Ready set go…

• You have 20 minutes to get into your reading groups - discuss the book that was assigned reading and come up with 3 things that the author got right, 3 things that the author got wrong

• Be prepared to introduce your team, summarize the book and your 6 points to the whole group

• Be creative and have fun…• The group that comes up with the most

creative way of doing this gets a prize!

Oversold and Underused

• Shenglan, Chun, Khurso, Danah• SUMMARY: Big spending, not much results.• RIGHT: No more market-driven schooling, questions of

effectiveness are important, buying technology w/o thinking of how to use it

• WRONG: Sources of evidence are skewed (isolated to silicon valley), more coverage of kindergarden examples, evidence innapropriately only looks at product (not process), focus on quantity of use, not quality.

Hi tech heretic

• Scott, Aman & Yun• Summary; Opinion piece; Computers are taking too much

priority in our schools and our lives (for 200+ pages) For eg. We need to choose between literacy and computer literacy

• What did he get right: (1) Edutainment software emphasises fun over learning. But learning requires commitment, discipline and hard work (2) Tech promises but does not necessarily deliver (3) computers cannot replace teachers

• What did he get wrong: (1) Learning online does not lead to community and interaction (2) Computer literacy necessarily worse than traditional literacy; (3) Too critical of Internet as a source of information (4) He calls the internet the McDonalds of information

Failure to connect

• Michael, Amy, Eduardo• Summary: If the book costs 2 dollars, what is the value of

the information in it? Key idea, how computers affect children’s minds. How computers can be harmful to kids. The questions are important but the answers she provides are inadequate.

• Things she got right: (1) Age appropriateness of software, simulations etc. wrt developmental stages of children (2) Computers can be harmful, helath, educational, developental, social; (3) digital divide and children’s future

• What she got wrong: (1) Opinionated and lacked structured evidence; (2) Did not offer positions / evidence that goes against her position; (3) raises questions but does not offer satisfactory answers

CEP 901B Proseminar in Technology & Education

Matt KoehlerPunya Mishra

January 7, 2003

What we will do today…

• Introductions & discussion of books and readings (Part I)

• Course web site: mkoehler.educ.msu.edu

• Introduction to the course• Questions and answers• Discussion of the books and readings

– (Part II)

In what follows we shall be questioning concerning technology. Questioning builds

a way. We would be advised, therefore, above all to pay heed to the way, and not to fix our attention on isolated sentences and topics. The way is a way of thinking.

All ways of thinking, more or less perceptibly, lead through language in a

manner that is extraordinary- Martin Heidegger in The question

concerning technology

Tech ‘n E

Tech ‘n E = Techne

• Techne: art, craft, skill– root of the word “technology”– Also the root of the word “technique”

• Learning through doing, skill, mastery

– Also related to “texere” - to weave• Incidentally the root of the word “text”

– From the Sanskrit “Takshati” - He builds

• Techne is not just skill it is also “creation” it is poesis (Heidegger)

Technology and education…

So many issues…

So what can technology do?based on Wallace 2002

• Representation: – Providing representations of ideas and processes that are

difficult or impossible to represent without technology (Stella, Star logo, PDAs, dissections)

• Information: – Providing access to data and content (internet)

• Transformation: – Changing the nature of tasks in which students engage

(inquiry vs drills)

• Collaboration: – Facilitating communication and collaboration with peers

and experts (journey North etc.)

What is technology?

• Means to an end?• A social-cultural process?• A bandwagon?

• Something more?• Something less?

Metaphors to die for…

• Technology as a tool

• Technology as media

• Technology as a social actor

The famous CPT triangle

Content

Pedagogy Technology

CPT examples

• Visual Thesarus (www.visualthesarus.com)

• The Periodic system of elements

The periodic table…

Technology, content & pedagogy have always influenced each other

The Periodic SYSTEM (as opposed to a specific table)

The technology of writing

Why do it: Writing will make the Egyptians wiser and give them better memories; it is a specific both for the memory and for the wit.

The answer: There is bias everywhere……in the people who develop technology: The parent or inventor of an art

is not always the best judge of the utility or in the utility of his own inventions to the users of them. And in this instance, you who are the father of letters, from a paternal love of your own children have been led to attribute to them a quality which they cannot have

… in the technologies themselves: This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. What you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality

The alphabet and the image

• Claude Frollo, pointing his finger first to a book, then to the towers and images of his beloved cathedral said “ceci tuera cela” (This will kill that). The book will kill the cathedral, alphabet will kill images— Victor Hugo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

McLuhan

The medium is the message. Is it?

We often overestimate the impact of technologies in the short run and underestimate their impact in the long run — Toffler

So how do we figure things out?

• This is where research & scholarship comes in• Two models of research

– Adding a brick to the edifice of human knowledge– Building a rich web of connections

• Either way you need to understand– That which has come before (Historical, sociological,

political contexts)– That which is yet to come (esp. in the case of

technology) – Methodologies for finding out what it is that you want to

find out

But the most important thing is

•THE QUESTION!!!• What it is that you want to know?• And how badly do you want to know it?• And what do you want other people to

know?

• The question must come from you!

What Tech ‘n E is about

• Becoming creators of knowledge – Not just users / consumers

• To have your own ideas/stances/ viewpoints– You must have an axe to grind – And your own soapbox to stand on

What 901B is about

• It is about giving you the tools to become scholars of technology and education…

• It is about techne (Tech ‘n E)– To develop technique– To develop art, craft & skill– To learn by doing and writing (weaving)

texts

What we expect

• Development of individual research project (ideally this would become your practicum)– Bibliography of research in your area of interest (7

articles have to be read and critiqued - based on the format of the prelims though not as detailed)

• Development of web presence– Everything you do for this class should be accessible

to everyone else through your web site

• One week will be a practice prelim article that we will assign

What the groups will do

• Each group has to take the lead for 4 selected weeks

• On their assigned week…the group has to– Design an online component that involves the issues

raised by the readings that week• Must be done by Friday evening of the assigned week.

– Design a face to face classroom activity to extend the discussion

– Bring closure to the discussion online– Create a web page that summarizes the weeks

activities (online and face to face) and submit it to us (as an archive of what we have been doing)

Topics…

Research methods, Ethics, Online learning, CMC, Hypermedia, Linked Dynamic Representations, Simulations, Technology in schools (Teachers & Subject areas), Literacy, Real vs. Virtual, Psychological responses to media, Diffusion of technology and innovation, Design, Philosophy of technology, Cognitive tools for learning, Games, Testing and evaluation, HCI, Digital Divide…

Will we cover all these topics?No way… we just don’t have the time. But we do

welcome suggestions since we are still tinkering with the course structure

Next week

• Readings, available online• One group to lead the discussion online

and develop activity for all of us class• Come in with first thoughts on what you

would like to do for your research project– Now is a good time to meet with your

advisor

How to spend your money?

• We recommend that you buy the following books• Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association, 5th Edition

• Booth, W. B., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The Craft of Research

• Becker, H. S. (1998). Tricks of the trade: How to think about your research while you are doing it

Discussion Part II

• Go back to your small groups and now think about the 6 points you had raised before.

• How would you decide to research these issues

• As a group think of one research question that can emerge from these questions and be prepared to share them with the class…

Video lecture vs video of experiment

• Video lecture by professor v.s. video of experiment

• Visual system– We spend much time in compromised visual environments

(evening, fog etc.)• Audio system

– Poor audio quality is not natural– Real sound comes from a variety of directions– Stereo

So what does this mean?

Do We Need High Definition TV?

• Two conditions-- viewed movie scenes on:– Best quality television– Very poor quality television

• No differences on:– Attention (secondary reaction time

task)– Evaluation– Memory

Audio Experiment

• Viewed movie scenes with:– Best quality audio, or– Very poor quality audio

• Best quality audio superior on:– Attention– Memory– Evaluation

Video and Audio together: The issue of sync

• Audio should be in sync with visuals• What do we do when not in sync?

– Forgive and forget– Judge harshly

• In an experiment, out of sync perceived less interesting, convincing, pleasant, intelligent etc.– Diminished credibility of speaker– Delays in reciprocity and "back channel" responses

So…

• In online courses – Have high quality audio– Have audio and video in sync– Avoid new technologies that compromise audio quality or

synchronization

– So for a lecture if sync is not possible, go for still images with good audio

– OR go with distributing video on CD ROM/tape

– For an experiment go with video, audio sync is not very important. Can be streaming video

Day 1 stuff to do…

• Groups• Discussion of books and readings• Assignment of weeks• Individual work -- developing own research interests, has to be a study

designed and ready to go -- your practicum must emerge from this so talk to your advisor

• Build bibliography for area of research and every week write on prelim paper

• Group work: deal with assigned weeks - lead discussion, close discussion, lead activity in class, document activity through web page that has to be sent to us

• We will make you write!!!!• Signup sheets for weeks and groups• Calendar -- deadlines for topics, meetings, etc.