Ben, Jim, Jan and others --
This is a very significant and compelling discussion :-)
I've held an interesting fascination regarding with the role of technology
over time, that is Agrarian to Industrial to Knowledge societies.
I think there has been a significant shift from technology as tool as
associated with the Industrial age compared to the role of technology in a
knowledge society (assuming you buy into the notion of discontinuity ;-) ).
Digital technology is simultaneously a tool and enabler for emergent forms
of learning (however we define this.)
What fascinates me about the Web and social software is the fact that this
is the first mass-communication mechanism in the history of our evolution
which simultaneously carries the message ("content") and the capabilities of
two-way communication itself in the same medium. Communications become the
"content" for future communications and so on.
As you point out there are also significant shifts in the power bases of
knowledge and communication. In open social networks Learners become
teachers and teachers become learners. Arguably this is qualitatively
different from what has gone before?
Remove the traditional power bases associated with the control of
"knowledge" as in copyright with the freedom to share, remix and reuse
digital "knowledge" in new and creative ways -- I suspect exciting things
may happen :-)
Cheers
wayne
2009/9/7 Ben <[email protected]>
>
> Interesting post Jim as you mention a few points I'd like to comment
> on.
>
> "Technology is only an extension of the clay tablets of the past. All
> they do is to provide a place where information is stored, and those
> that use that information – confidence and control."
>
> Although technology can be "a place where information is stored", I
> think it goes beyond that. At one level, a power law distribution is
> at play in that a small number of people control the majority of
> information (e.g., wikipedia). But more importantly, those of us
> along the "right tale" also exhibit a level of control when we form
> subgroups (i.e., social networking groups)and pursue common interests
> through the virtual interaction with others. That is, primary school
> teachers have at their disposal a variety of means for showing
> control, power, and confidence through the use of technology, namely
> the Internet (e.g., blogs, wikis, etc.). I don´t think it's even
> necessary that the educational community understand or recognize this
> affordance. Once primary school teachers take it upon themselves to
> exercise their control and power through the exchange of information
> with others - thus gaining knowledge - teacher trainers for example
> might become more inclined to see the authority potential teachers
> have.
>
> Yes, ideally, teacher trainers ought to empower and grant authority to
> teachers based on ability as opposed to title; indeed fostering
> confidence and control within the educational system is to everyone's
> advantage. But it doesn't necessarily have to begin with the
> educational community, but rather the teachers themselves.
>
> "...what terms are associated with primary school teachers?"
>
> Unlike businesses and science, learning is not quite as cut-and-dry.
> I look at learning more as an emergent phenomenon, based more on chaos
> theory. It is difficult, if not impossible, to generalize what
> learning is or how it is best achieved across a variety of contexts
> that exist. But if I had to associate terms to education, it would be
> words like "growth" or "development" which ultimately deal with the
> question: "What is it to be someone?" (i.e., bringing more of an
> ontological stance to education instead of solely an epistemological
> one).
>
> If one considers the way people currently interpret, interact, and
> produce information through the use of technology compared to how
> information was interpreted, interacted with, and produced through the
> use of clay tablets, perhaps technology is a little more than "an
> extension of the clay tablets of the past".
>
> How do others feel on the matter?
>
> Benjamin
> http://www.wikieducator.org/User:Bnleez
>
> On Sep 6, 1:49 pm, jkelly952 <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Technology is only an extension of the clay tablets of the past. All
> > they do is to provide a place where information is stored, and those
> > that use that information – confidence and control. The business
> > community and “recently” the scientific community have and are
> > becoming very successful in understanding this. For some reason the
> > education community (publishers and teacher trainers) don't seem to
> > understand what a successful primary school teacher (like a business
> > person or scientist) needs to have is confidence and control. A
> > business person knows terms like “profit and loss” a scientist
> > “hypothesis and conclusion” as their education prepared them for it;
> > but what terms are associated with primary school teachers (teachers
> > in general) ? Where is the information base that builds confidence
> > and control?
> >
> > jim kellyhttp://www.wikieducator.org/User:Jkelly952
> >
>
--
Wayne Mackintosh, Ph.D.
Director,
International Centre for Open Education,
Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand.
Board of Directors, OER Foundation.
Founder and Community Council Member, Wikieducator, www.wikieducator.org
Mobile +64 21 2436 380
Skype: WGMNZ1
Twitter: OERFoundation, Mackiwg
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