Edupunk is a
do it yourself
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
(DIY) attitude to teaching and learning practices.
Tom Kuntz described edupunk as "an approach to teaching that avoids mainstream tools like PowerPoint and Blackboard, and instead aims to bring the rebellious attitude and DIY ethos of ’70s bands like The Clash to the classroom."
Many instructional applications can be described as DIY education or ''edupunk''.
The term was first used on May 25, 2008, by
Jim Groom in his blog,
and covered less than a week later in the
Chronicle of Higher Education.
Stephen Downes
Stephen Downes (born April 6, 1959) is a Canadian philosopher and commentator in the fields of online learning and new media. He has explored and promoted the educational use of computer and online technologies since 1995. He gave the 2004 Bunti ...
, an
online education theorist and an editor for the ''
International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning'', noted that "the concept of edupunk has totally caught wind, spreading through the blogosphere like wildfire".
Aspects
Edupunk has risen from an objection to the efforts of government and
corporate interests
Corporatocracy (, from corporate and el, -κρατία, translit=-kratía, lit=domination by; short form corpocracy) is an economic, political and judicial system controlled by corporations or corporate Interest group, interests.
The concept ...
in reframing and bundling
emerging technologies
Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include older technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies ar ...
into ''
cookie-cutter'' products with pre-defined application—somewhat similar to traditional
punk ideologies.
The reaction to corporate influence on education is only one part of edupunk, though. Stephen Downes has identified three aspects to this approach:
* Reaction against
commercialization of learning
*
Do-it-yourself attitude
* Thinking and learning for yourself
Examples
An example of edupunk was the
University of British Columbia's course "
Wikipedia:WikiProject Murder Madness and Mayhem" experiment of creating articles on
Wikipedia in spring 2008, "(having) one’s students as partners and peers."
A video clip illustrating an edupunk approach, produced by Tony Hirst at the Open University in the UK, on 8 June 2008, illustrated how quickly the edupunk concept has been adopted outside North America.
A website set up by Australian educators illustrates how edupunk spread,
and a presentation by
Norm Friesen
Norm Friesen (born March 21, 1966) is Professor in Educational Technology at Boise State University.
Norm Friesen studied German Literature, Secondary Education, and Communication at the Johns Hopkins University, University of Alberta and Simon F ...
of
Thompson Rivers University identifies a number of possible intellectual precursors for the movement.
Hampshire College,
Evergreen State College,
Marlboro College
Marlboro College was a private college in Marlboro, Vermont. Founded in 1946, it remained intentionally small, operating as a self-governing community with students following self-designed degree plans culminating in a thesis. In 1998 the colle ...
,
New College of Florida
New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...
, and
Warren Wilson College are collegiate institutions imbued with edupunk ideology.
See also
*
Democratic education
*
Self-directed learning
*
Student-centered education
*
Unschooling
*
Anarchistic free school
*
Critical pedagogy
*
Autodidacticism
*
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Notes
References
*.
*.
*.
External links
*
*
*{{Cite web, title=An Edupunk Manifest made in Argentina , author=Catedra Datos y Digicom , work=
anifiesto Edupunk, date=July 2010 , url=http://dialogica.com.ar/edupunk/edupunk-manifest/ , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723033026/http://dialogica.com.ar/edupunk/edupunk-manifest/ , archive-date=2012-07-23
Academic terminology
Alternative education
DIY culture
Education theory