Exploring the Impact of Technology on Education: A Proseminar Overview

1. CEP 901B Proseminar in Technology & Education Punya Mishra Matt Koehler January 14, 2003

2. Today… • General Housekeeping • Three monkeys take over… • Ed Tech the big picture • Working on your bibliography • The prelim structure • Meeting with your parole officer

3. Questions? • Web presence? • Final Projects? • Parole officer assigned for administrative convenience & focused mentoring • MJK: Chun, Khusro, Michael, Scott, Yun • PM: Aman, Amy, Danah, Eduardo, Shenglan

4. Announcements • Pot Luck LTC get together, Friday, Patrick Dickson’s house • Watch email for details / directions • Talk by John Bransford this Friday, 8:00am (8:30) in 252 Erickson Hall

5. Reminders • First summary in your annotated bibliography due next week • Two pages • Format as suggested by prelim questions http://www.msu.edu/user/pdickson/cep901/prelimprocedures.htm#CEPSE%20Preliminary%20Exam%20Questions • Three monkeys need to • Sum up the online activity for the yahoogroup AND • Create a web page for today’s activity. Send it to Matt

6. Reminders • A web presence would be really good! • Send me link to yours when you have one • Which should be ASAP • Readings are up for next week, MiAmE is in charge (instructions by Thursday please) • Please post to the yahoogroup by the deadline (as decided by the group of the week) • This means you (you know who you are)! No exceptions!

7. Ready set go… Three monkeys go! Go monkeys go! See monkeys go! Go go go!

8. Timelines … • What kind of changes do your timelines show? • Access to information (anytime, anyplace) • Access to things that we could not do, can provide new experiences • Multiple representations • Visualizations • Getting in touch with other people • Technology can change the world - or our view of ourselves (sputnik, etc.) • Adaptive learning - personalized and individualized

9. Timelines and Reading • Look at this:

10. Your take on the readings

11. Status Quo • When you look at that matrix, it may strike you as something that could have been done 20 years ago, regardless of technology. • That is, the framework presented for technology is the mere application of ed. Psych to software. • That is, there’s nothing new here.

12. Ed-Tech the Status Quo • Comments, Criticisms, Questions?

13. Hence … • There would be no need for an ed-tech prosem. • Technology is just a special context for standard theory.

14. An opposing view • Technology does change things …

15. Like what?

16. It is true … • That technology can let us do the same old thing but better. For example: • Behaviourism: Software can provide immediate, consistent feedback • Cognitivism: Technology can provide multiple (linked) representations of knowledge • Sociocultural: Technology can connect people to other people, ideas, and authentic contexts.

17. But there is more… • Technology changes the picture enough that it brings up it’s own issues that impact teaching and learning. Consider… • The CPT perspective presented last week. • Online learning (communicating online, communities online, online personas, etc.) • The possibility of linking representations (graph position over time to the motion of an object) • Automated adaptive testing (GRE etc.) also, Automated Essay grading (Latent Semantic Analysis) • Animated pedagogical agents (connected to AI engines)

18. Another justification • Vygotsky emphasizes the role of tools as mediators for thought • So, if the tools change, they point to a change in the culture and to changes in thinking. In other words, for somebody with a hammer, everything is a nail ;-) • EXAMPLE: Technologies prefigure ways of thinking (Mishra, Spiro, Feltovich, 1996)

19. The problem of design • Design is underconstrained by theory • I.e. A learning theory does not map into a piece of software in one, predetermined way • We need to unpack the black box of design • Design is the interplay of human intentions, biases, theories on technology and it is a messy process.

20. Emergent phenomena • Sputnik is not just the application of mechanical and physical principles… but its impact on the world (and our world view) was immense • Similarly, ed tech can be the application of ed psy but its impact can be much greater • All our knowledge of internal combustion cannot predict a traffic jam

21. Pause for reflection • Coming up next, an overview of the big ideas in technology that highlight this profound change. • A map of the course http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/MattWeb/Courses/CEP_901B_SP03/topics.htm

22. Working on your bibliography • The prelim structure http://www.msu.edu/user/pdickson/cep901/prelimprocedures.htm#CEPSE%20Preliminary%20Exam%20Questions • Searching for stuff to read, various strategies • Important to identify the key readings in your area of interest • Searching the library • Searching the web • To read critically with an eye towards developing a layout of the discipline • Books, Journals, Key players/scholars

23. Meeting with your parole officer • MJK: Chun, Khusro, Michael, Scott, Yun • PM: Aman, Amy, Danah, Eduardo, Shenglan • To discuss your topic of interest and / or any other issues

24. For next week • Do what MiAmE wants you to do… • (and on time please) • Create web presence, mail link to Matt • First item in annotated bibliography should be ready • 2 readings on Simulations (available on web site) • MiAmE to meet with us to discuss online and f2f activity • 3 monkeys to summarize activity (on yahoogroups AND web page)