I am writing this post suggested just for the introduction of this week. I wanted to write my first ideas and thoughts before digging to the articles and the task, forum and the up coming virtual conversation.
I am the kind of person that wants to think that tools are not good or bad per se. I believe that it is what you decide to do with these tools that defines if an action is correct and the outcome is positive or not. Also, we should debate what is positive and good before that, any ways…
We are in the digital era. At this point, the debate about weather technology is good or bad is just too simplistic, and it does not have much value any more. I think the debate should go beyond whether the technology is helping or improving the learning process, at the end of the day we don’t have a choice. Technology is everywhere and it is here to stay.
As a society, we have achieved a level of technology where robots and AI are part of our routine. It is not science fiction any more. Because of that, teachers and professionals of education should be discussing what to do with that. What is the development we want to see in the field? To what extend can this development be enforced when things are changing dramatically.
I feel that there is a strong link between technology and privatisation of education. The truth is that new technologies and technological discoveries are coming from private companies. How will this affect education? This is a question that I want to open to my classmates in the forum. Even if I have had some thoughts about it, I don’t have a clear position, and I would love to read different opinions about it.
For a long time I thought that a public system was the solution to avoid biased practices and malicious interests. However, coming from a country with a high level of political corruption I am not sure about this any more. From the perspective of society,what is education trying to achieve? Is the school a place to prepare students to be ready for the future market. If that is the case, who knows better the market that big companies?
Or in the other hand, primary and secondary education are the place where students learn to socialize and interact? In that case, is the use of latest technologies actually necessary?
Are private interests more “obscure or immoral” than the public ones?
All these ideas reminded me one episode of The Simpsons, where a future alternative classroom is presented. In this scene we can see how “new technologies” are introduced in a classroom and are sponsored by a well known soda company . I find this reality terrifying!
Do are we ready to let private tech companies to take a big part of the education?
‘I am the kind of person that wants to think that tools are not good or bad per se. I believe that it is what you decide to do with these tools that defines if an action is correct and the outcome is positive or not.’
Of course, this does assume that as humans we have the power to decide what these resources do. If we think about the complex algorithms working beneath the interface of many educational technologies, I wonder whether as educators or designers we are really in control? It’s a fascinating subject and one we’ll return to later in the IDEL course.
‘From the perspective of society,what is education trying to achieve? Is the school a place to prepare students to be ready for the future market. If that is the case, who knows better the market that big companies?’
You raise a vital question here, Lidia, and one that certainly applies in the context of UK education. Certainly at a political level there is a continual repetition of the message that a central role of higher education should train graduates to the workforce. Rather than going to university to learn, instead there seems to be a focus on learning skills for the workplace. And the ‘acquisition of digital skills’ (whatever this might be) does seem to be a major part of it. But if higher education isn’t just about training graduates to ease into the workforce, what should it be (or what can it also be)?
..and I enjoyed that Simpsons clip. ‘Partial credit!’