The song remains the same

In the 1960s and 1970s several musicians tried to change the world through their music. The 'protest songs' of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Neil Young and The Byrds gained a lot of air play, particularly on the pirate radio stations, as they sought to raise awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons, the futility of the Vietnam War, or the need for greater equality, justice and freedom.

The late 1970s saw the emergence of an even more angry genre of music - punk rock exploded on the scene, grabbing attention, causing controversy and piquing our social awareness through the raw energy of The Sex Pistols, The Clash and Patti Smith, and political awareness flowed freely from the lyrics of Billy Bragg, UB40 and a number of other home grown UK bands in the 1980s. They railed against corporate greed, and called out for equality, justice and freedom (again). If we were cynical we would point out that they also became wealthy off the back of their record sales. Most recently, Hip Hop outfits such as Public Enemy have tried to tap into the power of the beat to challenge the status quo, change people's minds and drag them from their comfortable lethargy into political activism but they have a limited audience. Pink's 'Dear Mr President' held currency for a while, but a new president with a new agenda may have drawn some of its potency.

Political movements have risen from songs. Remember 'Stand Down Margaret', and 'Free Nelson Mandela', or 'Biko' (Peter Gabriel). But ultimately what has been the legacy of these music movements? Did they really change much at all? And what is the alternative now that music seems to have lapsed into its own lethargic morass of the X-Factor style 'karoake' culture?

Gil Scott-Heron sang 'The Revolution will not be Televised', but the times they are a-changing, and people now have mobile TV and Radio studios and newspaper presses in their pockets. We have witnessed the evidence that the use of mobile phones by citizen journalists has raised public awareness to the injustices, tragedies and disasters occurring across the globe - as they happen, and at the scene. Sometimes several hours ahead of the major media channels - instant messages, texting and other live networking has raised our awareness that there are riots on the streets of Iran, or that a major incident is happening somewhere in the world. YouTube videos, Flickr photographs and blog reports provide us with the content that informs, circumventing the mainstream media, and undermining the repressive control methods of those in power.

In the next few years there will be a rise in the use of citizen journalism, just as there will be a rise in the number of free internet channels that will be open for all to use. Perhaps we don't need the protest song anymore. The song remains the same, but the tools have changed. And they may be a lot more effective. Government ministers and those who wield the power will be looking over their shoulders with increasing regularity, as citizen observers with powerful links to the world ensure that they do the best for their country.

And that can only be a good thing, can't it?

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Three chord wonder

Thanks to an invitation from Thomas Bernhardt over at Educamp in Bremen, I actually managed to present my Edupunk talk earlier today. Using Skype, I presented a 20 minute talk which covered the history and philosophy of Edupunk, it's analogies to the Punk Rock culture of the 1970s, and a few comments on corporate profiteering, the state of institutional VLEs and the 'Do It Yourself' approach to teaching and learning.

There were some very incisive questions from those present in Germany, and some equally delving questions and comments from others listening and viewing from elsewhere in the world across the live streaming media links. One interesting comment was that Edupunk seems to be all about taking part rather than excellence. I agree - all you needed to be a punk rocker was attitude, and if necessary, the ability to play three chords on a guitar. Edupunk encourages learners to take part - and contribute something, even if it is wrong. I pointed out that at one point, 30 years ago, I only knew 3 chords myself. Now I know several more, and play in a more sophisticated manner than I did when I was in my teens and early twenties. The same applies to learners. They learn to participate, and eventually can become quite proficient in learning within collaborative environments. They just need to be given the opportunities to gain confidence and make mistakes without being penalised. Traditional education doesn't offer enough of these opportunities.

Another comment opened up a discussion on creativity and destructiveness and the notion of 'anarchy'. Here is a recent article we published on the destructive creativity of Web 2.0. My take on this is that Edupunk is not a destructive kind of anarchy. That kind is where 'smashing the system' is replaced by nothing better. No, Edupunk promises to do for education what Punk did for music. Punk gave the British music industry a much need shot in the arm and saved it from stagnation. I also said that sometimes you need to be destructive in order to be creative. Writing contributions to a wiki takes on this form. When you have posted a wiki contribution, it is no longer your own, but becomes the property of the user group - and they are then at liberty to do what they want with it. Edit it, add to it, or even delete it completely.

I very much enjoyed participating in Educamp. Skype worked well, and those participating were as equally passionate about learning as me. Thanks Thomas for the invitation!

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