A good head-scratcher
Before I begin, read this Verge Article about Today’s Undergrads and Filing Systems
Ah! Welcome back!!
TL/DR: What is our obligation as professors when it comes to today’s undergraduate students and their “filing” habits?
I am a professor. Part of my obligation is to help my students succeed in an unknown future situation. I need to prepare them - as much as I am able - for a world that might include aspects that are/were common for me, AS WELL AS aspects that may not even exist yet in the future. No, that does not mean that I need to be a prognosticator. It means that I need to explain some of the fundamental underpinnings in a way so the students can fall back on a generic understanding to attempt to understand the future novelty that confronts them.
Back to this post: Do I need to explain the reason why there are folders and directories in a given filesystem? * *Do I need to explain that the reason for it was hanging file folders in some computer scientist’s office back in the 1950s? Do I need to trouble myself at all?
That is, isn’t it up to the student to figure out some of these challenges on their own?
It seems we’ve been down this road before with maps vis a vis GPS systems. By that, I mean, we don’t spend much time any more pulling out physical maps to personally plan road trips. Pretty much every modern phone has a maps app on it, and GPS capability, so why bother? The added bonus of the phone app is that it can also warn you of upcoming obstacles, road closures, speed traps, etc.
Alright, so let’s go general. Why do we have file folders and directory structures in the first place? Folks over 50 might say “So I can find stuff faster”. And, when there is a physical artifact (of which there may only be one), having a standard place for that artifact might be important or even necessary. Now, imagine there is an artifact that can be called forth at any place, at any time, and for ANY reason. It’s probably not as vital for that artifact to be in ONE specific place.
Current undergraduates have learned using lots of the latter type of artifacts. These artifacts are electronic (ethereal?) files. We’ve been helping them for years to know how to create, manipulate, and curate these types of files. Yet, my belief is that these students don’t need to know about file structures, or filing systems, or anything of the sort; as long as they can search for them effectively.
Follow me on this quick journey. Before, it was important to know how to STORE files for easy retrieval. Now it is more important to know how to FIND files using search tools. Let’s describe two situations; one with physical files, and another with digital files.
Since I’m building a strawman, I get to set the terms: An experienced archivist in one column, and a smartphone and laptop wielding undergraduate student (hereafter: student) in the other.
In each case, The archivist will prefer a well-manicured file and folder structure in a filing cabinet (it’s wonderful, oak with brass pulls…). The undergradaute will prefer a form of gigantic box into which everything goes.
Setup: finding analog (i.e. paper) artifacts. The Archivist is at their desk. Gigantic oak card catalog and file drawers nearby. The Student is surrounded by law boxes full of papers.
Test one: Find your birth certificate! GO!
The archivist beats the undergraduate hands down. The archivist found the file drawer called vital records, and then flippa flippa flippa through the folder tabs until “Birth Records” was found. Ding! The undergraduate needed more time to find it, because the papers in the box were without organization. One paper at a time, view, reject, repeat until the document was found.
Test two: Find an invitation to a party that your aunt sent to you last week! GO!
The archivist also beat the undergraduate this time. File drawer called correspondence, flippa flippa flippa until Aunt folder is found. DING! The undergraduate still had to go through each file one by one, etc.
Looking pretty bad for the undergraduate, right? Just wait.
Setup: now sitting at computers, searching for electronic artifacts
Test three: Find the lastest email that your best friend sent you! GO!
The Student does much better (in terms of time) finding the document than the archivist. The undergraduate opened their email program. There is one folder called Inbox, and one folder called Archive. The undergraduate opened the archive folder, sorted the emails by last name, and also by date. Then, they scrolled down to the last name of their friend, leaving the latest email at the top of the list. The Archivist opened the email program, searched for the folder called “Best Friend” and then sorted the list by date, leaving the latest one at the top.
Test Four: Find the Student Handbook for the school where you work/study! GO!
The student dusted the archivist on this one. The undergraduate opened their personal file storage, which was thousands of files, and sorted by filename, scrolled down to STUDENT HANDBOOK, ding!
The archivist opened their personal file storage, located the folder called Institution. Flippa Flippa Flippa, searching for “Administrative”. Opened that, Flippa Flippa Flippa scanning the files in there for “Student Handbook”.
In the next two examples, the user can choose their favored method! The Archivist is twitching with excitement! Aha, this is where they are going to shine! The Undergradaute is watching videos on their phone.
Test Five: Share a picture of you and your best friend with that friend, with a funny note attached. GO!
The Student opens their phone, clicks the photo app, scroll scroll scroll, chuckles, “shares” the photo as a text message to their friend with a little note: #Nerds. The Archivist runs to the file drawer called “Friends”, flippa flippa flippa, finds the folder named for their friend. Flippa flippa flippa, finds a funny picture they took at the beach a couple years ago, scans the document into their email program attaches it to an email with a note: “Remember this?”
Test Six: Find the latest email that your research team shared with you, concerning the international research grant you are writing together, update with a scanned photo of your passport photo page, and send it back.
Both open their email program. Both draft the response. Now, the archivist runs to the file drawer, flippa flippa flippa, searching for the folder called “Identification”. Flippa flippa flippa, finds the passport. Runs to the computer, scans the photo page, attaches to the email, sends it off. By this time, the Student has wandered off. But, before leaving, the student opened their personal storage folder, typed “passport” opened the file, printed to PDF only the page representing the photo page, attached that PDF to the email and sent.
So, overall a DRAW. Two wins and two draws each (2-2-2)!
I spent a lot of effort to get to this point. Which is: SO WHAT?
Each of them is clearly more comfortable with their preferred organization (Archivist was extreme organization, Student had gigantic unstructured folders) AND manner of responding to challenges (Archivist knew how and where to find the physical artifacts, Student treated all artifacts whether physical or electronic the same way: search or sort).
When the contestants congratulated each other, they were both curious how the other was so fast at the challenges they lost. “How did you do that?” So the archivist shows off the gleaming oak file drawer, with folders to the horizon! Alphabetized, and sorted by category. Truly the envy of her friends and colleagues! The Student still wasn’t convinced. “So you created all those folders to put things in? And you organized them in a particular way? And you need to come back here whenever you need something?” The archivist was proud until that last question…
Then the Student showed the Archivist the non-structure of their personal file storage folder. At this, the Archivist had a complex reaction of instant nausea, revulsion, and light-headedness. Much like someone who had simultaneously seen something amazingly large, and incredibly off-putting at the same time. Because to the Archivist, that’s what it was: A huge pile of chaos. After recovering a little while, the Archivist asked the Student to turn the computer screen away.
As if on some sort of synchronized wavelength of dissatisfaction and confusion, they both asked each other:
“How do you find ANYTHING?”
“How do you know what is in there?”
“I mean your setup is impressive, but it looks like a lot of work to maintain.”
“How can you live that way? My skin is crawling just thinking about having to do things your way!”
How do you find anything? Student: When something comes to me, I put it in the Personal Folder. If it’s a paper, I take a picture of it. if it’s already an electronic file, I just move it to the folder. I use the search feature on my phone and computer to find things when I need them. If it’s time sensitive, I put a link to it in my cloud-based calendar.
Archivist: I leave things in their original format. Electronic stuff gets put into a computer-based file and folder structure. Physical stuff gets put into the file drawer system. Unwieldy large stuff gets photographed, and the picture gets put in the physical structure with a description of where the object is stored.
How do you know what’s in there? Student: “What do you mean? Why do I need to know what’s in there? I just search and sort until I find what I need.” The Archivist blanches, looking like they were going to pass out again. After regaining some composure,”I have an index of my paper-based file system, and I have an index for the computer files, too. When I need to find something, I check the index for categories, and proceed from there.”
Your setup is clear that it works for you, but it looks like more trouble than it’s worth. Archivist: “I spend a few days a year “weeding” my paper system, removing stuff that’s no longer needed, saving space for other incoming items. And I update my index whenever I need to add a new category.”
Student: “Weeding to save space? My stuff is backed up in the Cloud. I just pay a yearly fee and I’ve got plenty of space to store whatever i need. A couple terabytes of fully-backed-up, and selectively-synced storage, is only a few dollars a month.”
How can you live that way? Both contestants are trying to make sense of the other. The Archivist is wondering how a person can live with the chaos of the Student’s non-system. The Student is wondering why a person would choose to store paper, and organize it? Furthermore, the Student wonders what happens when the Archivist finds that they need something from the physical collection, and that physical collection is miles away.
And then, without even meaning to, the Student put the argument to rest. “That’s a pretty cool setup you’ve got there, and it’s clear that you can use it very well. What happens if there’s a fire or something?” The look of panic on the Archivist’s face was nearly indescribable. To lose EVERYTHING to a singluar event? What steps would need to be taken to replace the stuff that could be, and pre-emptively mourning the loss of stuff that couldn’t be replaced…
Archivist: “Some of these documents are irreplacible. To protect against catastrophe, I have them stored in a fire proof room, with all manner to safe guards against damage and so forth. Speaking of losing something, what happens if you lose your phone or computer?”
Student: “One time, I was on vacation at the Grand Canyon and a mule ate the smartphone right out of my hand. Later on the same trip, a buffalo in South Dakota stomped my backpack with my computer in it. I was able to file a loss claim with my Remember, it’s THEIR world, and we are only living in it until they earn the credentials to take over.insruance and buy replacements in the next town, log in to my cloud from the new devices, and it was like nothing even happened. It was a real pain in the butt during vacation, but I mean I got almost everything back.”
Anyhow, if you’ve made it this far… I fele like I owe you something big. Here’s my attempt: Don’t try to impose your particular understanding onto anyone else. It is YOUR understanding and might make precisely ZERO sense to anybody else. If the students in your class are able to complete assignments, and submit them on time, c’est la Vie. If not, address their diagnosed issue. “I forgot that was today”: Here is the Calendar. “I lost my copy of the assignment sheet”: here is the course website, bookmark it.
In closing: Do what suits yourself. Try hard to not judge another’s manner. If it works, it works. As I have gotten older, I have swept around to recognizing that a huge infrastructure is not necessary for me. Those oaken file drawers with the brass pulls are sure cool to look at, but they are a backbreaker to move. And sometimes, a person’s gotta move.