Head to Head

          Behind the Scenes        Head to Head        Postmodern Riff         

I was aware of Dickie Selfe's reminder that, "all uses of technology in the classroom are experimental" (17). And yet, planning a class that I knew I would study stuck a moral sliver under my skin. I was not simply trying to teach my students. I was trying to teach my students and watch them at the same time. I somehow feared that my research would resemble the editing process of a reality television show. I was not just the teacher; I was also the director, and the producer. Was I the script writer as well? Am I always in these positions anyways, naively and unconsciously performing these roles from the teacher position? The IRB form and working on this project has brought these questions into harsh relief.

I found it much easier to swallow the IRB and the structure it entailed. I saw it as a means to organize our research and attempt to isolate our study from negative effects. Looking back, I feel somewhat naive about it. But what else can we do - since IRBs are required? I've been experimenting with public mediums for sharing writing. This might be one path around the problem. The idea is that if our work takes place in the public realm then it is open for research. Ethically, though, this is murky water.