OLDaily

Public Philosophy Editors on Building the Field
Helen De Cruz, David V. Johnson, Blog of the APA, 2020/12/29

This is a three-part series directed toward editors publishing public philosophy pieces, but it obviously extends to those covering other fields, including ed tech. The series covers questions on pitching,  working with editors, and building the field. I ignored the first (I don't pitch ideas) but it's important for newer writers. I do work with editors quite a lot and found the second useful, and the third covers timely issues of equitable representation and finding your audience.

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Empiricism and rationalism as political ideas?
Martin Lenz, Handling Ideas, 2020/12/29

The history of philosophy is an eternal golden braid, a double helix entwining the twin ideas of empiricism and rationalism. Empiricism is the idea that all knowledge comes from the senses, while rationalism is the idea that all ideas are based in reason and rationality, and the history of philosophy is the interplay between these two ideas. In this short article Martin Lenz explains less clearly than he could how these two ideas also inform the core debates in politics and society. He sort of makes his point, and the discussion is definitely worth consideration.

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Why Maryam Tsegaye’s prizewinning video is so important for online learning: my 12 reasons
Tony Bates, Online learning and distance education resources, 2020/12/29

Maryam Tsegaye, writes Tony Bates, "demonstrates so well many of the educational affordances of video, and shows what a powerful teaching medium video can be when used properly." Now to be clear, there are thousands, maybe even millions, of videos like hers teaching viewers any number of topics. I watch quite a number every day (and in fact had seen this one before Bates's column). What I like about this article, though, is how Bates pulls out of it the factors that make it effective instruction: it's short, clear, has a strong narrative, is concrete, stands on its own, uses humour, makes the subject relevant, and is open access. "It also raises the question of what constitutes ‘academic’ knowledge," writes Bates. "I certainly see the video as a valuable step towards understanding quantum tunnelling."

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The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Could Be Our Standards
Michael Niehoff, Getting Smart, 2020/12/29

This is an interesting idea. Instead of a subject-based approach to curriculum, the proponents recommend a problem-based approach developed around the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG). Now Nicholas Martino's approach - a traveling high school where students live in four countries per year - is impractical for most people, the concept doesn't require global travel to address global issues.

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How mRNA went from a scientific backwater to a pandemic crusher
David Cox, Wired, 2020/12/29

This is less a story about the vaccine and more a story about the academic research behind the vaccine. And it raises questions about a system that demands that you have to obtain funding in order to keep your academic position. “They told me that they’d had a meeting and concluded that I was not of faculty quality,” said Katalin Karikó, the Hungarian immigrant who made the breakthroughs necessary to make mRNA a viable solution. ”When I told them I was leaving, they laughed at me." It makes me wonder how many others are in the same position she was, working doggedly on key problems, unable to support that will come only after they've made the discovery. Image: Wikipedia.

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