Author of machiavelli.net, proud father of three, interested in shaping network society. Welcome to my blog.Education for/in Network Society
When asking how to bring technology into the classroom, one needs to ask what are the options, before choosing. Options are not value-neutral, but carry with them very specific ideological connotations. At the Public Policy for Network Society Conference, we will discuss the Mexican Enciclomedia and U.S. based OLPC.
The first question is, who should interface, when, with what technology? every student? every teacher/classroom? only in a dedicated computer lab?
The second question is, should the learning interface be connected to a dedicated source/server/hard drive or should it be connected to the multi-purpose internet?
The third question is, should the learning platform offer authorized content, the accepted curriculum, stamped with approval by the academy or any other authority or should it be open to corrections and the addition of content generated by users, i.e. teachers and students?
The fourth question is, that if a learning platform is a public good, should the software be proprietory and safe-guarded by the few or should it open its source code and create a community of developers interested in improving on it.
The fifth question is, what are the opportunity costs of choosing one program over others and of a centralized approach vs. letting many flowers bloom?
The answers will not only be based on cost, but mainly on what type of learning experience we want and what type of conception of authority we have.
For more information on enciclomedia:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5-TKfP-cbc&hl=en]
