There are some issues raised by Ron's paper which have concerned me for a long time, but they are very naive. I'm only committing to pixels at this stage because time's running out.
It was George Bernard Shaw who coined the phrase: "He that can, does; he that cannot, teaches" To which, over time, wags have added: "...and he that cannot teach, teaches teachers." And by extension: "He who can't do any of these things, does research."
(Yes, GBS was notoriously sexist and politically incorrect)
I wonder whether there are any instances of IT Research which have had the effect of either improving the lot of the downtrodden masses or lightening the almost insupportable burden on today's teachers?
And if the purpose of a research project is not going to help me as a teacher, why should I take any notice of it?
By this I do not include developments (from people who in GBS's terms "do"), such as great television programs, well-designed and written books, stimulating computer software, or even colored chalk. As a teacher I know that my students like variety, stimulation, changes of pace, a break between classes. I don't need to read a series of duplicated double-blind studies to tell me that what seems to work in my class (or doesn't) is promoting learning (or not).
I might like to know why. But with a little digging around and asking other teachers and trying out this and that (a technique now blessed with the name "Action Research") I can work this out for myself. Why should I read Educational Technology Research & Development (ETR&D) to find the latest bodice-ripping revelations in the "no significant difference scandal" or a breathless meta-analysis expose of 200 studies into CBT? Or Ron's research project for that matter?
Of course, this is a naive and ludicrous position to take and I deserve to be flamed for it. But Ron, I have six classes tomorrow and it didn't grip me. The thing which rules the lives of most teachers (airline pilots, students, plumbers) is self-interest.
Would it be honest to admit--here in cyberspace--that the purpose of most academic research in IT is also self-interest? Namely the gaining of higher degrees and the preservation of empires; and the only people interested in the results are those who can either feed off it, or plagiarize it (a big issue in Hong Kong), or demolish it for their own advantage?
Imagine if plumbers produced the kind of work we see in the research section of ETR&D.
There's a Peter Weir film called The Plumber (from a story by Rhyll McMaster) in which the harassed housewife opens the bathroom door to find an elaborate and dripping construction of "U," "S," and "elbow" bends filling the entire room--the grinning plumber making the final adjustment with his big wrench (apologies to Robert Tennyson).
"Whaddya think, lady?" he asks--proud as an IT researcher with a citation in ETR&D.