Seminar In Ed Tech

7450 Seminar in Educational Technology

September 13, 2011

Welcome

Video - Change causes problems - Tech support in the middle ages

Intros -

• name,
• the thing that consumes most of your time now,
• interest in the course (least worst option is ok),
• interest in the course (if any)
• interesting fact about you

Course Overview
Class expectations

- come prepared - read/watch/listen and reflect so you can contribute

- do your weekly writing commentary

Course Outline - our web spaces and the wiki and the files that are there.
Assignment choices - work hard, but make it worth your while. Feel free to suggest alternatives.

Ponder this for w minute or two: How do you decide if a K-12 education has been worthwhile? Does it make a difference if you are thinking about your own child?

What is technology and how do we judge its effects (intended or otherwise)?

What is Educational Technology, Anyway? (Hlynka and Jacobsen)

- will this help or hinder our pursuit?

We will come at the ideas from a number of perspectives:

• philosophers
• brain researchers
• the influence of language
• psycho-social researchers

Perspective/Bias starter:
video excerpt - The Gods Must Be Crazy! Understanding disruptive technology and ourselves

• What is the ‘bias’ of the bush people? In other words what are their critical values?
• What is your bias (ie. what is your background, experience, learning preference, risk management, greatest fear)
• What is our societal bias?
• Who do we listen to regarding ed tech? (philosophers, upper admin, ‘salespeople’, ‘evangelists’ or vested interest groups?, passionate early-adopting educators;

The ‘Death’ of newspapers - Hamlet’s Blackberry (PDF)

The Seductiveness of Upcoming Technology - part of a Future Interfaces presentation

My Bias - The Socio-Cultural Individual - excerpts from Redekopp’s dissertation

McLuhan’s Wake video part 1

Next week:
More consideration/critique of the socio-cultural individual
Denis Hlynka on McLuhan (and maybe Heidegger)