Paul Caron (Taxprof) links to a video of a lecture by Michael Wesch, a professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University.
The lecture is quite interesting, it involves his discussion of some Web 2.0 devices (things like twitter, Youtube, Diigo) that he incorporated into his class in an attempt to get the students more engaged in the learning process. The complaints about the educational structure (from both the students and the faculty) will sound familiar to those involved in legal education.
After watching it though, I wondered whether it had any real application to the legal academy (at least in the core subjects that I teach like basic tax or torts). My initial response was that it looked great and I wish I took a course with him as a professor when I was in college but I wasn't sure it would work in basic tax.
I plan to spend the next few weeks thinking about it though to see if there is some application. I hope there is as anything that better engages the student is a positive but I refuse to use technology just for the sake of using it.
If you have a moment (the video is an hour long), take a look. I plan to post further thoughts on this as the summer progresses but outside input/opinions is greatly appreciated.
3 comments:
Jeff and the rest of the RLR crew:
I've been a fan of Wesch's Web 2.0 work for a long time. I've written about this issue in a two-part series, Law 2.0 and The cathedral and the bazaar.
I too welcome your thoughts. Perhaps we can engage in a collaborative discussion on the features page of The Cardinal Lawyer: Birds of a Feather. I'd love to have Penn State partisans in our flock of friends!
Jim
Jim, do you ever sleep? You have written something on everything. I would love to collaborate on a discussion on this issue and look forward to reading your two part series.
Thanks, Jeff. I've responded to this post on MoneyLaw and Jurisdynamics. I'm sure we'll get a chance to extend the discussion, in one Web 2.0 setting or another.
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