Education in a Digital Age SEMESTER TWO JANUARY – MAY 2022 Dr Peter Shukie | Education Studies | January 2022
Module Leader Contact at: Peter.shukie@blackburn.ac.uk 01254 292509 @shukieone (Twitter) Office UC208
Module Delivery – Monday morning (9 – 12) in UC231
Welcome to the module This will be a module that encourages critical analysis and evaluative approaches to oftenfamiliar technologies. You will also be able to develop your own technology awareness to create interactive assignments using video, animation, audio and images to enhance your productions. We have an additional challenge this year with the module taking place amidst a global pandemic. This means we will have the year group split into two. One week you will have in-class sessions, and on alternate weeks, you will have an online session. Check out the timetable to see when you are in UCBC – and when you are not. It is a bonus to some extent, as we get to experience the online approaches to educational technology. This contemporary issue is currently redefining what we mean by education. Technology and online education will be a significant issue in your evaluation and your own creations. Use these experiences to create powerful and innovative assignments and we can make the most of a potentially difficult set of circumstances. We will do this together.
KEY DATES Sessions will be in UC231 Sessions Begin – Monday 24th January 2022 Deadline Assignment One – 14th March 2022 (11:50pm) Post-Dates for Assignment One grades (Feedback released) – 2nd April 2022 Deadline Assignment Two – 6th May 2022 (11:50pm) Post-Dates for Assignment One grades (Feedback released) – 27th May 2022
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Overview of the sessions in this module Week 1. 24.01
Title Setting the Scene
2 31/02
Myths and Legends
Notes A timeline of technology; introduction to critical approaches to technology Digital Natives and Revolutions
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Indicative Resources Picciano, A. Chapter 2; Audrey Watters’ Timeline Weller, M. (2011) chapter 2 ‘Is the Revolution Justified’; Various Prensky, M. See VLE for texts
Learning From Skinner’s Teaching Theory and machine to social Technology 1 constructivism th Half Term 14 February (1 week) 4 Learning Beyond the traditional – See VLE for texts 21/02 Theory and connectivism, rhizomatic, Technology 2 nomadic and post human 5 Popular Education for social justice – ALL Students Online 28/02 Education and xMOOCs, COOCs, and the Critical Theory battle for who owns learning 6 Workshop & Are Digital Literacies ‘new All students online 7/03 Digital literacies?’ and if so, what does Literacies this mean? 7 Critical Henry Giroux, Neil Selwyn See VLE for texts 14/03 Approaches to and Neoliberalism – Is Technology Educational Technology a (Seminar) positive or a negative in society? Deadline Assignment One 14th March 8 Digital Divide The social consequences of Eubanks V (2011) Digital 21/03 and increased digitalization – the Dead Ends Automating impact for education Eubanks V (2017) Inequality Automating Inequality 9 Radical What is the future of Greenfield, A (2017) 28/03 Technologies education in the machine age? Radical Technologies: The design of everyday life Easter Break 4th April (2 weeks) 10 Plagiarism, Practical responses to the Rheingold, H 25/04 CRAP changing face of academic http://rheingold.com/201 Detection and research in the age of the 3/crap-detection-miniCreative internet course/ Commons 11 Workshop on Selecting a title, designing an Various dependent on 2nd May the Interactive interactive essay, moving your own title beyond the brief 2
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Essay (Mandatory) Assignment Two (Interactive Essay) Deadline 6th May Evaluation of the module
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES
How to use resources During the module there will be a range of approaches to how you are expected to use the materials. The main goal is to help you increase the reading in relation to technology, guide your focus to the key themes and help you make choices for independent reading. There are many exciting thinkers, people revealing new ways of teaching and others warning of the dangers inherent in increased technology. This being technology enhanced, you will also be able to access online materials that are not just textual, but include podcasts, videos, websites and enhanced texts such as blogs and social media. Although you will not read (or listen, or view) everything, you are expected to be involved in several ways:
Guided pre-session readings – Each week there will be something you are provided to read/ listen to/ view. These will be made clear in sessions and on the MOODLE page. You need to access these and compete any activities to get ready for the session. Seminar readings – There are at least two seminars planned. In these, you will be asked to create a presentation based on one or more texts/ resources that answer the seminar questions. General Reading/ Resources – degree level study is all about reading and finding extra information. You will develop your own ideas and arguments through the reading you do and the more reading you do, the better informed you will be. Independent Reading: You are encouraged to read around the subject, explore other thinkers and teachers. Your interests can inform both assignments, but it helps you get interested, excited by other thinkers and bring that energy to sessions and to discussion.
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The lists below are to help you get an overview of the materials we will look at. If you take time to read, or like to reflect before sessions, this is provided for you as a full list. Do not be scared, you won’t have to read everything (unless you want to).
Text resources The list below highlights some key texts that we will be referring to in the session ahead. It would be valuable to get access to the books and you may wish to buy one or more. Where possible, additional resources and required texts are available on the VLE pages for each session. Eubanks, V. (2011). Digital Dead Ends: Fighting for Social Justice in the Information Age. Boston, MA: MIT Press Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating Inequality: How High Tech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor. New York: St Martin’s Press Greenfield, A. (2017) Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life. London: Verso (Excerpt available on MOODLE) Miller, C. (2018). The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab. London: William Heinemann. (Excerpt available on MOODLE) Morozov, E. (2011). The Net Delusion, How Not to Liberate the World. London: Penguin Publishers. Nagle, A. (2017). Kill All Normies. Hants: Zero Books Picciano, A. (2019) Online Education: Foundations, Planning and Pedagogy. London: Routledge (Excerpt available on MOODLE) Shukie, P. (2017). 'Let Freedom Reign: A Case Study Exploring the Extent to Which HE Students Choose 'New' Forms of Pedagogy and Technology in a Student-Led Project. Journal of Perspective in Applied Academic Practice. vol.5, No.1. doi: 10.1429 Shukie, P. (2017). Seeking Emancipation in a World of Online Emancipators. In M. Daley, K. Orr, & J. Petrie, The Principal: Power and Professionalism in Further Education. London: Trentham Books. Simons, S. (July 13th 2018). ‘Could Gonzo Pedagogy finally unlock online learning for everyone?’ Times Educational Supplement (pp 54 – 57) (also accessible at https://www.tes.com/news/tes-magazine/tes-magazine/could-gonzo-pedagogy-finallyunlock-online-learning-everyone)
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Thomas, M. (2011). Deconstructing Digital Natives: Young People, Technologies and the New Literacies. New York: Routledge
Online Journals (links available on Moodle) Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Journal – available at https://journal.alt.ac.uk/index.php/rlt Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three Generations of Distance Education Pedagogy. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3). Bell, F. (2011). Connectivism: it's place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology-enabled learning. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 12(3). Cormier, D. (2008). Community is the Curriculum. Innovate, 4(5). Costa, C. (2015). Outcasts on the Inside: academics reinventing themselves online. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 34(2), 194-210. Lamb, B., & Groom, J. (2010, July/ August). Never Mind the EduPunks: or the great Web 2.0 swindle. Educause Review, 45(4), pp. 50-58. Facer, K., & Sandford, R. (2010). The Next 25 Years? Future Scenarios and Future Directions for Education and Technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning , 26, 74-93. House of Lords. (2015). Make or Break: the UK's digital future. London: The Stationery Office.
Mackness, J., & Bell, F. (2015, Jan - March). Rhizo14: a rhizomatic learning cMOOC in sunlight and in shade. Open Praxis, 7(1), 25-38. Mackness, J., Bell, F., & Funes, M. (2016). The Rhizome: a problematic metaphor for teaching and learning in a MOOC. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 32(1). Mackness, J., Bell, F., & Funes, M. (2016). The Rhizome: A problematic metaphor for teaching and learning in a MOOC. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 32(1). Selwyn, N. (2015). Massive Open Online Change? Exploring the Discursive Construction of the MOOC in Newspapers. Higher Education Quarterly, 69(2), 175-192.
Shukie, P. (2012b, October). Exploding Feathers and Virtual Reality. Journal of Research and Practice in Adult Litearcy (RAPAL), 78. Shukie, P. (2017). COOCs Supporting Communities for Social Learning. Creative Academic Magazine. Issue 7, Feb 2017. Available from http://www.creativeacademic.uk/uploads/1/3/5/4/13542890/cam_7b_february.pdf
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Stewart, B. (2013). Massiveness + Openess = New Literacies of Participation. MERLOT Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 228-238.
Online non-textual resources
There will be use of podcasts, videos, websites, art and a whole host of educational applications included in the course. These will be introduced and linked to on the MOODLE pages. The brief list below gives you direction to some of the resources you may want to have a look at and might be useful references. Howard Rheingold home page http://rheingold.com/ Howard Rheingold is a Professor in California who has been writing and thinking around technology for decades. His website is home to a lot of exciting and insightful; material – including a short course on CRAP detection, which we make lots of use of in the module (and beyond!) Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Website and publications https://www.alt.ac.uk/publications A useful website that involves voices from Higher and Further Education as they continue to develop, research, reflect and practice with learning technologies. Times Educational Supplement Primary website https://www.tes.com/news This is a useful website with News, Community and Resources categories. It is a place to explore if you are going into Primary as a teacher or TA. Barefoot Computing for Primary https://barefootcas.org.uk/ This is a great space for seeing how primary teachers are being encouraged to engage with technology. Lots of ideas about resources here, and the site itself is worth some investigation. Where is it from? Why barefoot? The Horizon Guide to Artificial Intelligence https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bhwhw3/the-horizon-guide-to-ai Ever wondered how the development of intelligent computing/ robotics/ AI has been reported over the last 50 years? This fascinating programme shows details which highlight unspoken issues about gender/ class/ power as much as it does about technology. 6
Podcasts The Digital Divide Debate (2002) https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p03kc67j This is an interesting listen, the technologies are so clearly dated, but has the overall situation changed in the almost two decades since? Digital Planet: Where half the population has a handset (2006) https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p035d04d This podcast is later but offers the 50% mobile (not smart) phone ownership as a surprisingly high figure. How have things changed since the first podcast from 2002? Aleks Krotoski The Digital Human podcast series, Radio 4, accessed at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n7094 There are scores of resources here that involve detailed discussion around many ways that technology interweaves with society, people, work, education and much more. Gemma Newby (July 2018) Can the Internet be Stopped (Radio 4 podcast) https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/b0b7f15s This is an interesting approach. Far from the optimism of 2002, we are now looking at the internet as a space of threat and fear. It will be interesting to hear what you think of these developments. Laurie Taylor (May 2018) The Internet and Democracy Radio 4 podcast https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/b0b1sycx This is a fascinating set of examples of how technology has moved beyond the discussion of ‘have and have not’ as the mark of the digital divide. Having technology does not mean you are included and this programme shows that democracy, government and life can be affected by technology. Reith lecture series on AI (artificial intelligence) = BBC Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures Available now Things Fell Apart by Jon Ronson (he wrote ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ if you have ever seen that film?) – anyway, this is about the culture wars and how we got to where we got to – the role of technology is interesting BBC Radio 4 - Things Fell Apart - Available now The Coming Storm is all about QAnon and the use of the internet to create globally significant conspiracy theories, shots in a pizzagate scandal and a whole host of monsters and mayhem BBC Radio 4 - The Coming Storm - Downloads 7
Social Media One of the key spaces to get up-to-date information, conversation, advice and guidance is Social Media. Twitter – there are many groups and communities on Twitter that allow you to share. Listen to others, and get news on reports, resources and papers. Some popular ones include. I am @shukieone #edtechchat – educators with an inserts in technology form all sectors – Primary; Secondary; FE and HE #UKFECHAT – same as above but with a strong focus on FE and Adult Education Facebook – we will create a Facebook page for the group. This is somewhere to explore content, share materials and also consider what we can do to promote staying safe, secure and as private as possible on FB! Other platforms have massive educational impact, LinkedIn has professional groups, Youtube and Vimeo provide free and easy access to video resources (both to upload and consume). Our approach here is not to say any of these sites are essential but to encourage exploration. Where do they work, where do they not work?
HOW YOU WILL BE ASSESSED: Formative Assessment (ongoing and ungraded) During the sessions we will engage in Q & A, dialogue in conversations and in seminar sessions. These are a significant opportunity to raise ideas, outline your thinking and have these discussed and developed with others. Online spaces include the VLE forums and possible social media (subject to group agreement). Here, out of session reading, written thoughts and videos can be submitted to create discussion between the classes.
Summative assessment (graded assessment) There are two summative assessments, these are detailed in the assignment briefs (below) but are briefly:
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Assignment One: Evaluation of an educational technology, a written assignment of 2000 words (50% of module grade) that is due on 14th March 2022. Assignment Two: An Interactive Essay that requires you to create your own title (and have this agreed with your tutor). This is due on 6th May 2022
ASSIGNMENTS There are two assignments for this module, each weighted at 50% and between them offering opportunities for critical reflection, creativity, innovation and academic presentation. The actual briefs are included below, but before that I have provided a short summary of what each assignment hopes to allow you to achieve. The First Assignment asks you to select a form of Technology Enhanced Learning, one that relates to you now, or that you have experienced in the past or may encounter in your professional role in the future. What the assignment intends is to develop your critical approach to selecting technologies, seeing what they can do and what they cannot do. This is not just technical, the module will explore the ways technology can create inequality as well as opportunity. Often technology promises innovation, but relies on traditional learning theories and behaviours. In this assignment your task is to select a technology, look at what it means for the users and design an assignment that explores the wider issues at stake when we choose to use TEL. Here, you need to select an appropriate TEL and use at least on learning theory to help your analysis. In the Second Assignment you will create an Interactive Essay. This might be new to you, it is an approach to writing and presenting in which you apply technology in the design. Rather than pure text, you may choose to create video or animation to develop the points, you may have hyperlinks, interactive questions or links to social media. What you will write. Create about will be your choice. You will have the option to choose any topic that we have covered during the module and design an essay question that you will answer. This might be around social justice, learning theory in technology, plagiarism and creative commons, technology as threat or technology as promise. Any areas covered in the module can act as the seed for your own essay title. The briefs give you more detail and they are clear about what the outcomes covered in each assignment are. Make sure you are familiar with the brief before you plan the design of your assignment, and ask each other and me as tutor for clarification.
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ASSIGNMENT BRIEFS Assignment 1 – Critical Reflection of a Learning Technology (brief on next page)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE 14th March 2022
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Assignment 2 – Interactive Essay
SUBMISSION DEADLINE 6th May 2022
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What is technology enhanced learning to you? 1. Complete the short survey below on your own. 2. Work with two others and identify where you share strengths, areas of concern or interests. 3. As a group we can see where we want to go, what we are most interested in, and who can lead on which seminar – we will do this is in a full group plenary
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How would you describe your own view of technology in education?
2. What technologies do you use for educational purposes?
3. What technologies do you wish you did not have to use (if any)?
4. Who makes the choices of the technologies you use? (i.e. self-chosen; course tutors; society; whole college; not sure)
5. What do you hope to explore in this module? (You can mention here whether you are excited by the module, or depressed, or somewhere in between!)
6. Who do you think might benefit from your developing a critical approach to Technology Enhanced Learning?
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