
Image credit: Factory Joe
The premise, that the accessibility of digital media is leading to a
cultural decline with a resulting loss of authoritative information, media and study, is Andrew Keen's message in his polemic, Cult of the Amateur. Recently, together with John Gorman he has been posting on the Brittanica blog (really a forum), claiming to have a prima facie case that Web 2.0 is a key factor in this decline. John Connell refutes this with an excellent analysis of Keen and Gormans's vision of an elitist culture, in which 'the uneducated' have no
place; a paradox in itself, when they claim to be promoting real 'learning and study'.
What is also disturbing is their cult of arrogance evidenced by their continuous disparaging of the 'amateur,' which worryingly seems to be catching on, and is well illustrated here. Amateur is not synonymous with low standards, as any amateur sportsman or women will testify, along with thousands of amateur musicians from all over these isles and beyond. Historically amateurs have always played a vital part in our knowledge. Gilbert White, Charles Darwin, Rousseau and Leonardo could all be considered amateurs, whilst in more recent times Arthur C Clarke's vision has led to the communication satellite. Some areas of science such as astronomy rely heavily on amateurs, to discover new stars and comets. Perhaps Keen and Gorman would do better to acknowledge that amateurs do, and will have a vital role to play in our culture and that amateurs can be experts. Of course professionals are professionals and will be experts in their field, but expertise is not devoid of serious consequences.
Meanwhile teachers and students are benefiting from hundreds of amateur initiatives including the videos posted on TeacherTube.
Perhaps not always as polished, but often a damn sight more useful than
the paid for "content' offered by commercial suppliers to education. And those that (are allowed) to use Web 2.0 tools are motivated and inspired by other 'amateurs' working, sharing, discussing and collaborating to explore new models for learning.