Tasks
Analyze the Mitchner model.
Not Oral History
This is not oral history. The objective is to gain insight into
new areas of investigation, to prepare for professional
publication, those jewels of wisdom which only become available
at the completion of a career, but which require the energy and
technical skill not available at that point in one's life.
Knowledge Lost
Science, Art, Music, Language, Humanities - each field looses
knowledge and wisdom each year because no specific program is in
place to capture and convey it to the new generation.
New and Old
The typical relationship between the retired generation and the
current generation is not and can not be conducive to effective
transfer. The relationships have too much history and too much
baggage. But this history and baggage is what allows the current
generation to be effective managers of the process. The new
generation of students, while technically adept, and full of
enthusiasm and energy, cannot be expected to exercise the
judgement necessary to guide and manage the process, to
"keep it on the track" so to speak.
Producing Content
The young people who are enamored by the technology and pick it
up the fastest are cursed with the lack of knowledge of the
subject matter. The old people who have, after a lifetime of
study, a wide base of knowledge and insight do not have the time
to acquire the necessary technical skills. The current generation
of professors don't have the time required to convey all of the
detailed knowledge required to the students. They do, however,
have the skills necessary to manage the interaction, and transfer
of knowledge between the old and the young. They, of course, are
the middle. Their days are filled with developing graduate
students, writing papers, committee meetings and managing
departments and other operations. The "middle" has been
schooled by the "old" and has taken over their former
duties. They long ago formed a trusting relationship between
"middle" and "old". The middle knows the
essence of what the old knows but doesn't have time to convey all
of the subtleties to the young. There may be an opportunity for
the young to gain knowledge from the old that it is not possible
for the middle to gain.
The process of converting "content" to a "multimedia product" is technically demanding, tedious, expensive, time consuming, and beyond the reach of most potential authors.
The process of conveyance of knowledge and wisdom is so individualized that each case is unique. The availability of an array of new technologies can make it possible.
Much of the knowledge and wisdom of the old is buried in the stories they tell. These stories are fundamental to the capture and conveyance of their legacy. What they were able to "prove" to their skeptical colleagues has been recorded in their papers. What they suspect may be true, but can't prove, may go unrecorded.
Bill Bottorff
July 8, 1996
To WIK Home Page
To bbott Home Page
To AusBComp Home Page
email the Bill Bottorff
bbott@ausbcomp.com