Course:Recurring Questions of Technology/Keywords/K L
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Knowledge Society
The origin of the word knowledge is murky. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is unclear if the noun or verb came first and they most likely have separate etymologies. For certain, knowledge and society are not words that were originally created together, but this is changing for the 21st century learner. These words have come together to suggest that ideas and knowledge are commodities in today’s world. According to Voogt and Roblin (2012, A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies) there is a significant need for employees to be “mind-workers”(p. 300), in that they use critical thinking to problem solve and share information. Hargraves (2003) goes further to say the drive for knowledge societies and economies is “creativity and ingenuity”(p.1); however, he argues it should be more aptly name “learning society” (p.3). 21st century competencies need to be addressed in school curriculum in order to ensure not only competent, but creative citizens in today’s markets. Scardemalia and Bereiter (1996, Engaging students in a knowledge society) also consider knowledge society in the context of networks. The Internet has opened possibilities for municipal, national and global communities. Students have the opportunity to engage in real-life situations and become involved with society due to the interconnectedness of the net. This prepares them for interacting with the knowledge society as mature citizens. (Christie Robertson)
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Labour
The word labour can be used as a noun or as a verb. As a noun, it has many definitions, a task, exertion, agricultural work, physical exercise, hardship (Oxford English Dictionary). Derived from the Anglo-Norman labure meaning trouble, misfortune, hard work, its first documented use was in 1376; "laboureris & louȝ folk þat lay be hemselue". During the lecture on Monday July 9th, 2012, John Willinsky refers to John Locke's Property Principles where the second principle states that "labor was to be his title to it". In this context, labour can be defined as something you work on and own. Willinsky states that, according to Intellectual Property Rights, "labor on intangible works establishes rights over such work". This leads to democratic equality where everyone has a right by their labour to make a claim. Detlev Zwick and colleagues (Putting Consumers to Work, 2008) employ the term "consumer labor" to mean "drawing consumers into the production and, more importantly, innovation process itself" however this does not imply ownership. Essentially, it is the notion of putting customers to work which they describes as "free labor". They include examples of this where the consumer performs a task such as using an automated teller machine or cleaning up after oneself at a McDonald's restaurant. It is a labour outcome that companies are expropriating from individuals in our society. On Tuesday July 10th, 2012, Stuart Poyntz introduces the term of "immaterial labour" where individuals produce images, symbols, relationships, knowledge, innovation and creative outcomes. According to Poyntz, immaterial labour is a form of creative work where a task is accomplished using mental or computational efforts. Through this immaterial labour, companies are able to gain capital. These corporations are using an individuals participation in media as a commodity particularly the immaterial labor of children and teenagers. The youth of today, whether they realize it or not, have an extraordinary amount of power and influence on consumerism today. (Tania Danilovic)
Language
Language has close ties to culture, community, countries, discourse, society, power, education and identity. Language is generally regarded as a system of communication consisting of words that form a structure that can be understood. It was first documented in English in the 13th Century. “Þoruȝ godes grace heo was i-lad with men þat onder-stoden hire langage.” (1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 55 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 108). In the 19th Century, language was taught using a "classic method, the method focuses on grammatical rules, memorization of vocabulary, as well as a variety of declension and conjugation, translation of text, and written exercises workmanship." “[1]” However, in today’s world, the word “language” has shifted to mean much more than simply written or spoken words and text. There are many languages being used around the world, and as a result, there are many multi-lingual people. However, there are also people who only use one language. "About 96% of the world's people speak about 4% of the world's languages; and conversely 4% speak 96% of the world's languages" (Bernard 1996, p. 142). This suggests that there are some languages that are more predominant than others and are used more widely by a majority of people. This may also indicate that some people place value on some languages and not on others. In addition, technology is shifting the original meanings of the word “language” to incorporate computer code, user interfaces, etc. "Consequently, the ultimate aim of teaching and learning will be to assist learners in their need to develop strategies of knowledge retrieval, production, and dissemination. As a result, the traditional transmission model of learning must be replaced by models of information processing and knowledge construction." This reflects the importance of incorporating technology and media in language learning and understanding. “[2]” (Katharine Cadman)
Learning
Learning derived from the Old English form leornung is defined as the act of receiving instruction or acquiring knowledge. Learning is a process which leads to the modification of behaviour or the acquisition of new abilities or responses, and which is different from the natural development of growth and maturation (OED). Learning, therefore, can take place in many environments and with various tools as long as the one doing the learning is showing understanding and practice of the knowledge he/she is acquiring. In the 21st century, learning is changing to adapt to the fast pace of technological advances that shape today's society; however, having said that, the term learning does not deviate from its root definition, but incorporate a broader range of technological tools needed to make learning more engaging for students (Virtual Education: Twenty-first Century Learning and Technological Literacies; July 11, 2012). A great American philosopher and educator, Mortimer Adler, has been quoted to identify learning as something that never stops during your lifetime; learning is a process that is not defined by your age and that you can engage in learning throughout your life: "The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live". BC's Ed Plan designed by the Ministry of Education defines learning as being personalized, flexible, of high standards, and empowered by technology. This definition of learning implies a specific environment, which unfortunately, the government is not willing to or unable to fund. I believe what the ministry neglects to see is that learning of very high standards is already taking place in BC classrooms regardless of the lack of resources, and greatly to the part of dedicated life-long learners whom they refer to as teachers. Therefore, learning is a process that defies boundaries, and time. (Janice Jasbinder Matharu)
Library
Library defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, "a place set apart to contain books for reading, study, or reference," is from the French word librairie. With the advent of the printing press, book printers were obligated, according to the Statute of Anne, to place copies of their books, at no charge, in particular repositories, mainly universities. Thus began the first libraries as collections of all print, regardless of topic, quality or expense. As time progressed, libraries became synonymous with organization of research material in various methods (like Dewey). Libraries also came to be social services, as a free resource for those who could not afford books, sponsored by universities, governments and philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie. Although libraries were not intended as a social service, or democratizing force (in fact they were often the opposite as rulers worked to exercise control over thought and knowledge) they have so evolved. Today they face a crisis in their existence. If libraries are collections of print, that are freely available and systematically searchable, can they be subsumed within the internet? Or, more broadly, must the ideal of the library push citizens to demand even more access than what we have now (read more about that ideal in Yochai Benkler's Wealth of Networks)? Should our most scholarly works be allowed to be hidden behind subscription fees? UNESCO has stated that access to information and knowledge is not a luxury, not a privilege, not a freedom, but a right. Works such as John Willinsky's Public Knowledge Project make a free, searchable world library a possibility. (Carol Hawkes)
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong Learning refers to approaching education throughout one's life and continuing to engage in learning activities often supported through public institutions such a libraries, colleges, and information technology. The first instance this term is noted in 1930 in the title of the Emmitsburg Lifelong Learning Center (Frederick (Maryland) Post 9 Apr. 5/1). Today lifelong learning is a common theme among teachers and educators in their conversations and actions with regards to their teaching practice. The idea that lifelong learning is in part user-driven and this concept of lifelong learning is expected to be accessible by the public in higher education institutions exemplifies that the framework for education is changing and is in the process of being recreated, (Strategic choices for the academy: how demand for lifelong learning will re create higher education 1998). In Voogt and Roblin's, A compariative analysis of international frameworks, lifelong learning competences are discussed focussing on the idea of cross-curriculum learning and the nature of integrating technology into the curriculum of the school system. The two of these ideas are interdependent and to venture on the path of Lifelong Learning one will be immersed in the sphere of lifelong learning competences. In Mike Shaples, The design of personal mobile technologies for lifelonglearning he discusses a new framework for lifelong learning that is enabled through technology that can take place anywhere at any time. The idea of institutions changing to accommodate this expectation and the ability of an individual to continue their lifelong learning anywhere at anytime will be competing factors as we observe the institutions need for support alongside and individuals need for their autonomy with regards to their education. (Rowley, Lujan, Dolence Strategic choices for the academy: How demand for lifelong learning will re-create higher education 1998). As the individual and the institution navigate through the 21st century facing increasing pressures of time and money, lifelong learning is now a self-inflicted requirement for both. (Adrienne Longworth)
Linear
Derived from Latin (līneāris: belonging to a line, līnea: string, line). First used in the seventeenth century ("Linear, pertaining to a line, lineal," T. Blount, 1656). Freytag's Pyramid which describes a story's plot is an example of the use of a linear structure where a story is described as having a beginning, middle and an end. This involves a measurement in one dimension only which is widely used in classrooms to analyze plot. Marie-Laure Ryan Multivariant Narratives, 2004 describes the narrative as "a fundamentally temporal, and consequently linear form of meaning". She further attests that the novel of the twentieth-century has produced entangled networks of plot which "activated the energies of other textual elemenets to form patterns of signification that transcended the linear development of the plot." Teresa Dobson et al. (Interactive Visualizations of Plot in Fiction, 2011) quote William H. New in their article to describe a story, "'story' is neither linear nor one dimensional; story layers narrative". Dobson introduces the idea of a 3D visualization of a narrative structure in order to gain a variety of perspectives on the story. By inputting data regarding the text, this computer program can analyze the narrative/plot using different tags to change the parameters and consequently, be able to record and observe the result. This data visualization encourages teachers and students to explore plot in different ways and to ask what can be learned through the visualization of a narrative text. Moretti suggests the use of "distant reading" as opposed to "close reading" where distance is a condition of knowledge. This technique allows you to focus on units that are much smaller or much larger than the text itself. (Tania Danilovic)
Literacy
Literacy originated in the United States in 1880 as ‘literate’. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary this is “the quality, condition or state of being literate; the ability to read and write”. Moreover, in its extended use, literacy means the ability to read and/or to have “competence or knowledge in a particular area, “ for example, cultural literacy (OED, 2012). Literacy in its basic form, has transformed into multiple literacies; thus there are digital literacies, fashion literacies, media literacies, computer literacies etc. In association with the education system, teaching and adhering to multiple literacies is an important aspect of teaching to diversities and student engagement. In Mary Bryson and Teresa Dobson presentation, Digital Cultures/Prosthetic Mobilities: Politics, Public Knowledge, and Multimodal Literacies, multimodal literacies, were examined and displayed as a ‘new’ tool for educating students and examining texts. From this, the traditional form of ‘literacy’ – the ability to read- can be extended to what Alan Galey and Stan Ruecker refer to as digital humanities . That is to examine texts digitally rather than solely the traditional version of close reading the hardcopy text. Moreover, digital literacies, according to Critical Literacy, Digital Literacies and Common Core State Standards: A Workable Union?(2012) provides “opportunities to enact critical literacy in unique ways” (JuliAnna Avila & Michael Moore). This all be said, the basic foundation of literacy still has a crucial role in education and student engagement-instead of focusing on one particular literacy, literacy and new literacies, like digital literacy, should be connected and woven together. (Sydney Mitchell)