Seminar I would Like to Attend

Doug forwarded this to me...would be very interesting and hopefully will spark some ideas :)

Rethinking Educational Technology: Some Early Steps
Michael Eisenberg
Dept. of Computer Science

Friday, January 30, 2009

MUEN D428/430

12:00 noon ~ 2:00 p.m.

Refreshments Served

The field of educational technology has long been influenced by
underlying (and often unconscious) metaphors. Computers are seen as
"artificial tutors"; the flat screen, like a page, is seen as the
primary medium of presentation of instructional material; and
peripherals are ... well ... peripheral.

Problematic metaphors such as these give rise to overly narrow
philosophies of design in educational technology. An alternative way
of thinking about educational technology is to focus on education,
development, and children's lives through a more anthropological lens:
How do children develop lifelong interests? How do they spend their
time? What opportunities for technological innovation do we see in the
major elements of children's culture? These are questions that lead to
relatively unexplored themes for the design of educational technology.

In this talk I will outline a number of anthropological themes that
suggest novel possibilities and projects in educational technology.
Some of the examples will build on projects currently underway in our
Craft Technology Lab at CU; others will look toward future projects,
not yet begun.