Curate 2 ReCreate

In Everything is a Remix, Kirby Ferguson did an excellent job demonstrating how different information is reused from previous knowledge. Showcasing the products drove his points in a digestible way.

If an artist is said to be “influenced” by another artist, what does this mean? Something about the 2 pieces makes them comparable; they share similar elements. After watching Ferguson’s documentary, it is easy to understand how one’s lived experience goes into the products of their creativity. Understanding this on a superficial level is easy, but understanding how this is using previous art and incorporating it into one’s own, or Remixing, takes its a step further and may be harder to accept, either protecting one’s creativity as the original creator or the “re-mixer”.

Can we accept that there are no new ideas? I would like to believe that Ferguson is brushing everyone with the same paintbrush. His statements are broad and make a point, however, the romantic in me would like to believe that some creators, despite shared experiences with millions of people, can create something original.

How does remixing apply to education?

Educators are deeply creative. Their art form isn’t something physical, like music or poetry, but rather it is experienced through the learning journey they create for their students

Taking a look at the various pieces of an educator’s responsibilities, it is easy to see how the concept of remixing can be applied to the work.

A large part of educators’ responsibilities is to use the approved text books, videos, and other educational sources to create their curriculum design.  Educators are able to use their training, experience, and creativity to mix and tailor the information to the specific topic or classroom..  Quite often, lesson plans are shared between educators and so become part of a new mixture.

Beyond curriculum design, pedagogical techniques are also learned and shared between colleagues. Borrowing, adapting, and merging various teaching and learning methods to suit an individual’s teaching preference or the learning styles of the students. This art form chooses from existing pedagogical methods to create inspiring, engaging, and effective classroom learning experiences.

Examples of remixing in assessments may be borrowing rubrics or using creative methods to assess performance such as journals, presentations, or blogging.

The examples above are not original ideas. However, as they change through an iterative, creative process involving sharing, adapting, blending, and feedback, they are refined and become new personalized versions with common foundations.

Copying or borrowing?

While we may acknowledge that we ‘borrow’ content and methods, there is a stigma about copying. I feel that the idea of copied work decreases its value and perhaps the reputation of the educator in a culture that values honesty and academic integrity. It is engrained in our philosophies, and we teach students about plagiarism and how important it is to avoid it. It is important to protect the rights of creators, and fortunately, we have the Copyright Fair Dealing Guidelines that are excellent at laying out what is acceptable use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes. But we are not talking about copying and plagiarism here. We are talking about that iterative process of innovation that makes a good idea great. We can’t start from scratch. We wouldn’t be moving forward if we always started on the first step.

Enter AI

AI has provided educators with many benefits, from completing administrative tasks and increasing efficiency to increasing engagement with VR tools. It has provided an opportunity for expanding creativity. However, bringing AI into “the mix” blurs the lines between creativity and borrowing, between creator and remixer. It does this by further challenging the sense of authorship. AI is still a novel tool, and it remains to be seen how, and if, these concerns will play out ethically and legally.