooms.

The tools are there to build this on the Internet. Everything from podcasts, chatrooms, discussion boards, wikis, and a host of other technology can build this space. And most importantly this is not just some virtual space detached from reality.

This will be grounded in the reality of our schools. In a sense it will be right in our backyard or more accurately right at our finger tips.

To beat a dead cliché - if we build it they will come. Or will they? That’s the experiment, but hopefully a worthy one.

PeaceMaker

I've started to work on video game called Peacemaker, editing the written content.

As the title suggest, it is a different type of "war" game. Simplifying the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into a win-able game can show you how foolishly ignorant one can be of such a hot and complex topic.

When I played the test version recently I lost several times in the begining. However the more losses I racked up the more understanding I gained. And by the time I won on the easy setting a rush came over me.

Usually when I win a game I get a rush of domination. This time my hairs stood on end with a mild ecstasy of enlightenment. Breaking the cycle of violence as political leader was a completely different rush.

Their website has links to articles written by Time magazine, New York Times, BBC, Washington Post and many other news outlets. Also they have a compelling video to watch.

Anyway I'm proud to be editing the content of this game. It's a small part but hopefully it'll add some value to the experience.

This is also the reason I'm not able to post as much as I'd like. However, they are helping build a network of socially responsible organizations and individuals. These contact will probably helpful in my current journalistic project.

Esoteric Rantings on School News

I'm interested in news and policies on education that could effect public school sytems. Yet there is a more tenable goal to this project. A change in culture. A subtle change at that.

I don't believe this will be "the" website for those who want to radically change their schools. This is not a call to activism. This is not the life blood of the community. Even the most avid media junky spends a few minutes a day consuming one form of news. This will probably not be monumental to any individual much less to our society.

Maybe this site will be like a rare but reoccuring dream to people. Mostly insignifcant to your everyday reality. Something that hangs in the back of your mind and might inform you of some strange working of your brian. Perhaps, once in a blue moon someone will look at this website and be informed of the strange workings of the public school system.

The school system is like trying to understand why there is war. There are too many reasons for one person to understand the complexties of such a massive social undertaking.

But trying to understand is better than living in complete ingnorance. Maybe those dreams are trying to tell you something.

New Media's Future as History

Imagine getting into you car and plugging in a USB memory-stick or tuning in to a streaming podcast of news concerning your child's school. Perhaps, something strikes you as interesting as you pull into a parking lot before work.

You have a few minutes before a meeting. So, you turn on your portable computer and follow-up on the story. At that moment the reporter happens to be online so you IM him a question. A minute later he responds and can tell you a few links that has that information but doesn't know personally. You save the message for later.

A couple of days later, right before bed, you read a story or few links or heated discussions on the topic or watch an archived video podcast of the last PTA meeting.

This person writes his opinion backed up by some facts thet they found in a different field that's relevant, like psychology.

A week later a person emails him some comments about the posting. They dialogue about it either in private or public. Then they reach both gain some insight to the another perspective.

Perhaps on other days the person tuned into national politics, international news, the on-going war or some other topic that generally has a beat or an editor.

This might be a way people use media.

There would be stories written from professional reporters as well as students, parents, teachers, principals and others. Stories on a particular or related topic that gives multiple perspectives.

A person that hosts a live video news show once a day on local education. A chat room to discuss with other readers real time on the important issue for the nest school board election. Links to official government documents about spending and law. And these documents would have analysis from different sources. A discussion board on all topics.

The one way broadcast of news from the rich and powerfull is ending. You Tube and My Space might later be We Tube and Our Space. It also might compel the government to have more openness in their records by developing a culture that demands online twenty-four hour access.

Now we save all this stuff and it now becomes a first draft of history. A more detailed and inclusive account that the future can use. The archiving of this data is invaluable to future generations.

The news as well as history can now be written by everyone not just the winners.

School Reporting by Students

What if student wrote about the curriculum at school? Maybe they could write a report on the quality of school lunches? Not merely their opinion of the subjects but their attempt to do some objective reporting on what they are learning.

Imagine a reporter at our schools telling us what goes on inside the school house gates. Stories not just about the budget or some controversial student expulsion or teacher misconduct. We might actually learn about the day to day running of the school.

But is it possible? What will be the quality of reporting? Won't it be biased? And thousands of other questions. I believe it is possible to some degree and an worthy experiment on democracy.

One question I hope to obviate is, "Won't this be like rate my Teacher?" No, because I will try to moderate and edit it. Isn't that censorship? Yes an no. In the same way an editor censors his reporters, minimally.

I will attempt to post all stories from student reporters. However, I will attempt to put them into some order either by technology or personal judgement. In other words, stories that are contain libelous or defamatory statement would have to be edited, just like traditional journalism. However if the story is just of poor reliability or structure it might just go into the "back pages."

This is a suggestion and I want to see what your opinions might be? I will personally respond and post all questions and comments to evolve the discussion.