Invoking Foucault as we considered applying network analysis as a predictive activity was helpful because his work in TOOT focuses on the content and criteria of the networks/grids/concept maps he creates. And because I have this hang-up with needing to validate or “see” theory applied, I think Foucault provides a model or method.

Our on-board activity last night was an effort to validate the criterion of a network(s), which in systems-speak is often considered an effort to determine predictive validity. Here’s an example I like to use with instructional designers: The “validity” of a written driver’s test is determined by the relationships among the scores people get on the test and how well they drive (in this context we’re typically discussing ways to measure the validity of a course – knowledge transfer/knowledge applied). My point is that predictive validity is also applicable to our work last night – reconstructed or imaging some future network(s). I find these types of activities extremely useful because they allow us to cover a range of meanings and possibilities related to a wider range of concepts and topics.