Chris O'Hagan (C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk)
Mon, 30 Nov 1998 16:10:16 +0000
From: "Chris O'Hagan" <C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 16:10:16 +0000 Subject: [ifets] Teachers and Technology Refusal and cabbages and kings
Barbara Ross makes some points I would agree with: That teachers are
offered 'better' tools before they have mastered the old, and their
willingness to master anything is compromised by the the deliberate
undermining of the utility of the old technologies by proponents of
the new. Also, the lack of autonomy the teacher has
traditionally been granted by "the man from the audiovisual
department".
On the positive side, I believe the gender-bias is rapidly
disappearing. In my department, the Multimedia Unit is led by a
woman, and women are in a majority in the department - some are
graduates from the University's own Computer Science degree. The
Internet Resource Development Unit is led by a woman, and the
Graphics Unit is led by a woman. Photo/Video and
Classroom Services are led by men, but have women staff in them. Our
video producer is a woman. In the University we have many women
lecturers actively involved in innovation in teaching and learning,
including the use of technology. I do not think we are by any means
unique.
On the 'learning' front of this conference, I have always liked Karl
Popper's two descriptions of models of scientific method, which I
think fit the surface learning/deep learning dichotomy very well.
There is the 'bucket theory' - the mind as something to be passively
filled by rote learning etc. And the 'searchlight theory' - the mind
actively interrogating the world around it, often quite selectively
for something that fits the puzzle. On this model the activity is
quite clearly *internal* and the external elements merely
'accidental' factors which may or may not have the searchlight hold
steady in its gaze. Only the mind concerned can choose the puzzle
pieces. Some early theories of vision had this 'searchlight' theory
- of rays from the eye interrogating the world - interesting.
Computer-aided learning, however supposedly interactive, easily slips
into bucket mode I think - reducing students to what has been called
an 'entropic state of mindlessness'. Maybe the model of
the computer as replacing the teacher is still incoherent - it cannot
yet provide what the teacher provides. Is it simply a method of
providing a wide range of resources which the active mind can
interrogate - only with the danger of hyperspace having very few
models for structuring knowledge.......disorder.....increasing
entropy......mindlessness :-)
Chris O'Hagan
And I thought we'd sorted this problem of including the whole message
with the reply. Its better to paraphrase - putting it in your own
words is a way of understanding, and of showing you understand.
Simply including the message is a surface response. The deepest
replies in this conference have used no, or just the briefest of
extracts IMHO.
Two more days before summing up (Thursday and Friday) by the way.
============================================
Christopher O'Hagan
Dean of Learning Development
Centre for Educational Development and Media
University of Derby
Kedleston Road
DERBY, DE22 1DA
England
Tel: +44 (0)1332 622262 (direct)
Fax: +44 (0)1332 622772
Email: c.m.ohagan@derby.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.derby.ac.uk/cedm/welcome.html
CEDM is home to a Teaching and Learning Technology
Support Network Centre, one of nine in the UK offering
free support to UK Higher Education Institutions:
tltsn@derby.ac.uk
There is a crack - a crack in everything:
That's how the light gets in. L.Cohen, 'Anthem'
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