Talk:The Anthropology and Sociology of Educational Technology

Culture

3. Name some rituals, activities, traditions and material artifacts that define your own culture.

Well with Euro 2012 starting this past week (Friday)I have a chance to catch up with some of my English roots. Being born in London, I have this need to to watch football. I will wear my England jersey and purchase the 2012 cap. I will watch the England matches with friends and family. I will drink a few pints. Having married a women with Dutch heritage, I will also cheer for the "Oranje" (who lost yesterday :( ). I will also eat bangers and mash.

For myself the World Cup or Euro Championship is a way that I can touch base with the English culture which I was born into and lived in until I was seven. The current Euro will be exciting, as I can use technology (Skype, Facebook, etc) to connect real-time with my family and friends in the UK while the match is being played. This ability to share, communicate, and revisit the culture I was born into is something I look forward to over the next month.

Hello Dominic,

I love your comments,thanks for sharing your English heritage rituals with us:) I've never heard of Bangers and Mash. Sound like you might have to chase them down with a pint!

Cheers

Donna

Hi Donna,

I wish I could say Bangers and Mash was a special dish, but alas it does not. It translates into sausages and mashed potatoes.

I will have to look up why sausages are called bangers, I have just always known them as such. Goes to show you how we really are not truly aware or our own cultures. Hmmmmmmmmmm, food for thought :).

Hi Dominic,

I completely understand where you are coming from interms of the "need" to get into football when the EuroCup is on. I felt this same football fever when I was working in Berlin during the last FIFA cup and Germany was in the running to make it to the finals. Even though I had always felt like an outsider to the German culture, because I had very limited language use and I also wasn't very "German" in terms of my attitude - when FIFA came to town, as long as you were dressed in the team colours and tooting a vuvuzela you were part of the game, part of the team and part of the football culture! It was great and I was so glad to have been a part of it while I was there. It was a culturally-defining moment for Germans as well, because one of my colleagues said that it was after a long time that Germans had stood up with pride and sang along to their national anthem.

As a Canadian, our culture (at least one aspect of it) can be paraphrased by saying: Double Double... It is such a common saying in Canada, that the term is now in the Canadian Dictionary.

Good evening Tom,

Now are you saying that the Canadian Dictionary has really accepted "Double Double into its pages? Hopefully Tim Hortons will get credit for that one and not a non Canadian company like Starbucks."

Donna:)

Tom, That is an excellent point. On one of my first trips to the United States I proceeded to order a Double Double to some very confused looks. The server had no idea what I was saying, and I had no idea why they were confused. Rose

'Reflecting on the K-12 educational journey, evaluate how “ease of use” is connected to cultural acceptance of education technology within the public school system.'

In our public school system today, there is a need for easy-to-use technology because not everybody is on the same page when it comes to technology. Just like students, teachers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, some with little technological experience and some with a lot. Some teachers are apprehensive about using technology in their classroom probably because they are not comfortable using the technology themselves. It is essential to have resources and technological equipment that both teachers and students are comfortable using because then the technology is worthwhile. This seems to be the case with the LilyPad. It looks easy to use for everyone and projects incorportating the LilyPad can be tailored to the specific audience using it. For example, elementary classrooms would use it differently than Grade 11 or 12 classrooms. In order for the whole school district to be on board, there would need to be a wide acceptance of the ease of use and benefit of the technology.

Alicia, your last comment struck a cord with me "In order for the whole school district to be on board, there would need to be a wide acceptance of the ease of use and benefit of the technology." I feel that this statement is key to any integration of computer technology these days. If I substitute iPad for Lilypad your statement still rings true. The iPad is all about 'ease of use' with easily accessible apps. access to the Internet (LAN or wifi being available), video and photo capabilities, physically designed for young and older students to easily hold and manipulate and finally portability. This device also supports collaborative/constructivist learning. Given this list, one would think that all school would incorporate such a device. So, why are not all schools incorporating, what seems to be the possibly the ultimate 'ease of use' device? I am comfortable with technology, I have an iPad at home, however, I am hesitant/apprehensive to integrate or suggest to my admin that this is the way to go. Does anyone else feel this way? Perhaps it is the pace of development and the urgency to implement the use of these devices that is resulting in the hesitation. Thoughts?

Dominic and Alicia,

In addition to ease-of-use and accessibility, time and equity are other factors that need to be considered. While I can learn certain technology-based programs relatively quickly, I still need free time during my day to do so. Furthermore, I've noticed that most of the technology resources get sourced out to the math, science, social studies, and English teachers, resulting in inequity of technology distribution and access. The teachers that teach in subject areas that are tested by the state have more technology.

Dominic, in response to your question about iPads being used in the classroom, I can relate to your hesistancy. Personally, I do not consider myself an early adopter of various tech tools because I want to ensure that all students have access to the tools and also that these tools will have a positive impact on student achievement. My class time with the students is limited, so I only integrate tools or programs in instruction that maximize the learning benefits to all students and aren't simply a trend or a colorful, attention-getting device. Thoughts?

Brian,

You mention the inequity regarding sourcing out technologies. In my experience it is primarily the science and math groups that receive technology first. Although, recently as the technology coordinator, I have managed to find better balance with distribution of educational technologies to faculty in both our Jr and Sr buildings.

There are so many factors to consider when implementing new devices. I have mentioned a few in the Monahan thread and Brian you have touched on time and equity. I believe that iPads can be an extremely powerful learning tool, but not the sole tool to be used. In my opinion this is true particularly at the Sr level from 10 - 12. In order to complete their work to a high enough level, students would have to use a desktop or laptop in combination with an iPad. It is difficult to manipulate large amounts of data from a science experiment in a spreadsheet or write a complete essay with bibliography on an iPad.

So, if a school is to adopt iPads and be equitable, is the expectation on the students or the school to provide the devices. If the school is expected to purchase the iPads for the students, do they have funds available or a lab for students to complete the work? Also, as mentioned in Monahan thread, the iPad works well with cloud based resources. How can we ensure student privacy and meet policy (FOIPPA in BC) by using a device which stores information in the Cloud? This is an issue, which I would need clarified before I was comfortable using this kind of device in the classroom.

Brian,

I agree with your thoughts that class time with students is limited and this prevents me from implementing and trying many different ways of learning. The other issue is when you introduce a new tool or program into a course sometimes it doesn't have the affect you were looking for. Generally I will introduce one or two new programs or tools into a course for each term and observe the results. If I feel it was beneficial then I will continue to use it and add on to it. This however is a slow process considering the rapid changes that are happening with technology.

In regards to Ipads I don't believe schools will ever have the funds to fully pay for all students to have one. Instead I would say that most students would bring their own and those that can't afford one would have to apply to receive one. As you mention there would be many problems if they tried to implement such a system. Our internet is slow at our school most of the time but if you had 1500+ students trying to use it at the same time it would become unusable.

The other reason that I am slow on adopting new technology is like you mention all the policies (like FOIPPA) that limit what you can and can't do.

Colin I agree that schools do not have the funds to buy technology for every student in the school. I believe in the future, the money spent on textbooks will be spent on technology, and the students will access something similar to wiki spaces in the humanities at least, thus removing books and/or e-books from the equation. Martin

Hi Colin and Martin,

I wonder if using iPads or other tech ed materials like computers, etc. would make a different in reducing paper copies when most of the course is on the computer (also less textbook costs). Our school constantly has paper jams or problems with the photocopier and it results in calling in a specialist to fix it. What a waste of educational resource money! Teachers still seem to print mass amounts of paper like it's no big deal. Over the long run, with less photocopier maintenance and paper costs, perhaps more could be in the budget for the technology that replaces a lot of that paper...Just a thought.

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1. Reflect on your own school and the relationship you have with your administrator(s). Explain your situation and how you work with administration when dealing with technology issues and equipment purchases.

My relationship with my administrators is somewhat dysfunctional. Our school district recently went from a dual platform (mac/pc) to single platform (PC), but the crux of several recent issues have been the iPad. Our district IT is more on the side of 'controlling' the users rather than 'serving' their needs. Any school requests for iDevices have been outright denied because it is seen as circumventing the single platform issue; but also because the devices do not offer the same level of administrative management/control as a pc.

Options for equipment purchases are strictly controlled by the IT department and schools are only given a choice of a small handful of devices (netbook/laptop/desktop), a one size fits all approach. Some schools are circumventing the process by using funds from Parent fundraising to purchase iPad devices that will function independantly of the school's network.

Overall it is creating a fractured and dysfunctional relationship where the needs of the users are less important than the need to control and manage the equipment.

Scott,

I think there is a great deal of caution surrounding varying devices on a network, particularly in schools. Of course this brings up the topic of one to one and BYOD programs. For me the issue that must be addressed is one of privacy created by the policy makers. In many case the iPad works best with Cloud based tools. This being the case public schools that implement the iPads use would not be in compliance with Section 30 of FOIPPA (at least in BC), where student information is not to be stored on servers outside of Canada. This means tools such as Google Docs should not be used unless there is written permission from a students guardian/parent. Of course collecting this written permission for an entire class of 30+ would be difficult.

Does your district have a no cell/smart phone policy as well?

Based on my experiences the 'dysfunction' you speak of will exist due to: 1) financial reasons 2) network issues (need to upgrade so all types of devices can make use of network) 3) misunderstanding or lack of technology knowledge and skills for parents/teachers/admin 4) concern by parents/admin and teachers regarding the safety and privacy for students while working online 5) the rate at which new devices are released to the public - remember when your VCR was good for 10+ years? 6) policies created are not modified or reflect use of current technologies 7) lack of time for Pro-D...least to say with so many considerations when it comes to the implementation of new programs it is a surprise we have technology available in schools at all.

The other issue facing school districts is legal liability. It used to be that tech facilitators at schools took care of installing and uninstalling all the programs and there was no deep freeze on computers. As a result a lot of staff started to upload illegal software which resulted in several lawsuits against the district. In addition viruses started to become a problem. Schools are ultimately responsible for what is on their equipment and it is costly to maintain many different kinds of equipment. I can see them supporting a BYOD policy as the students become responsible for their own devices.

I see this level of control continuing and even becoming stronger in school districts. The problem is that this kind of system prevents innovation which is why I see this tension between Teachers and IT departments continuing.

The following is written on a plaque in a U.S. IT room. “It’s not my job; I’ll be glad to take the responsibility”. Describe briefly what these words represent to you.

Monohan uses this and others like it (such as, "It's contrary to policy; anything's possible") to illustrate flexible thinking in a Post-Fordist world. I get the willies when I read this; it seems pretty Orwellian to me and I would not want to work in a place with a poster such as this one on the wall. I get that it is supposed to represent the dichotomy between "old school rigid thinking and new-school flexible thinking" (p. 81), but to me it is just another form of control (I won't say brainwashing; it's not quite that Orwellian!). If something's contrary to policy and I decide to do it anyway, who's going to take responsibility? If something's not my job and I do it anyway, what will the person responsible think and feel? Of course, flexible thinking is good, but these axioms actually don't represent flexible thinking. Perhaps something like this would work:

"It's not my job, but I'll see who's job it is and find out if I can help" or "It's contrary to policy so I'll look into whether it's possible or not"

6. In your own words, tell what the term technological culture means to you.

A technological culture is how the people in that culture engage in technology and its multiple uses. For example, looking at the technological culture of the MET program would mean to look at how the students in the program interact with technology on a regular basis. Considering we use distance learning and virtual learning environments for our courses, we are engaging with technology as an essential component of our cultural make-up. The artifacts we use to inform our cultural understanding of the program are technology-based as well, in that they include Web 2.0 tools. The traditions that we prescribe to include making regular contact with one another through weekly discussion posts, blogs or other forms of asynchronous and synchronous communications. Therefore, technology is actually inherent of the culture of the MET program. However, the school I work at does not have technology at the core of its culture; yet, the school still has a technological culture and this can be understood by looking again at the way that technology affects how the group interacts, or how the group uses technology to interact. So, we would look at the acceptance and integration of technology in the school environment as well as what efforts are made in the school to introduce technology. Therefore, the attitude towards technology at the school would inform the school's technological culture.

Drew Murphy

Illustrate why you think that the quest for innovation at the beginning of the 21st century has become such an obsession.

I think the quest for innovation in the 21st century is so strong because the types of innovations that are being developed are creating a feedback loop back into the innovation process. Every innovation starts as an idea for someone. Or more specifically, every innovation involves the exchange of ideas between others. This idea exchange process is the central engine within the innovation. What we are witnessing now is an innovation cycle fueled by the accelerating process of idea exchange that is occurring on a massive scale. When many of the central innovations such as digital and communication technologies exist to facilitate and manage idea exchange then the kinetic energy of innovation takes on the process of a looping chain reaction. I think that condition we are in right now... a massive self-fulfilling cycle of idea exchange.

I agree with Drew in that the quest for innovation is very strong because of the feedback loop it has created. As Nowotny mentions, "an abstract goal of innovation might be the "enhancement" of the human self" (p.13). As we create advanced biotechnologies, endotechnologies, reproductive technologies, etc, we get an insatiable hunger for more and more. Like Drew mentions, we are in "a massive self-fulfilling cycle of idea exchange" that can't seem to slow down because there seems to be endless opportunities to innovate and create to "better" ourselves. I don't think that the quest for innovation will cease any time soon for the majority of people among many different cultural backgrounds.

Hello Drew and Alicia,

You make some very good points about how the quest for innovation is strong because of the feedback loop that has been created. Do you think that we'll ever run out of innovations because it does not better human society? For instance, Blu-ray / High Def., do you think they'll ever improve the image quality of these? I "heard" that there would be no point to further the innovations of TV screens in terms of image quality because the human eye cannot see any better. Maybe instead of the TV screen, we'll start working on the eye itself! To not have to wear glasses/contacts would be great! It's amazing when we look at the history of such an innovation that has been re-invented over and over again. (Read the Moody article from Module 6 about the progress of television - very interesting read and I believe connected to Nowotny's concept of innovation).

I love how our Modules are starting to connect and build upon each other!

In regards to the statement, "Illustrate why you think that the quest for innovation at the beginning of the 21st century has become such an obsession," I would contend that the quest for innovation is an innate part of humanity that has always been and always will be a part of us. Farming traces its origins to various ancient civilizations and created a revolution in the hunter-gatherer societies of the time. Furthermore, the development of ancient tools and weapons was a process based on innovation, examination, and scrutiny. Therefore, to say that our quest of innovation became an obession in this past century is simply incorrect.

The primary difference between the present day and the past in terms of innovation is that our lines of communication and collaboration are now instantaneous. Knowledge can be stored, documented, and shared through electronic media and the internet, which were unavailable in the past. Additionally, the sciences involving human psychology, sociology, education, philosophy, and educational technology profer entirely new networks of people and resources for understandings of ourselves and our capabilities. As such, the role of innovation in our society in the digital age is less tangible in the physical sense but nonetheless relevant to our quest for truth, understanding, and creation.