Those of you who have heard the story of eBrainz will recall that it was born out of the withdrawal of New Zealand government funding for community classes. Others may not know the story so I tell it again.
Now I have a profound belief that community classes help to weave the fabric of society. People who know how, guide people who want to know to a state of knowing. Along the way new relationships are formed, success is generated and community is created. Sharing and growing knowledge is part of the glue that binds us into a community and the process helps form the networks that keep people aware of their inclusion in the scheme of things.
Many sociologists have tried to define theories of societal inclusion or exclusion and predict how this will impact on personal behaviour. The one I remember most clearly was Durkheim’s definition of anomie. This is when there is a breakdown of social norms and where norms no longer control the activities of members of society. It happens when large numbers of people feel disassociated or disconnected from any sense of community. Basically Durkheim predicted that anomie would lead to the breakdown of society.
Now I’m not going to even suggest that such a state could come about in New Zealand or most countries in the Western world. What I do propose is that anything that starts to unravel the connections within a community will have an impact on the feelings of connectedness of people to their communities. So the news of the discontinuation of funding for community classes (mainly night classes) seemed to me as the start of another unravelling thread.
“The government should do something about this,” was my first response, followed by: “I can’t make the government change its mind.”
Almost simultaneously I had another thought: “What can I do about it?”
It was some months before I received an out of the ether thought that I could do something. And that’s how eBrainz was born.
Now I am passing on the mantle, the torch, or whatever metaphor you can think of, to the skilled and knowledgeable in our society to start building on this network of learning and sharing. I want course creators to give substance to eBrainz and share their knowledge and share the story of eBrainz so that the site is able to recreate feelings of connectedness.
Now I have a profound belief that community classes help to weave the fabric of society. People who know how, guide people who want to know to a state of knowing. Along the way new relationships are formed, success is generated and community is created. Sharing and growing knowledge is part of the glue that binds us into a community and the process helps form the networks that keep people aware of their inclusion in the scheme of things.
Many sociologists have tried to define theories of societal inclusion or exclusion and predict how this will impact on personal behaviour. The one I remember most clearly was Durkheim’s definition of anomie. This is when there is a breakdown of social norms and where norms no longer control the activities of members of society. It happens when large numbers of people feel disassociated or disconnected from any sense of community. Basically Durkheim predicted that anomie would lead to the breakdown of society.
Now I’m not going to even suggest that such a state could come about in New Zealand or most countries in the Western world. What I do propose is that anything that starts to unravel the connections within a community will have an impact on the feelings of connectedness of people to their communities. So the news of the discontinuation of funding for community classes (mainly night classes) seemed to me as the start of another unravelling thread.
“The government should do something about this,” was my first response, followed by: “I can’t make the government change its mind.”
Almost simultaneously I had another thought: “What can I do about it?”
It was some months before I received an out of the ether thought that I could do something. And that’s how eBrainz was born.
Now I am passing on the mantle, the torch, or whatever metaphor you can think of, to the skilled and knowledgeable in our society to start building on this network of learning and sharing. I want course creators to give substance to eBrainz and share their knowledge and share the story of eBrainz so that the site is able to recreate feelings of connectedness.
Heather
Happy course creation
From the Team at eBrainz
Phone 64-3-525-7073
Phone 64-3-337-0234
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