Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Saturday, May 7, 2011
MADLaT ~ May 6. 2011
( originally posted on ICTology, imported in September/15)
On May 6, 2011, five members of the ICT Committee of the Faculty of Education gave a presentation at MADLaT (Manitoba Association for Distributed Learning & Training) at College universitaire de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg. The Prezi used is below. A great discussion took place during the session.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
An Interesting Interview ~ Is knowledge outstripping our ability to deal with it?
A few weeks back, I was listening to the CBC program The Current on the drive to Brandon.One of the interviews was with E.O. Wilson, the eminent evolutionary biologist. At one point the host asked about the current oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. His response (paraphrased) was that we (especially Americans) are so self confident that they think that any problems that arise will be solved as they arise. In other words, we go ahead with projects and ideas without taking the time to think about the consequences, we just think that if something comes up it will be dealt with then. He posits that our society is getting too complicated and that we can't handle the big crises that our coming up. Advancements in knowledge and technology is outstripping our ability to use our wisdom to deal with the big problems. We need a better understanding of ourselves as species, we have had great progress, but also great danger. I am not going all 'luddite', but his words made me think, especially now that the oil has been leaking for almost a month and is produced an oil 'glob' that is many kilometers long and wide. (Wilson is not a technophobe either - as his TED talk and web site below show.) In my previous post, I brought up how nature - the volcano in Iceland - still grounds flights from time to time. While the latter example shows that Nature still trumps man, the oil disaster does reinforce Wilson's ideas. We must think carefully about the ramifications of of our progress and not let the almighty dollar be our guide. I am not saying that we should quit progressing, however, we need to be critical thinkers and reflect and consider the possible consequences instead of "ready ... shoot ... aim".
This is an interesting interview - take a few minutes to give it a listen (link above).
Some links: E.O. Wilson's Biodiversity Foundation.
The Boston Globe: Gallery of photos of this disaster.
TED Talk : E.O. Wilson talks about "Saving Life on Earth"
This is an interesting interview - take a few minutes to give it a listen (link above).
Some links: E.O. Wilson's Biodiversity Foundation.
The Boston Globe: Gallery of photos of this disaster.
TED Talk : E.O. Wilson talks about "Saving Life on Earth"
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Mother Nature Trumps Technology
The big news of the past week was the grounding of close to one hundred thousand flights to and from Europe due to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. This has stranded many thousands of people and cost the airlines over a billion dollars. While some say the reaction to ground all the flights was overboard, the entire episode just makes one think. Despite all the advances in technology of all sorts,we still can not compete with "mother nature". This episode shows how prediction of these events is still not accurate and that our amazing aircraft can't compete with the ash and other particles produced in the eruption. Click here to see some fantastic photos of the eruption and devastating effects.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Week #13 (no class) Kids Not Getting Enough Sleep?
No class this week, but this article from the BBC came to my attention via Twitter and is rather interesting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8520918.stm
It talks about a study that shows kids are not getting the required sleep because they are watching TV, playing video games or using their cell phones. The results include tiredness, lack of concentration and behaviour problems. This takes me back to Lana's presentation of the Kaiser Report and the role of parents. It seems to me that not only kids, but parents need some educating as well. Technology might be a factor, but a little parenting might help the situation. The article goes on to talk about the effect on teens as well, too bad it ends with this quote:
"These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed later, getting less sleep and possibly under-performing on standardised tests."
A much better and valid reason than this could have been made - I wish we could get off this standardised testing nonsense as a way to gauge achievement! :-( (see my previous post for video of Sir Ken Robinson on this topic!)
On a happy note: I came across this site earlier this week, and given the historical theme in the class, found it to be very interesting. It even has a page on the Timex-Sinclair computer I brought to class earlier this term - not to mention the Commodore Pet and Trash 80! :The Obsolete Technology Website!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8520918.stm
It talks about a study that shows kids are not getting the required sleep because they are watching TV, playing video games or using their cell phones. The results include tiredness, lack of concentration and behaviour problems. This takes me back to Lana's presentation of the Kaiser Report and the role of parents. It seems to me that not only kids, but parents need some educating as well. Technology might be a factor, but a little parenting might help the situation. The article goes on to talk about the effect on teens as well, too bad it ends with this quote:
"These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed later, getting less sleep and possibly under-performing on standardised tests."
A much better and valid reason than this could have been made - I wish we could get off this standardised testing nonsense as a way to gauge achievement! :-( (see my previous post for video of Sir Ken Robinson on this topic!)
On a happy note: I came across this site earlier this week, and given the historical theme in the class, found it to be very interesting. It even has a page on the Timex-Sinclair computer I brought to class earlier this term - not to mention the Commodore Pet and Trash 80! :The Obsolete Technology Website!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week #5: Heidegger, Heidegger ...
The reading and subsequent discussion & analysis of Heideggers’ The Question Concerning Technology served to confirm & reinforce my views about technology and raised many more questions and trains of thought. I found the group presentations and discussion very informative – thanks to the class, many wonderful insights and examples! Reading Heidegger was a chore, however, he also has some interesting ways of stating things, and further readings help bring them out.
The major point Heidegger is making, as I see it, is that the essence of technology goes well beyond technology… “the essence of technology is by no means anything technological”. Heidegger tells us that technology is much more than a tool – something we have discussed many times in this course. We must constantly question our use of technology and the direction it takes us “questioning is the piety of thought”. Yet, as Heidegger points out we are “unfree and chained to technology”. Not only does technology play an increasingly important role in our lives, but does Heidegger also mean that it blinds us to other ways of viewing the world – such as through the arts? This idea applies to the use of technology in society and in education, and is one we should keep in mind. We certainly talk about using modern technological tools to enhance learning. It does offer many affordances never available before, yet it goes much further. We should discuss the use of technology with our students, what are the trade-offs? How does this affect the environment and our use of energy? How does this affect our relationships? How can we use the technology in sustainable ways? How can technology enhance our learning, our thought, our connections? How do we avoid the “ compulsion to push on blindly with technology” or to do the opposite and “rebel helplessly against it and curse it as the work of the devil”? Heidegger tells us that where the danger lies, so does the “saving power”, thus we must keep the danger in sight. Again we see the importance of questioning, examining the path we are on – both back where we have come and forward to where it might lead us. Heidegger tells us that we cannot embrace technology blindly as simply a way to get things done, nor can we ignore it, we can’t just let it happen and we can’t “rail against it”. What do we do?
In a previous course (Critical Theorizing), I attempted to examine technology, and the digital divide, from a critical point of view. I came across a number of researchers who promoted a critical view of technology. Several points of view were common in the literature and echoed Heidegger’s; we could ignore the technology and hope it goes away, we could attack and blame technology for all our ills (technophobes), we could embrace it by jumping on the bandwagon and hoping for the best (technophiles, or a term I liked, used by Weaver & Grindall (1998): technomaniacs ), or use the technology in a thoughtful, critical way (‘critical technomania” – another term I liked). In the last view, we integrate the technology, but do so in a way that promotes learning, democratic values and social justice. We hear a lot of naysayers rallying against technology, telling us that Google makes us stupid, that reading and writing skills are deteriorating, and so on. The technomaniacs will dismiss such claims out of hand and carry on. I think we need to examine these claims and the research that also says the opposite, we should question all these ideas and use them to examine our practice. Once again, as Heidegger tells us “questioning is the piety of thought”.
Heidegger also talks about techne meaning the fine arts, and brings in poetry and other art forms as a mode of revealing. Our modern technology can be art and can help produce wonderful art (see the link to the YouTube video on sand art, I put in Nicenet, for example). But that is another discussion.
Finally, just for fun (if you are one of those rare breeds who appreciate the absurdity of Monty Python…) here is the Bruce’s Philosophers Song … enjoy!
Reference
Weaver, J. and Grindall, K. (1998). Surfing and getting wired in a fifth grade classroom: critical pedagogical methods and techno-culture. In Kincheloe, J. and Steinberg S. (Eds.) Unauthorized Methods: Strategies for Critical Teaching. (pp 231-251) New York: Routledge.
The major point Heidegger is making, as I see it, is that the essence of technology goes well beyond technology… “the essence of technology is by no means anything technological”. Heidegger tells us that technology is much more than a tool – something we have discussed many times in this course. We must constantly question our use of technology and the direction it takes us “questioning is the piety of thought”. Yet, as Heidegger points out we are “unfree and chained to technology”. Not only does technology play an increasingly important role in our lives, but does Heidegger also mean that it blinds us to other ways of viewing the world – such as through the arts? This idea applies to the use of technology in society and in education, and is one we should keep in mind. We certainly talk about using modern technological tools to enhance learning. It does offer many affordances never available before, yet it goes much further. We should discuss the use of technology with our students, what are the trade-offs? How does this affect the environment and our use of energy? How does this affect our relationships? How can we use the technology in sustainable ways? How can technology enhance our learning, our thought, our connections? How do we avoid the “ compulsion to push on blindly with technology” or to do the opposite and “rebel helplessly against it and curse it as the work of the devil”? Heidegger tells us that where the danger lies, so does the “saving power”, thus we must keep the danger in sight. Again we see the importance of questioning, examining the path we are on – both back where we have come and forward to where it might lead us. Heidegger tells us that we cannot embrace technology blindly as simply a way to get things done, nor can we ignore it, we can’t just let it happen and we can’t “rail against it”. What do we do?
In a previous course (Critical Theorizing), I attempted to examine technology, and the digital divide, from a critical point of view. I came across a number of researchers who promoted a critical view of technology. Several points of view were common in the literature and echoed Heidegger’s; we could ignore the technology and hope it goes away, we could attack and blame technology for all our ills (technophobes), we could embrace it by jumping on the bandwagon and hoping for the best (technophiles, or a term I liked, used by Weaver & Grindall (1998): technomaniacs ), or use the technology in a thoughtful, critical way (‘critical technomania” – another term I liked). In the last view, we integrate the technology, but do so in a way that promotes learning, democratic values and social justice. We hear a lot of naysayers rallying against technology, telling us that Google makes us stupid, that reading and writing skills are deteriorating, and so on. The technomaniacs will dismiss such claims out of hand and carry on. I think we need to examine these claims and the research that also says the opposite, we should question all these ideas and use them to examine our practice. Once again, as Heidegger tells us “questioning is the piety of thought”.
Heidegger also talks about techne meaning the fine arts, and brings in poetry and other art forms as a mode of revealing. Our modern technology can be art and can help produce wonderful art (see the link to the YouTube video on sand art, I put in Nicenet, for example). But that is another discussion.
Finally, just for fun (if you are one of those rare breeds who appreciate the absurdity of Monty Python…) here is the Bruce’s Philosophers Song … enjoy!
Reference
Weaver, J. and Grindall, K. (1998). Surfing and getting wired in a fifth grade classroom: critical pedagogical methods and techno-culture. In Kincheloe, J. and Steinberg S. (Eds.) Unauthorized Methods: Strategies for Critical Teaching. (pp 231-251) New York: Routledge.
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