As the discussion leader for this week, it is expected that I consider the postings for the day and draw together some common threads to stimulate further discussion and interactivity.
To this point it appears that the main things on peoples' minds are the demise of ADCIS and whether it is possible to program multimedia. At first, I had difficulty establishing what these questions have to do with the topic of assessing the relevancy of contemporary CBL research but deeper probing revealed that these are in fact quite sensible questions and worthy of further discussion.
[quoting Sims, 17 Mar 95] Those with gray hairs and yellow teeth will always remember the continued claims that new technology will solve all educational problems. I say BEWARE. And anyway, once we are all ensnared by the web, it all be a different ball game.
Rod makes the suggestion that there is a connection between age and dental condition on one's attitude to CBL. Furthermore he sees members of the Arachnid family influencing activity in this field and makes passing reference to the cricket and baseball discussion of earlier times. What Rod is doing in this statement is clearly indicating that further continuation of this line of discussion is totally futile and we should all be thinking about more important things like the topic for this week! Thanks Rod.
[quoting All, 18 Mar 95] I must wonder if a better question than whether it was relevant since instructors weren't interested, might be: should the assessment of the programmers be modified to include more conceptual understanding of programming as well as syntactical knowledge, the instruction modified to provide that, and, if so, how to involve the community of instructors in doing so?
In following this train of thought Mark, you can still fall for the trap of judging a need for change in places where stakeholders are quite content with the status quo. You, I, and many others might consider this a question worthy of inquiry but it would still run the risk of being seen to be irrelevant by the people for whom the answer is intended. My original concerns still remain, and that is how do you tell in advance that the research you are seeking to do is needed and meets the needs of the audience for whom it is intended?
In the hope of commencing some on-line discussion that is relevant to the current topic, I once again ask readers whether they can point to any research in which they are, or have been, involved that they think meets some criteria of relevance and need. When we identify research that is relevant and meaningful and can demonstrate the means by which these judgments can be made, we may be moving some way along the path of meeting our own needs and those of the community whom we serve.