Following Your Passions: Hacker Culture as Model for Learning
Culture- a : the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon (hu)man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b : the customary beliefs, social forms,and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group c : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or
corporation (webster, http://www.webster.com)
The Open Model Philosophy
According to the hackers' "jargon file," a web site dedicated to the definition and promotion of hacker culture, [1]the hacker ethic is the belief that "information-sharing is for a powerful positive good." That powerful positive good is part of what I believe sustains any culture. For the hacker today, defined as:
1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable
systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.
2.One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.
3. A person capable of appreciating hack value.
4. A person who is good at programming quickly.
5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1
through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)
6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an
astronomy hacker, for example.
7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.
8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence password hacker', `network hacker'. The correct term for this sense is cracker. (Jargon file)
Information wants to, and should be free. Hackers therefore, according to Eric Raymond, self-styled Hacker guru, strive to share. For the hacker in the past, the thirst to learn was hindered by the bureaucratic controls of an Institution; frustrated, hackers felt there should be a reciprocal exchange of knowledge. This ideology stemmed from the fact that computers were once private systems, they were tools not shared nor accessible by the public. Information about people- their statistics- was stored in government and corporate databases, a fact that could easily generate a paranoid fear. Until the advent of the Internet, the hacker mistrust was indeed criminal if acted upon, since private systems would have to be entered illegally. (Rascal_200)
Of course the Free Information ideal is at odds with many- consider copyright and proprietary software laws- and the ìquest for knowledgeî still gives the Hacker a bad name. After many sensational security breaks and dissemination of computer viruses, mass media redefined the Hacker as the creature lurking behind computer monitors, to whom we all are prey. [1]
Whether or not a hacker is good person or not, and whether they, like others can be out of control in their wants, their acts do not negate the importance of their core belief, namely that there is a struggle- Authority vs. Power- for Information. Not unlike Deweyís and others belief that a successful democratic society rises from the education of its members, the hackerís Open Model ethic promotes societal good will though the act of sharing, throughthe use of a Gift Culture [1] where here- disk space, network bandwidth, computing power- is abundant; (thus software, scripting techniques, web based information) should remain free and serve as a tool for learning.[1]
Case Study
HCCC's Internet Academy (www.ia.herkimer.edu) has grown from three classes offered at its inception in 1997, to more than 100 courses, 13 two-year degree programs and two one-year certificate programs that can be completed entirely online. Part of the State University of New York Learning Network, the Internet Academy provides a registration ìstorefront for prospective students, recruits and trains faculty for online pedagogy with one and three-day workshops, and acts as an information source for HCCC program inquiries. (Montano)
With a Spring 2001 enrollment of 1,736; the Internet Academy student learns in an asynchronous web environment, which means: The instructor ìdesignsî his/her class program- inserts content into web based templates 1. The student posts responsive content: tests, essay, multiple choice answers, to predesignated web page form fields, that are 2. submitted, upon pressing the submit button, to a database. 3. The submission triggers a response web page that signals the transmittance of the content to the instructor, 4. who accesses the information from the database housing the content. This pause between instructor and student is what is meant by asynchronous.
As an instructor and designer of instructional web pages, I have found the following to be true for both students and instructors, involved in the asynchronous environment provided by the SUNY Learning Network:
Free Information
No longer are students bound by the distance of the library, or the cost of a text book. The Internet in the spirit of the hacker Open Model offer limitless ways to find and research a topic. The use of web based learning modules, where relevant sources are encouraged to be found on the Internet, make the learning process an obsession in that the student keeps looking for the complete answer, rather than regurgitating the information offered from one textbook, a book the student already couldnít afford, and a handful of dated texts from the local library.
The Lack of Person
Critics charge that online learning is not as useful to the student as is the classroom. Instructors question whether they can best guide a student without the benefit of personal contact. Personal psychological contact or advantages can mean: body language, perceived tone of voice, gestures, all points which allow an instructor to determine whether the material taught is received and ìdigestedî or understood. For the student who cannot gain the personal feel from the professor, not knowing/seeing the professor puts an ambiguous tone upon the learning process- since one can only ìhearî the printed word offered to them. Also the student can be venerated or punished by the instructor since the student can only articulate his/her thoughts within their restrictions as a writer. While words like Wow, are encouraging to students when they receive their graded essay, one always wonders what the professor really thinks, and many believe they canít ascertain that without seeing. Either way the uncertainty over performance can hinder the learning process.
Technological Interference
While it is incumbent upon the student to learn how to use technology, certain realities of internet connection and use ability still exist. Slow connections lead to work loss, e.g. Learning Modules- The copying and pasting of essays into form fields can at times result in lost data since the student can click too often or too quick while submitting the answers, crash their browsers, and lose their work. Frustration is never a good ingredient.
For the instructor doubtful of technology. ìHow can I teach art history onlineî said a colleague, it is imperative to reform teaching methods to fit what Shor and others called learner centered teaching. Online the teacher does not lecture but rather acts as a guide bysupplying not only reading lists, assignments, and tests but also, hopefully: by providing supplemental web pages that contain relevant website links, supporting images, and provocative questions, that force the student to research. By participating in web based discussion boards with students the professor doesnít lurk as an observer and instead places him/herself ìon the lineî by writing an opinion and thus answering to scrutiny.
Timeliness
Although studentsí work should be replied to within 24 hours, at times it is not possible because the professor is either overworked or neglectful. This phenomena has nothing to do with the technology. Although it does feed a want for discovering practical solution to providing synchronous or real time online learning.
The Written Word
The overall advantages of Online learning is the emphasis, by nature of the current web medium, placed upon on writing. Mandatory discussions, where some 40% of the grade is derived from message board participation, are easily evaluated by the instructor since î threadsî are documented. Here too the student must provide pertinent and articulate written thoughts to be counted and applied towards grades. Meanwhile the threat of flaming a discussion member keeps the studentís thoughts relatively coherent, polite and articulate.
e.g. An Art Appreciation module on Women artists led Tad to say ìIím glad women were given the chance to make art...î this remark led Karen to retort, ìre-state your words... women werenít given the opportunity, they fought/earned the opportunity...î from 1/08/02 Hu 115 Art Appreciation discussion board thread.
However consider the lack of animation to a story/lecture which can make the learning process memorable. The professor is invaluable when he/she is a good story teller. And as we all know, it is difficult to write instructions for the making of a peanut and butter jelly sandwich- try explaining statistics, or art. Although criticism may still be founded in the lack of the instructorís effort to communicate through writing, because of poor articulation or effort, the intimacy of the act - written contact, the act of writing and the evidence provided (everybody keeps important emails as evidence) from it has much power.
Putting Thoughts into Practice with Room to Grow
A student of mine was hired upon my vigorous recommendation. The reasons for her hire were borne in her design sense, willingness to learn, thoroughness and work ethic. She is in charge with my guidance, of the design of an online tutoring web site. She is full of ideas, all are hindered by our lack of technology. Wouldnít it be wonderful to have video streaming for real time lectures? Why canít we have tutors answer queries upon immediate receipt? Why is there a 24-72 hours turn around time for students seeking an answer? (Kor, Self, and Trait described a technological solution to these elements Socratic dialogue [1] in their technical paper offered to International Conference for Computer education/SchoolNet)
The obvious answers are resources.
The spirit of the ideology of free information, articulated by the hacker culture is vested in everyone using a computer today. We expect to be unfettered by our technology and yet we still are everyday. As long as we keep mindful of maintaining this spirit of free information, the exchange and sharing of it will spur the necessary advancements to make the learning process more fluid and rewarding. If the desire is there, the way, the resources will be found.
References
Ah-Lian Kor, John Self, Ken Strait . Pictorial Socratic Dialogue and Conceptual Change. December 2001. http://www.icce2001.org/cd/pdf/P02/UK002.pdf
Montano, Katherine. A New York State Leader in Online Learning October 15, 2001
http://www.herkimer.edu/news/old_releases/communitycollegeweek.htm
Rascal_200_ Computer Hacking: an Evolving Culture accessed December 26, 2001. http://freddyisbackfromthedead.freeyellow.com/page20.html
Raymond, Eric. The Jargon File. http://www.jargonfile.com/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html September 1997
[1] The Jargon File- http://www.jargonfile.com/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html - a public domain web site created by Eric Raymond maintained by him and others wishing to contribute- exemplifies the hacker ethic which tends to connote membership in the global community defined by the Internet.
[1] New Breed Drowning out Hacker culture. Weld Pond maintains that the "script kiddies" self-indulgent wannabees who apply pre-canned scripts to attack computers are giving the hacker a bad image. whttp://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2605327,00.html
[1] The Hacker Milieu as Gift Culture. Eric Raymond here contends that the gift culture is an adaptation to abundance. Here social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away.
herehttp://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/homesteading/x170.html
[1] Operation Clambake, www.xenu.net is a Norwegian website dedicated to educating the public about the Church of Scientology. When the Churches ìsecretî documents were moved into the public domain after a court trial, the documents were quickly copied and posted to the Internet by hackers. Traditional Hacker Ethics. Jonas Lowgren. http://www.animationedshus.eksjo.se/Jonas.Lowgren/hackersultures/tradeethics.htm
[1] Pictorial Socratic Dialogue and Conceptual Change. Ah-Lian Kor, John Self, Ken Strait. A dual way communication between instructor and learner. The instructor does not teach a subject by direct exposition instead the learnerís belief is challenged though a series of questions which lead him/her to reflect on his/her beliefs.
corporation (webster, http://www.webster.com)
The Open Model Philosophy
According to the hackers' "jargon file," a web site dedicated to the definition and promotion of hacker culture, [1]the hacker ethic is the belief that "information-sharing is for a powerful positive good." That powerful positive good is part of what I believe sustains any culture. For the hacker today, defined as:
1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable
systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.
2.One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.
3. A person capable of appreciating hack value.
4. A person who is good at programming quickly.
5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1
through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)
6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an
astronomy hacker, for example.
7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.
8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence password hacker', `network hacker'. The correct term for this sense is cracker. (Jargon file)
Information wants to, and should be free. Hackers therefore, according to Eric Raymond, self-styled Hacker guru, strive to share. For the hacker in the past, the thirst to learn was hindered by the bureaucratic controls of an Institution; frustrated, hackers felt there should be a reciprocal exchange of knowledge. This ideology stemmed from the fact that computers were once private systems, they were tools not shared nor accessible by the public. Information about people- their statistics- was stored in government and corporate databases, a fact that could easily generate a paranoid fear. Until the advent of the Internet, the hacker mistrust was indeed criminal if acted upon, since private systems would have to be entered illegally. (Rascal_200)
Of course the Free Information ideal is at odds with many- consider copyright and proprietary software laws- and the ìquest for knowledgeî still gives the Hacker a bad name. After many sensational security breaks and dissemination of computer viruses, mass media redefined the Hacker as the creature lurking behind computer monitors, to whom we all are prey. [1]
Whether or not a hacker is good person or not, and whether they, like others can be out of control in their wants, their acts do not negate the importance of their core belief, namely that there is a struggle- Authority vs. Power- for Information. Not unlike Deweyís and others belief that a successful democratic society rises from the education of its members, the hackerís Open Model ethic promotes societal good will though the act of sharing, throughthe use of a Gift Culture [1] where here- disk space, network bandwidth, computing power- is abundant; (thus software, scripting techniques, web based information) should remain free and serve as a tool for learning.[1]
Case Study
HCCC's Internet Academy (www.ia.herkimer.edu) has grown from three classes offered at its inception in 1997, to more than 100 courses, 13 two-year degree programs and two one-year certificate programs that can be completed entirely online. Part of the State University of New York Learning Network, the Internet Academy provides a registration ìstorefront for prospective students, recruits and trains faculty for online pedagogy with one and three-day workshops, and acts as an information source for HCCC program inquiries. (Montano)
With a Spring 2001 enrollment of 1,736; the Internet Academy student learns in an asynchronous web environment, which means: The instructor ìdesignsî his/her class program- inserts content into web based templates 1. The student posts responsive content: tests, essay, multiple choice answers, to predesignated web page form fields, that are 2. submitted, upon pressing the submit button, to a database. 3. The submission triggers a response web page that signals the transmittance of the content to the instructor, 4. who accesses the information from the database housing the content. This pause between instructor and student is what is meant by asynchronous.
As an instructor and designer of instructional web pages, I have found the following to be true for both students and instructors, involved in the asynchronous environment provided by the SUNY Learning Network:
Free Information
No longer are students bound by the distance of the library, or the cost of a text book. The Internet in the spirit of the hacker Open Model offer limitless ways to find and research a topic. The use of web based learning modules, where relevant sources are encouraged to be found on the Internet, make the learning process an obsession in that the student keeps looking for the complete answer, rather than regurgitating the information offered from one textbook, a book the student already couldnít afford, and a handful of dated texts from the local library.
The Lack of Person
Critics charge that online learning is not as useful to the student as is the classroom. Instructors question whether they can best guide a student without the benefit of personal contact. Personal psychological contact or advantages can mean: body language, perceived tone of voice, gestures, all points which allow an instructor to determine whether the material taught is received and ìdigestedî or understood. For the student who cannot gain the personal feel from the professor, not knowing/seeing the professor puts an ambiguous tone upon the learning process- since one can only ìhearî the printed word offered to them. Also the student can be venerated or punished by the instructor since the student can only articulate his/her thoughts within their restrictions as a writer. While words like Wow, are encouraging to students when they receive their graded essay, one always wonders what the professor really thinks, and many believe they canít ascertain that without seeing. Either way the uncertainty over performance can hinder the learning process.
Technological Interference
While it is incumbent upon the student to learn how to use technology, certain realities of internet connection and use ability still exist. Slow connections lead to work loss, e.g. Learning Modules- The copying and pasting of essays into form fields can at times result in lost data since the student can click too often or too quick while submitting the answers, crash their browsers, and lose their work. Frustration is never a good ingredient.
For the instructor doubtful of technology. ìHow can I teach art history onlineî said a colleague, it is imperative to reform teaching methods to fit what Shor and others called learner centered teaching. Online the teacher does not lecture but rather acts as a guide bysupplying not only reading lists, assignments, and tests but also, hopefully: by providing supplemental web pages that contain relevant website links, supporting images, and provocative questions, that force the student to research. By participating in web based discussion boards with students the professor doesnít lurk as an observer and instead places him/herself ìon the lineî by writing an opinion and thus answering to scrutiny.
Timeliness
Although studentsí work should be replied to within 24 hours, at times it is not possible because the professor is either overworked or neglectful. This phenomena has nothing to do with the technology. Although it does feed a want for discovering practical solution to providing synchronous or real time online learning.
The Written Word
The overall advantages of Online learning is the emphasis, by nature of the current web medium, placed upon on writing. Mandatory discussions, where some 40% of the grade is derived from message board participation, are easily evaluated by the instructor since î threadsî are documented. Here too the student must provide pertinent and articulate written thoughts to be counted and applied towards grades. Meanwhile the threat of flaming a discussion member keeps the studentís thoughts relatively coherent, polite and articulate.
e.g. An Art Appreciation module on Women artists led Tad to say ìIím glad women were given the chance to make art...î this remark led Karen to retort, ìre-state your words... women werenít given the opportunity, they fought/earned the opportunity...î from 1/08/02 Hu 115 Art Appreciation discussion board thread.
However consider the lack of animation to a story/lecture which can make the learning process memorable. The professor is invaluable when he/she is a good story teller. And as we all know, it is difficult to write instructions for the making of a peanut and butter jelly sandwich- try explaining statistics, or art. Although criticism may still be founded in the lack of the instructorís effort to communicate through writing, because of poor articulation or effort, the intimacy of the act - written contact, the act of writing and the evidence provided (everybody keeps important emails as evidence) from it has much power.
Putting Thoughts into Practice with Room to Grow
A student of mine was hired upon my vigorous recommendation. The reasons for her hire were borne in her design sense, willingness to learn, thoroughness and work ethic. She is in charge with my guidance, of the design of an online tutoring web site. She is full of ideas, all are hindered by our lack of technology. Wouldnít it be wonderful to have video streaming for real time lectures? Why canít we have tutors answer queries upon immediate receipt? Why is there a 24-72 hours turn around time for students seeking an answer? (Kor, Self, and Trait described a technological solution to these elements Socratic dialogue [1] in their technical paper offered to International Conference for Computer education/SchoolNet)
The obvious answers are resources.
The spirit of the ideology of free information, articulated by the hacker culture is vested in everyone using a computer today. We expect to be unfettered by our technology and yet we still are everyday. As long as we keep mindful of maintaining this spirit of free information, the exchange and sharing of it will spur the necessary advancements to make the learning process more fluid and rewarding. If the desire is there, the way, the resources will be found.
References
Ah-Lian Kor, John Self, Ken Strait . Pictorial Socratic Dialogue and Conceptual Change. December 2001. http://www.icce2001.org/cd/pdf/P02/UK002.pdf
Montano, Katherine. A New York State Leader in Online Learning October 15, 2001
http://www.herkimer.edu/news/old_releases/communitycollegeweek.htm
Rascal_200_ Computer Hacking: an Evolving Culture accessed December 26, 2001. http://freddyisbackfromthedead.freeyellow.com/page20.html
Raymond, Eric. The Jargon File. http://www.jargonfile.com/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html September 1997
[1] The Jargon File- http://www.jargonfile.com/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html - a public domain web site created by Eric Raymond maintained by him and others wishing to contribute- exemplifies the hacker ethic which tends to connote membership in the global community defined by the Internet.
[1] New Breed Drowning out Hacker culture. Weld Pond maintains that the "script kiddies" self-indulgent wannabees who apply pre-canned scripts to attack computers are giving the hacker a bad image. whttp://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2605327,00.html
[1] The Hacker Milieu as Gift Culture. Eric Raymond here contends that the gift culture is an adaptation to abundance. Here social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away.
herehttp://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/homesteading/x170.html
[1] Operation Clambake, www.xenu.net is a Norwegian website dedicated to educating the public about the Church of Scientology. When the Churches ìsecretî documents were moved into the public domain after a court trial, the documents were quickly copied and posted to the Internet by hackers. Traditional Hacker Ethics. Jonas Lowgren. http://www.animationedshus.eksjo.se/Jonas.Lowgren/hackersultures/tradeethics.htm
[1] Pictorial Socratic Dialogue and Conceptual Change. Ah-Lian Kor, John Self, Ken Strait. A dual way communication between instructor and learner. The instructor does not teach a subject by direct exposition instead the learnerís belief is challenged though a series of questions which lead him/her to reflect on his/her beliefs.
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