Angels in the architecture

There was an interesting question from the floor during the Plymouth e-Learning Conference 2010 final plenary session. I think it took all those of us on the panel by surprise, but it was nevertheless a question well worth asking. The question went something like this: Will the panel give us their views on whether the internet constrains or liberates spirituality?

The panel gave several different answers, because let's face it, this kind of question is best answered subjectively. Everyone has a personal view on faith and spirituality. I was last to answer, and was searching for a phrase to use. It came quickly to mind in the lyrics of a song by Paul Simon. In the song 'Call me Al' he sings:

He looks around around,
He sees angels in the architecture,
Spinning in infinity,
He says Amen and Hallelujah...

The term 'angels in the architecture' apparently derives from some architectural speak: "This maintains wiggle room as projects advance toward completion, often creating 'an angel in the architecture' to serve as a countermeasure for situations in which 'the devil is in the details.'" From this I was able to form another argument... Flexibility is the designer's best friend and Web 2.0 is surely a flexible, open architecture with a lot of latitude for self-expression and creativity.

I didn't quite know at first where I was going with my angels reference, and wasn't completely aware of the above source at the time, but it seemed appropriate as a response to a question on spirituality, and it crystallised as I spoke, so it must have been subliminal. The angels are not feathered beings of light in this context - they are the affordances of the technology - the interpretations of flexiblility imagined by the user. I developed by answer by quoting from Richard Clark, who argued that all technology is essentially neutral - 'mere vehicles' - in his own words, which simply deliver learning resources to the student, wherever they are. I agree with Clark that all technologies are mere tools, which can be wielded for positively or negatively - that is, for 'good or evil'. My answer to the plenary question was therefore that any person can harness any technology for good or bad, and that includes either the promotion of good spiritually and the building of faith, or as a destructive force to undermine spirituality. A lot of content on the web does appear to be particularly soul-less, and this can be harmful to one's spirit. The angels in the architecture for me are the perceptual expectations each users approaches the tool with. These affordances are the attributes of the tool the user thinks s/he can use for his own purposes. Affordances are an important concept to grasp if we are to better understand how our students use tools such as social networks, blogs and wikis to connect, create and learn. The architecture of Web 2.0 tools is open, the devil's in the detail, but the angels are still flying around...

Image source by Thomas Hawk

Photos of the Conference can be found here and here is James Clay's podcast Don't Feed the Pelicans



'Angels in the architecture' by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.