Friday, May 16, 2008 7:29 AM
by
jtspencer
Obama, Radiohead and My Classroom
A few months ago, I logged onto the Obama website for the first time. I expected to see the standard stream of videos, professional pictures and links asking me to give. Although the site had aspects of each, I found it to be welcoming, intuitive and inviting me to participate. From the discussion boards to the small donations, the Obama campaign has revolutionized politics in a multimedia, online world. (In a similar, but less mainstream way, Ron Paul has done the same thing. However, his campaign was so libertarian that the web of participation was so complex and so scattered that it seemed almost too "Web 2.0" in its approach). Through small donations, Obama has raised millions of dollars.
Radiohead released an album where they asked people to donate what they felt was a fair market value for their music. Like Dave Mathews Band, Radiohead knows how to take care of their fans. Rather than milking the fan base through promotional t-shirts and pimping out their music for the highest bidders, they realize that their small, core group is who will carry it through the long haul.
So, in my classroom (and IMPACT Program) re-think, I am attempting to follow Radiohead and Obama in a few respects:
- Keep it positive - Both Obama and Radiohead have an optimisitic feel in their message to the fan base.
- Dare to be innovative - Obama had crushing blows in some of the early primaries. People told him he had to go negative and go on the attack. Radiohead faced harsh criticism when they first went electronic. In both cases, they realized that innovation includes many mistakes.
- Offer choices - In both cases, the fans and the supporters can participate and have choices. I want to offer a variety of projects and encourage students to choose. Thus, they can pick the murals, the plays, the documentaries, the websites - and, like Radiohead, I will allow students to participate according to what they can handle. I think I burnt a few students out this year and I regret it.
- Keep it simple - I made things too complex. I want the Social Voice website to have an easy, intuitive feel, with a stronger sense of participation. I want students to log on and feel that they are participating in an ongoing dialogue between the community and the classroom.