Question+1+-+Response

Question 1: What does the history of educational media and technology tell us about educational media and technology? Why does it matter?

History always tells a story. Remember the old saying "if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it". Thus the history allows us to see how technology became integrated into the educational setting and really sets the foundations and reasons for its presence. It allows us to study why we thought there was a need. It matters because if we don't have the concrete reasons for the presence of technology in the educational setting how can we justify it? Our justifications come from not only the present student population, but past research. The history is the proof of why we do what we do. History allows us to study, adapt, change, modify (rip,burn, remix - haha) our modern selves. We learn from both the glorious successes and utter failures of the past. If I want to really understand a topic, I need to look at why it became a topic in the first place and then I can make recommendations or expand after. Oops! Lindsey

Great points! History does always tell a story and historically that is how knowledge was handed down from one generation to the next. Learning from our mistakes and successes is vital to progress. When looking at Pressey’s ‘Automatic Teacher’ for example, this teaching machine was going to address all of the inefficiencies of education by promoting rote learning. We now know that this emphasis on hardware can't be the answer. The hardware is the medium- the practice, the pedagogy, is at the heart of good teaching and learning, the ET enhances it in ideal educational situations. Understanding the history of ET is essential for educators, administrators and politicians so that we make the sound choices for our youth based on research and historical fact, not on the shiniest new ET. The idea that an automated teacher can enable individualized learning is like thing a potato peeler enables peeled potatoes- it is the method the achieves the end result. How we use the tools we are afforded with is of utmost importance. Di

I agree Di, you (whoever you are) have made some excellent points. I have always found it interesting that human kind continues to make the same mistakes even with the knowledge of the past. In any event, I agree that history allows us to see how the technology became integrated within education but I wonder if this integration was mainly to do with corporations trying to make a dollar in a new lucrative market. Of course, this seems to have worked out mainly for the good as the need for certain technologies in an educational setting are definitely justified. History definitely provides teachers and administrators with a wealth of information in which to make difficult technological choices. Well done. Joey

Educational Technology is the architecture, buildings, premises, processes, systems, techniques, devices and artefacts (tests, textbooks, media, curriculum, teaching machines, computers, etc.) that mark and shape the control, hygiene and therapeutics of administration, counselling, teaching, and learning. This includes technologies to individualize, socialize or automate administration, counselling, curriculum and instruction (Petrina and Feng. 2008). And to fully understand how, why and whether Educational Technology impact human society today, we need to examine the past and the study of its history offers insights into the complex process involved in social change and how the society that we live in today came into being. Lucy Good point. The past is very important since it helps us to understand where we are going. Technology has been evolving and will continue. In the past, technology media in education was mainly chalk and blackboard. Now educational media seem to have arrived in most classrooms. There are tons of technology out there in classrooms that studemts are interfacing with. Majority of homes now provide their children with access to a host of educational experiences via the Internet, and many countries are in the process of trying to implement strategies to provide universal access to all students and this is all apart of the evolution of education technology and media. Keisha Keisha you have emphasized that we are immersed in a world that is rich in ET. Why does this matter to you? Why does it matter to us as educationalists?

It was reading the articles on history of ET that I come to understand the reason for nature of society today. I found McLuhan’s article difficult to understand at first but it was in reading and summarising it that I come to see how the way society is organized has been to a great extent determined by technology. Technology has also changed the way we perceive things as well – from linear and consecutive during the print age to simultaneous with the advent of the various communication media. And it was while reading McLuhan and the Magic Box that I could clearly see how the shifts in human history followed the major shift in the introduction of new technology. There are 4 stages I think. It starts with oral preliterate. Then there was the codification of script. And tremendous change came about with the printing press. And now with electronic media, man’s history has and is undergoing yet another tremendous change. Lucy Great synopsis Lucy. It is utterly amazing to think about the transition that ET has gone through. the evolution of ET has definitley lead to tremendous change but let's not forget the huge impact the inventionof the pencil/print press/first computer had on teaching and learning opportunites... People shape innovation. Which ET has been the most influential??

Thank you, Di. It's really hard to decide. I was going to say computer, then I decided that it was printing and then I decided it was writing. What about you? Which ET do you think has been most influential. Would be great to do a survey and ask for people's opinion. Lucy That is a fantastic idea Lucy! We should have done that! Personally, I think it was the print press that really revolutionized learning as it enabled so many people to have access to information- then the internet for the same reasons... I think regardless of whether or not it is ET history, or world history, history does need to be studied. We need to see our previous successes and failures so that we can learn from them.

In addition, from looking at ET history we can determine the best strategies on using new media to its greatest pedagogical effectiveness. We can take the lessons on how ET was used in the past to develop better and more effective ET in the future. For instance, we can see where previous ET fell short and we can then develop new ET to fill these gaps. Shierley. (ps. sorry this is a little late).