Another Guru Sharing the Same Old Myth

And here's another example of a well-respected industry analyst lazily sharing the biggest myth in the learning field. This time it's from a Senior Industry Analyst with Forrester Research (October 19th, 2006). See recorded webinar.

Read my initial post describing how this myth got started, and how it harms our field and our learners.

The source of the offending PowerPoint slide claims the data as their own ("Source: Forrester Research"). Yeah, I guess if you find false information on the web, then change it around a little bit to help you make your point, that you ought to cite yourself. Is it plagiarism if you steal a lie?

Makes you wonder what other information Forrester has "researched."

To make it easier for the Forrester marketing and public relations folks to respond to this outing, I've developed a new logo for them. Instead of the name "Forrester" superimposed on the sea-green ellipsis, how about the following?

This constant myth-sharing should stop.

Do you think it would help if I started naming names? What about photographs? Email addresses?

Maybe sarcasm will work.

Comments

[Cliff Donath]

Well done Will!

Enough is enough of these myths, urban legends and invalid truths that are easily spread through the internet these days. Bring back critical thinking and reasoned thought please. Name the names. It certainly will bring attention to your site.

Best, Cliff

[Dave F.]

Will,

You wonder whether sarcasm will work.

My guess is, they're immune. And the myth behind those nice round percentages is immortal. You might feel better to know there's a professional group that feels your pain.

[Crissy G]

I always thought there was something off about those graphs, too. Our teachers would show them, and I always wondered because I have better memories of some of the books I've read then movies, or activities. I think it's more important what you are interested in, and how interesting the presentation is, rather then the media it is presented in.