'Hip Happy Prof' teaches over MySpace, bosses protest:
N.C. State Professor Tom Hoban is offering Sociology 395-M, "Social Movements for Social Change," on the popular social networking site that claims to have 100 million active users worldwide. But administrators say it's the wrong space for teaching a university course.
Hoban says he received approval over the summer from his department head to teach via MySpace. But last week, Katie Perry, senior vice provost for academic affairs, told Hoban to move the course to university servers.
Hoban has refused.
"N.C. State's distance education is primarily oriented toward what I would say is pushing information into students' brains and then trying to get them to prove that they've learned it," Hoban says. "I want my students to build relationships, to build friendships and to build trust in one another. No one can show me another tool. I've told the university, if they can show me one, I'll move."
A tenured professor, Hoban is citing academic freedom, saying the university's applications don't include social networking components that are essential to the course. He taught it last year using the university's WebCT Vista site, but found it "impossible" to create social interaction.
Ah, but there is always more - the true reason he is in trouble is because the worst rightwing scum in North Carolina, the John Locke Foundation, does not like his politics:
There's another aspect to controversy over SOC 395-M: the content. Hoban is both a scholar and a proponent of 1960s counterculture. Students are expected to participate in a social movement as part of the course. Hoban's syllabus suggests they pursue issues such as "animal welfare and environmental issues; consumerism and healthier eating; peace in the Middle East and social justice; racial equality and spiritual tolerance; sensible drug policy and medical marijuana."
Then there is Hoban's reputation. He refers to himself as the Hip Happy Professor, and his personal profile on MySpace--which he makes clear is not affiliated with the university--features a background image of pot leaves, reggae music on the audio player and videos of himself and a young woman taking hits of marijuana and singing songs such as Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry."
Last October, a profile of Hoban and his "apologetics course on hippies" ran in Carolina Journal, a publication of the John Locke Foundation, a conservative group that criticizes what it considers to be liberal bias in higher education.
Gotta love the guy! I hope he wins this and I hope his classes are always full!
- Log in to post comments
Far out, dude!~ Oh man, the good old daze, when high tech was an 8-track casette player in the car and a lava lamp that worked...
Damn! Where did I leave that roach clip dude? Hey man, I just noticed man, you got like a BURN HOLE man, in your bell bottoms! That is like so cool!
Hey, pass that over here...Whoa, like this is some killer sh(* man.
So, like do I score an "A" man? That woudl be so COOL!
I'm puzzled as to what sort of "social interaction" he can get with MySpace but couldn't get with WebCT. WebCT provides easy routes for private E-mail-type communications between instructor and student, private E-mail-type communications between individual students, any number of small student groups (both E-mail-type and bulletin-board-type) with any student able to belong to any number of the groups, full class discussions on a bulletin board either with all subjects in the same board or each subject on a separate board, live chats with or without whiteboard capability, and cross-class communications live and bulletin board. All commication can be either anonymous or tagged with the person's real ID. Each student can create his/her own home page with text and pictures. What else is there?
Of course, the entrance to a WebCT course is controlled by the school, which has to enter the identification of each person permitted into the communications network. Is Hoban trying to teach an open course, meaning the university doesn't register (or get paid for) all the students?
And, no, I have no connection at all to WebCT. I have, however, taught courses using it. I'm not so familiar with MySpace, though, and I'm wondering if there is some "social intereaction" ability there that WebCT doesn't have.
Julia said -
And, no, I have no connection at all to WebCT. I have, however, taught courses using it. I'm not so familiar with MySpace, though, and I'm wondering if there is some "social intereaction" ability there that WebCT doesn't have.
From your description of WebCT, there isn't, except for the opening to the "outside" world that MySpace provides. However, it seems like Proffesor Hoban is utilysing the "outside" world of MS with his class. Not to "teach" non-registered students, but to encourage his class to be active in their communities.
Although, he sounds like the type of person who is happy to impart his knowlege to those who are not his "students." Which is the type of teacher I love - as I question and learn a lot from such people, I meet online - and have no formal education to speak of. I am really quite gratefull that so many people have been willing to teach me the things they have. I work as a handyman which is usually fairly challenging - especialy when I am presented with a problem I have never encountered before, but with several years of expierience, I often find this job or that, rather mindless and I take great joy in thinking about and corralating things I have learned about - making obscure connections. Very little is as exciting as excersising my much abused synapsis - pushing them into overdrive.
My experience with WebCT a few years back is that it completely sucks. The discussion boards didn't promote discussion, but instead hindered it. Yes, everything works, in the way a college bureaucrat would suggest it does, but it's an incredibly inelegant, bloated solution that has been implemented far better in many other (free) places.
I am The Leadership Institute's (Morton Blackwell) mailing list, and just got their entire plan for attacking acedemic professors and institutions in the mail. Be happy to send anyone a copy if they would like it - email me at donna at woodka dot com...
Dave Munger said,
"The discussion boards didn't promote discussion, but instead hindered it."
That's interesting. I know a number of people still using WebCT for classes, and if there's a better way, I expect they'd like to hear. Could you say exactly in what way the discussion boards hindered discussion and how MySpace (or another system) avoids that problem?
The WebCT boards are certainly quicker to post messages on than this comment thread is, as it isn't necessary to provide name or E-mail address or other identification (the system always knows who you are), and there's the option for a direct reply that places the reply under the original message without the necessity to quote the original (as I took extra time to name and quote you above so that it's clear to whom I am replying).
I'd appreciate the information and would gladly pass it on, as my friends are all certainly interested in promoting discussion.
I think the big non-technical difference between Myspace and WebCT is openness. MySpace is more open than many WebCT installs. Students and anyone else can make a MySpace page. Yes there are rules but its ease of use and openness allow it to be better moderated and managed than WebCT does in some cases. This is simply because more people take a active roll in open web sites. More people plus more time can equal a better user experience. People feel a since of ownership instead of responsibility. Myspace is fun. WebCT is work.
Younger people are native users of modern social websites. In short they "Get it". Not as many professors understand how to do basic web site stuff. (ex. how to login, how to edit preferences, how to navigate, how to moderate a forum, etc.) This isn't a gross generalization but a daily observation I have.
This is a complex issue. I'm sure there are lots of factors. Maybe we should ask students why they prefer one web site over another. Any students out there reading this who use these sites?