These are important questions in technology mediated learning where something as fundamental as a cognitive learning process is put on-line.
As a background learnig I glanced through the article: Going Distance with Online Education(2006) provided as a learning resource. For the article the writers had analyzed about 230 articles of on-line education and distant education and summed them up around three themes. The themes where democratization of learning, liberal education and instructional quality. As a whole the article was interesting reading. These ideals are widely accepted in Finland where we have a network of Open University faculties in every University we have. But now when the economy is bad there are attacks towards these ideals from many sides. Should the courses cost more, should you restrict access if participant doesn't perform and take exams, should teaching and teachers be replaced with on-line materials and peer support to save money etc. So the article and findings are still relevant today.
The week ended in a google hangout, my first experience of such. The live video discussion was enhanced with a twitter feed and recorded.
Someone already published a TAGSexplorer visualization of our discussion. Interesting graphics where actuvity was scored and mapped.
Amoung hundreds of links provided in the feed I picked up this one:
Focus! Mindful's interview with Daniel Goleman, bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, on his new book, Focus, and how we can restore our attention and enjoy life and learn more.
Watch the video
Twitter:
#edcmooc Never thought the Hangout would be so interesting. I hope we can create also great ones for following weeks!
— Ana Yara (@AYtranslator) November 8, 2013
Good summary of the technological determinism argument as it relates to the utopia / dystopia dualism, thanks.
VastaaPoista‘how well are we in control of technology or is it out of hands?’
I think it is the binary thinking of determinism that leads us to asking ‘either/or’ questions. Could things be so simple that technology control us, OR we control it? It seems that these options would miss the complexity of our relationships with technology. Could we say that it is not a matter of control, but entanglement? It seems to me that people don’t like the idea of entanglement because it rejects a boundary between human and technology. Control, on the other hand, preserves the distinction; even if we are being controlled, we still have the sanctity of our ‘humanness’.