I an concerned about the videos in thing 2. They all give various statistics but the first two do not provide any bibliography to back them up. the third has a bib but it list 5 sources, four of which are not primary sources in any stretch of imagination and the one that is to a reviewed site (Pew Internet & American Life Study) takes you to a page that informs you that it provides raw data but you have to have and be able to use SPSS to down load and analyse the data. This is not really an acceptable reference.
One of the references Fisch, K is just a blog talking about video #2.
In other words there is not way to check any of the statistics or claims made in the videos. This is a disturbing trend I see with Web 2.0, fact checking seems optional ye the video clips we saw were clearly developed to impact thinking and persuade. One might argue that they are just meant to start conversations. That is bogus starting conversations with “facts” that may or may not be correct is a very dubious practice.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great questions, JP.
ReplyDeleteHere is a blog post detailing the making of
A Vision of Students Today
In The Machine is Us/ing Us most of the references can be caught by pausing the video and looking carefully at the screenshots. All of the information in that one was taken directly from articles on the web.
Sources for Did You Know by Karl Fisch can be found on the shifthappens wiki
I love it when the author makes my point for me. In his blog http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/03/over-two-million-served.html Karl Fisch says the following:
ReplyDeleteSlides 19-21: China number one English speaking country/ship every single U.S. job to China they would still have a labor surplus. Data is second hand and therefore shaky, relevance is good. The impression I was again going for was simply that there are a lot of folks out there who would like to work, a lot of folks that up until now maybe haven't had the same chance that students in the U.S. had. I wanted my staff to think about that and what it meant for how we were preparing our students. Even if the data turn out to not be completely accurate, I think it’s close – and the point and relevance remains the same. I give myself a pass on this one.
He says "Even if the data turn out to not be completely accurate, I think it’s close ..." and then he says "and the point and relevance remains the same" So.... Even is the data that he admits is second hand and there for unverifiable is wrong it does not matter the relevance of the data is ok? What a Crock. If the data is correct is t is relevant, if it is not then it is CRAP period.
I checked most of his Sources. If he had turned this in in my Graduate Research class He would have received a F.
But this undocumented video went Viral. It has influenced numerous individuals. That used to be called propaganda and was shunned by right thinking people. Now it is look at as the coolest thing going.
Much of what "takes off" on the internet is some ones quick rambling that is not revised or validated but is taken a truth.
We are loosing the filter that the editing and publishing world used to provide. I realize that that filter at times kept things of the public stage but it did provide some control.