Dale Spender on distractions...the cybary

Dale of course embraced the idea of distraction as part of computer use. Check out the bean bags and laptops...has anyone actually used them? Could be uncomfortable...

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The cultural consequences of the internet have not yet been acknowledged, Spender feels, and she is preaching them with messianic zeal. The worldwide web changes the whole nature of education. It means looking rather than reading, it means making connections (or playing) rather than studying a finished text, it means being able to access information at any time you want rather than attending lectures at particular places and at certain times. "Print literacy is about following an argument. It's about middle-class values - postpone the gratification until you get to the end. There's no ending online. There's no closure, no linear basis. It's about bringing it in, checking it out, constantly evaluating," says Spender.

To help teachers cope with the very different demands of digital literacy, Spender has developed an online professional development course for educators. The course will be interactive and will train teachers who can then go on to teach others. She has also persuaded the University of Queensland, where she is a professor, to replace its library with a "cybrary", complete with 500 computers and beanbags instead of desks.

More at http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=109876&sectioncode=26

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The University of Queensland Library is still the top link on Google for cybrary by the way, and before you ask, yes , there are some others....

Watched by sabre tooth tigers

A slightly primeval feel to today's entry as I have been remembering an article from of all places The Financial Times I use to hand out during online information training. It explained that the screen refresh rate of computers (this being the 90s) was similar to the eye movements of a predator about to strike. And as a result, looking at the display triggered an atavistic fear response in users; an early warning system from primitive times pumping adrenalin and urging the user (potential victim) to hurl themselves away from danger.

Have you ever felt like that while working on a computer? That the thing was out to get you.

Distraction during the creative process, the man from Porlock, perhaps a more useful technique than we might assume? Not denigrating the power of pure slog but sometimes when you want to catch an idea that is hovering out of reach, maybe flicking through 10 other applications/social networking sites/answering a question about Blake's 7 and even feeling the fear and disruption is exactly what needs to be done.