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The Asian Information Society and the Aims of Education

Explore the interplay between technology, culture, and education in the Asian information society and discuss how the aims of education have evolved with the introduction of ICTs.

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The Asian Information Society and the Aims of Education

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  1. The Asian Information Society and the Aims of Education Dr. Soraj Hongladarom, Department of Philosophy, Chulalongkorn University Presentation given at the 9th Conference of the Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, Namseoul University, SouthKorea, August 19-20, 2004

  2. Outline • Introduction - the interplay among technology, culture and education • Main question - How should we think about the aims of education in light of the Asian information society? • Tentative answer - the traditional aims appear to have changed as a result of the introduction of ICTs. • As society changes, so is the purpose of educating the younger generations 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  3. Main Thesis • Since technology is culturally embedded, it would tend to create conflicts with the Asian cultural milieu if it is imported wholesale from the West. Thus a way needs to be found to engage in education in such a way that technology both determines and is determined by the cultural settings. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  4. Main Thesis • More concretely, this means: • Becoming more sensitive to the cultural presuppositions of technology • Adapting the technology to local settings • The aims of education should include orientations both toward the environment and the roots. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  5. ITUA 2002 • Some results from the Information Technology and the Universities in Asia 2002 conference at Chulalongkorn University • Charles Ess, Michael Churton, etc. • Discussion of the aims of education 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  6. Aims of Education • It seems to me that aims of education have not been much discussed; they are often presupposed or left to tacit understanding. • I think that we should discuss more about this, since we need continually to reflect on what we are doing. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  7. The Asian Information Society • Does the spread of ICTs bring about a different kind of information society from that of the West? • Tentative answer - yes and no • The ‘yes’ answer is not quite interesting • But the ‘no’ answer is very much so. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  8. Implications for Language Education • In fact one thing that makes the Asian information society distinctive is language. • The aims of education and the aims of language education. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  9. Technology, Culture and Education • According to Ferré, technology is nothing more than “practical application of intelligence” • ‘Culture’ is usually defined as the sum total of human meaningful activities and practices that are informed by belief systems. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  10. Technology, Culture and Education • Thus, when technology is used in education, culture is invariably involved. • There is the traditional culture of the society as well as the ‘technological culture’ presupposed by the technology that is introduced there. • The two can conflict with each other. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  11. Technology, Culture and Education • In Thailand, this usually reveals itself in the technology not being used to its full potential. • This is so because there is a strong inertial force in support of the tradition. • So the problem is how to fuse technology into this kind of culture 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  12. Fusing Technology and Culture in Education • Thai culture is a strange case. • On the one hand, it embraces technology easily - Internet, mobile phones, all the new gadgets. • But on the other, there is a strong resistance when the technology is perceived to threaten the core - such as in education. • Internet use - 90% entertainment; 10% work and learning 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  13. Fusing Technology and Culture in Education • So in order for technology to become more effective, how the technology is perceived needs to change. • Technology needs to be part of the core Thai culture. • How this is done will emerge during the course of this talk. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  14. ITUA 2002 • In April 2002, the Faculty Senate of Chulalongkorn University organized a conference entitled “Information Technology and Universities in Asia 2002” (ITUA 2002) • The purpose was to find ways to best utilize ICTs in conducting the works of universities in Asia. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  15. ITUA 2002 • The conference was co-organized by the ASIA CALL (Dr. Larry Chong) • More than sixty participants came from many countries. • Most papers discussed various ways of using ICTs in teaching and learning. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  16. Charles Ess • “Liberal Arts and Distance Education: Can Socratic Virtue (Arete) and Confucius’ Exemplary Person (Junzi) Be Taught Online?” • Answer - Of course not, but a limited form of distance education may contribute to the sharing of ideas and cross-cultural dialogs, which lead to liberal education and Confucian exemplary person. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  17. Charles Ess • “…if mastery, expertise and practical wisdom are to be acquired by students as embodied beings - they will require teachers who incarnate the skills and wisdom that mark the highest levels of human accomplishment. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  18. Charles Ess • “That is not to say that distance education is of no value or relevance to liberal-arts education and its highest goals. On the contrary, as the recent shift to blended or “hybrid” approaches suggests, what is called for is the careful and appropriate use of distance learning.” 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  19. Michael Churton • “Quality Assurance in the Design, Development, and Implementation of ICT and Distance Learning Programs: Professorial Considerations” • The idea of this paper is to lay out what are required in order for a study program conducted online to be assured of its quality. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  20. Michael Churton • Demand for Quality Assurance • Accreditation and Benchmarks • Course structure • Teaching/Learning • Faculty support • Student support • Administrative support 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  21. Recommendations • Distance learning programs organize learning activities around and assess learner progress by reference to outcomes. • Distance-learning initiatives must be backed by an organizational commitment to quality and effectiveness in all aspects of the learning environment. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  22. Recommendations • DL opportunities are effectively supported for learners through fully accessible modes of delivery and resources. • DL activities are designed to fit the specific context for learning the nature of the subject matter, learning outcomes, needs and goals of the learner, the learner’s environment, and the instructional technologies and methods. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  23. Recommendations • The provider has a plan and infrastructure for using technology that supports its learning goals and activities. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  24. What Do All This Mean? • For our purpose, what Ess and Churton share in common is a commitment to a better quality of education through distance learning. • For Ess, DE plays a secondary role, but he shows that it is really possible to engage in DE while maintaining the ideals of liberal education. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  25. What Do All This Mean? • Churton, on the other hand, he does not have the same qualms; he goes on and presents his list of benchmarks. • In any case, we see that the role of culture is quite prominent in both. Churton stresses that the benchmarking be done with full agreement and cooperation of all the stakeholders - which mean that culture is at least involved indirectly. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  26. Asian Information Society • The advent of ICTs has prompted many to proclaim the information society, which is characterized mainly by the central role played by information. • The information age differs from the older industrial one in that what is ‘manufactured’ and ‘marketed’ is information rather than concrete objects. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  27. Asian Information Society • However, this characterization ignores the many obvious cultural differences - such as those between East and West. • So it makes sense to talk about the Asian information society. • This is characterized by the central role played by information, but with the distinctively Asian embedding. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  28. Finer-tuned Differences • Of course one can fine tune the difference further, and proclaim that the information societies that exists, say, in Japan and Korea are different. • This may well be so, but we don’t need to go to that level of detail here. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  29. Chief Characteristics • The characteristics of the Asian information society are not yet much explored. • Nonetheless, one may tentatively say that they include the following (apart from the usual): 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  30. Chief Characteristics • Communitarianism (as opposed to individualism) • Belief in social hierarchy • Emphasis on conformity • Low content/High context • Strong continuity with the past (esp. in Thailand’s case) 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  31. Asian Information Society: Thailand as a Test Case • The core and the periphery • The core: belief in social hierarchy, Buddhism, traditional version of history • The periphery: appreciation of all modern things - radios, telegraph, television, computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, etc. • The trick is that the latter must not threaten the former. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  32. Asian Information Society: Problems • “…since the 1980s, the new industrialization strategy in East Asia and, for that matter the advanced developing countries of Latin America, has offered large opportunities for employment and income gain for a portion of highly educated and qualified professionals, but the less educated and less skilled workers have been left out in the cold” (Ryokichi Hirono 2001: 41) 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  33. Many-dimensional Divides • Digital divide • Income divide • Knowledge divide • Opportunity divide • Education divide • Etc. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  34. What these show is that the promise of the information society has not reached all the strata of the societies in Asia. • Obviously education plays a key role, but how? And what kind? 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  35. What This Means for Education • So the problems are multi-faceted; there are the divide problems, and there are the added dimensions of culture. • Education is much perceived as belonging to the core of the culture. • Thus you can see where the problem lies. • This is why I would like to talk about the aims of education today. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  36. Aims of Education • Whitehead (1929) “…the apprehension of general ideas, intellectual habits of mind, and pleasurable interest in mental achievement can be evoked by no form of words, however accurately adjusted.” 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  37. Aims of Education • “The solution which I am urging, is to eradicate the fatal disconnection of subjects which kills the vitality of our modern curriculum. There is only one subject-matter for education, and that is Life in all its manifestations” 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  38. Traditional Aims of Education • In Thailand, it is generally understood that education’s main purpose is to train students to function in the workplace. • Another deeper purpose is that education aims at maintaining the status quo. • People send their children to school in order to “go up the social ladder.” • Education thus is not for change, but the opposite. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  39. Educational Aims and Technology • With the advent of modern technology, there is a tacit reconception of educational aims. • The emphasis has shifted from ‘preserving the status quo’ to ‘responding to contemporary challenges’ - neither Whitehead nor traditional Thai. • Technology may not be the direct cause of the shift, but certainly it accompanies it. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  40. Slow Adoption of Technology • Much teaching and learning in Thailand still proceeds in the traditional manner, even though there is eager adoption of technology elsewhere. • But we need to find a balance between unbridled enthusiasm and total pessimism. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  41. The Middle Path • The middle path, however, is rather difficult to find. • Behind the self-proclaimed fear of technology, there is a deeper fear that technology would threaten the core of the culture. • So if we can find a way for technology to be an integral part of the culture, then it seems we can have a beginning. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  42. Making Technology and Culture Go Together • Since technology comes with the baggage in which it is embedded, one would presumably need to start from unwrapping it and putting it in the other context. • But that is not possible, because technology is part and parcel of a culture. • Hence culture also has to change. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  43. Rethinking the Aims of Education • Making technology an integral part of culture makes it important that the aims of education should be rethought. • A shift from ‘responding to globalizing challenges’ to ‘taking one’s initiatives in fact of globalization’ 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  44. Taking Initiatives • What this means is that, instead of following the globalizing trend and trying to catch up with it, one should look at the trend with more critical eyes and evaluates how the trend is going to affect one’s own priorities and values, as well as become a player in the globalizing game. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  45. I would like to say that the divide problems mentioned earlier can only be solved if these initiatives are taken into consideration. • More emphasis on the local and development of “home grown” knowledge systems. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  46. How Is This Relevant to Language Education? • Rethinking the aims of education • Taking the initiatives in one’s own hands means that, in using ICTs in language education, one does not teach or study (foreign) languages solely for the purpose of responding to globalization, but to master it, so to speak. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  47. How This is Relevant • I cannot presume to talk to all the linguistics and language teachers here about how to teach a language. • However, I believe what I am saying here is relevant because all uses of technology in education involve certain degrees of cultural embeddedness. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  48. Combating the Divides through Language Education • The promises of the Asian information society, with its peculiar characteristics, will not be realized if one does not solve the divide problems. • For this language education plays a key role in providing the learners with a window by which they can look at the world appreciatively and with understanding. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  49. Realizing the Full Potential of the Asian Information Society • To do this technology is essential, but it should be a kind of integrated technology. • We can see the computers also as an extension of the older Asian technologies such as the abacus and the ink and brush - no disruption should be allowed. • If we can do this, then the prospects should be a bright one. 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

  50. Thank you very much! 9th PAAL Conference, 19-20 August, 2004, Namseoal University, Korea

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