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Nine Paradoxes
of
Educational
Technology
Educational technology is a curious field --
those who work in it are at
once expected to be at the forefront of
the new, and yet at the same time
uphold many cherished ideas about
educational practice that we have
inherited from the past. What
follows are a few speculative thoughts
about the paradoxes that this
tension generates for our field. I put
these together quickly for my
Seminar on Educational Technology in Spring,
1997. They are
presented here in virtually the same form that I presented
them then.
Thoughts, reactions, and comments are welcome!
The paradoxes are divided into three
groups--Paradoxes of Teaching and
Learning, Paradoxes of Design and
Assessment, and Paradoxes of the
Implementation Context.
The Paradoxes of Teaching and
Learning
1. The Paradox of Learning
-
Definitions of what learning is can
change with use of interactive ET
- BUT...
- Images of learning via exposition
dominate in public
mind
- Efficiency vs.
effectiveness
2. The Paradox of Engagement
- ET invites activity by learners, which
may lead to more
learning
- BUT...
- Allowing for this is expensive in terms
of time, design
costs
- Authenticity is
expensive
3. The Paradox of Content
- ET
allows increased access to diverse
information, requires learners sift,
become information
connoisseurs
- BUT...
- Decline of the
canon, loss of shared
understandings for cultural cohesion
- Who chooses content: The student or the
teacher?
The Paradoxes of Design
and
Assessment
4. The Paradox of Design
- Best ET products come from extensive and
intensive design
efforts
- BUT...
- Extensive design limits what
instructors/teachers can do
with ET products
- The fate of
teacher-proofing
5. The Paradox of Interactivity
- ET allows multiple pathways, thus
multiple outcomes,
variable durations of instruction
- BUT...
- General push
toward more defined
outcomes, use of standards
- We look at the future through a
rear-view mirror
(McLuhan)
6. The Paradox of Assessment
- ET can encourage problem-based learning,
group
projects
- BUT...
- Traditional notions of outcomes and
assessment (SATs,
etc.) dominate
- Poisonous heritage of
behaviorism
The Paradoxes of the
Implementation
Context
7. The Paradox of Expectations
- Popular visions of what ET can
accomplish stress the new
(interactivity, learner control, access,
etc.)
- BUT...
- Complexity of
implementation,
institutional learning, organizational stasis,
etc.
- Hardware
dreams
8. The Paradox of Scale
- Best
results from ET projects are
achieved with small, committed teams under
controlled
conditions
- BUT...
- Real-world implementation requires
racheting
up to scale of whole systems
- Cf.: What
did it take to integrate the
US Army?
9. The Paradox of the Pace of
Change
- ET changes rapidly, new ideas appear
along with new
technologies (eg: WWW)
- BUT...
- Institutions, staffs change slowly, have
few
resources for training, development
- When budgeting, allot 30% for
hardware-software, 70% for
training
Conclusions
- Search for
feasible approaches to the
design and implementation of ET
- Mitigate the popular hype; develop
professional
expertise in local settings
- Focus on
developing skills in the next
generation of teachers, learners
- ET as subversive vs. conserving
(Postman)