EDU 807 - Intro to Selwyn - Summer 2020 - Group 5
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As we begin our semester, we jump into the ideas of Neil Selwyn, a professor in the Faculty of Education, Monash University. The following resources are imported from:
- Selwyn, N. (2017). What We Talk About When We Talk About EdTech. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhG7tsYTW2c
- Selwyn, N. (2019, January). Teachers and technology: Time to get serious. Retrieved from Impact.chartered.college website: https://impact.chartered.college/article/editorial-education-technology/
Discussion Activity
As you listen to his talk and read his article, consider the following questions built from the 4A's protocol:
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What Assumptions does Selwyn hold about educational technology?
- What does he believe about educators? Students? Corporations? Government?
- What does he believe about ideas of power, inequality, democracy, the common good and other ways that ed tech is talked about?
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May 13Inequality- He talks about the Mathews effect- digital learning works if the students have the tools to succeed. If not it contributes to the divide between classes.
Power- big corporations have the power to make significant money with the use the data that is collected for greed. He makes a very good point, who gets the data collected and how is it used. I would be concerned.
May 14I’m with you Ally, it is concerning as to what data is being collected and how that data is being used by these big corporations. My question is are the teachers and/or student aware of all of the data that is being collected by these company? Do they know how much information is being uploaded and shared with other companies?
May 16It seems that teachers and/or students may not be made aware of the data collection being collected by interested companies. It seems as if the schools may be provided with a light-overview of general data that may be collected with the use of ed tech but the specifics of what the companies seek , I believe is not being disclosed. Perhaps the sharing of what these IT firms are seeking would impact the marketing ideals of the schools. The solicitation of schools seems to be focused on appealing to the latest and greatest and not necessarily on the specific needs of hardware or technology.
May 16It is meaningful to mention the Matthews-effect when discussing that technology benefits one set of students over others. These are the unintended consequences of digital technology that Selwyn suggests can be a result of the dependency of substantial amounts of digital technology use. If ed tech is used then it important to have an understanding if what will the technology undo for the students who do not receive the same benefits of ed tech implementation.
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What do you Agree with in Selwyn's speech/writing?
- As you consider the principles from the video and the article, which ones resonate most for you? How does he describe educational technology in ways that make sense to you and the ways that you want to be critical of ed tech?
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What do you want to Argue with in Selwyn's speech/writing?
- As you consider the principles from the video and the article, which ones do you disagree with? Are there points that you disagree with?
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What parts of Selwyn's speech/writing do you want to Aspire to (or Act upon)?
- Based on what Selwyn describes here, what key themes resonate with you and may encourage you to take action in your EDU 807 work?
One of Selwyn assumptions that resonated with me is that teachers have control over the purchasing of technology in their classroom. Both K-12 and postsecondary institutions administrator and local/state board dictate technology in the classrooms. For example, is CMU’s administrators require instructors to use Blackboard as their online instructional software but not all instructor care to use Blackboard as their main online instructional platform.
Selwyn is very passionate about his beliefs on the discourse of education. He assumes that much of digital tech is used to gather data and monitor teachers. Selwyn also assumes that schools do not focus on the impacts of the tech they acquire but the financial implications that are implied by purchasing the ‘latest and greatest’ mainly because of the vast amount of solicitation schools receive from IT firms. There was also the notion that technology is a headache for teachers. This assumption is based on the challenges of implementing technology in the schools and not supported with the body of his article and talk.
Selwyn did talk a lot about the discourse of education and digital tech being used for gather non-essential data (as I percieved) and monitoring teachers. My question is the lack of research that causes public learning institutions to use digital technology in this construct or is it the lack of financial resourse? I’m not sure what the finding would be but I would be interested in the research.
I agree that the use of technology in education is an intense conflict and the conflict is over the political issue of power and the distribution of power. We must recognize the fight over power is as basic as the old phrase “who has the knowledge has the power” and I am true believe in saying “if you don’t know where you come from how do you know where you are going”. In other word if a person doesn’t know the history of a subject, they will end up continuing the mistakes from history and therefore keeping that person (or community) in a continuous loop with no meaningful growth. This is prevalent in the educational gap between low-income communities and the high-income counter parts. This is a political issue of power between the have and have nots.
I agree that the use of digital tech should be a collective responsibility. There should be substantial input from staff, students and teachers when determining what is needed. Ed tech is a socio-technological issue and there needed to be more research conducted on how data can be collected and analyzed to be effective when discussing the change and implementation of ed tech.
Selwyn’s ask participants at the conference to observe 5 things during the conference. Two of the items grabbed my attention:
• to what extent are these constructions of digital technology situated within dominant structures of production and power?
• What freedoms and restrictions are being associated with such statements?
These to statements aspire to ask the questions of why? Why are digital technology constructs offered/given to the same communities (high-economic) and why are teacher/instructors restricted from using or selecting technology they feel (with supporting research) would work best for their learners/students.
Please offer at least one comment on the video and one comment on the text to begin the conversation. Then, reply to each of your classmates' initial comments by asking questions, making connections, or sharing follow-up ideas that may push their thinking.
Teachers and technology: Time to get serious
Although classroom computers have been with us since the 1970s, schools have only recently become truly ‘digital’. Now, every school seems full of digital devices and display screens. Anything that can be digitised is stored online. Lessons are live-streamed, resources are downloadable and communication takes place through apps and email. Behind the scenes, schools maintain their own servers, host school-wide WiFi and run complex management systems. In contrast to even a few years ago, today’s schools depend upon substantial amounts of digital technology.
This is not to say that technology use in education is now straightforward. If anything, digital technology is more of a headache for teachers than ever. On the one hand, schools are bombarded with claims from software vendors and technology enthusiasts about the power of various new technologies to transform what goes on in the classroom. On the other hand, the impacts of technology use on teaching and learning remain uncertain. Andreas Schleicher – the OECD’s director of education – caused some upset in 2015 when suggesting that ICT has negligible impact on classrooms. Yet he was simply voicing what many teachers have long known: good technology use in education is very tricky to pin down.
At the same time, it could be argued that the technologies featuring most prominently in teachers’ professional lives have little to do with teaching and learning at all. Instead, it often feels that digital technology is primarily a managerial tool for keeping tight control over what goes on in the classroom. Digital technology is certainly a key part of school data-gathering and teacher monitoring, as well as a means of extending schoolwork long into evenings, weekends and holiday time. While IT firms continue to make millions of pounds from selling their products to schools, teachers could be forgiven for never wanting to switch on a laptop again. We have come a long way from optimistic endorsements of classroom computers as ‘the teacher’s friend’.
This issue of Impact therefore coincides with the growing realisation that everyone in education needs to get serious about how technology is used in schools. We are no longer in the ‘booster’ decades of the 1990s and 2000s, when it was fashionable to enthuse about anything ‘cyber’ or ‘virtual’. Instead, as we enter the 2020s, people are becoming decidedly wary of digital technology. Incidents such as Cambridge Analytica and the Edward Snowden NSA revelations have prompted notable pushbacks against the use of technology in schools. Parents are increasingly unhappy with purchasing £1,000 laptops for their children. Politicians are calling for bans on smartphones in classrooms. Teaching unions are challenging the influence that ‘big tech’ companies such as Google have over public schooling. Civil rights organisations are raising legal and ethical objections to the increased use of data and analytics. While no one is arguing that we should get rid of computers completely from schools, there is growing suspicion of the technological ‘opportunities’ that are being pushed onto education.
Against this background, teachers face a tough task when it comes to making sense of technology. There are still many benefits to be gained from digital technology, but this is an area that requires careful attention. Unfortunately, there are no quick or easy answers to ‘what works’. Instead, perhaps the most helpful thing to do at this point is to offer seven brief bits of advice for any teacher wanting to make sense of the technologies that are featured in this issue. In no particular order…
#1.
Be clear what you want to achieve
The implementation of digital technology in schools often fails where there is no genuine purpose for its use.
While this might sound obvious, many schools continue to purchase the latest devices and apps simply because they ‘look cool’, or because other schools are buying them.
Instead, technology implementation works best when teachers start by identifying a ‘real-world’ problem.
Only then will they begin to think through which specific technologies might offer an appropriate way of addressing that problem… or perhaps whether any technology is required at all.
The actual device or software package should be the final piece of the process, not its starting point.
#2.
Set appropriate expectations
It certainly helps to have modest expectations of what might be achieved through the use of any device or application.
On one hand, educational technology has long suffered from being an area beset with hype and grand ambitions.
It is still common to hear people talk about digital technology ‘transforming’ teaching, boosting engagement or fostering ‘21st-century skills’.
These claims are so vague as to be meaningless – setting the technology-using teacher up to fail before they have even begun.
On the other hand, technology use can also suffer from being attached to overly specific ambitions.
Even if such changes do occur, it is impossible to say whether the use of a particular app was associated with a two-per-cent increase in graduation rates.
Schools are complex ‘ecosystems’, where there are many confounding factors behind why something happens (or does not happen).
Instead, it helps to set broad goals and exhortative targets that relate to appropriate areas of classroom practice.
Digital technology might reasonably be expected to give students more convenient opportunities to access curriculum materials, but it would be foolhardy to expect technology to somehow ‘cause’ a 10-point grade improvement over a semester.
#3.
Aim for small-scale change
Often, the best way to encourage the take-up of technology throughout any school is to aim for ‘low-hanging fruit’.
Most technology adoption in schools is gradual, slow-burning and aligned with established ways of doing things.
As such, the digital technologies that take hold in schools tend to be those that fit comfortably with how teachers and students are accustomed to doing things.
For example, the use of interactive whiteboards follows neatly on from chalkboards.
Similarly, the use of digital textbooks follows on from paper books.
These technologies support practices that teachers, schools and students feel familiar and safe with.
Despite the grand talk of technology transformation, revolution and reinvention, thinking small and keeping things simple can often be the best way to encourage lasting technology adoption within a school.
#4.
Pay attention to the ‘bigger picture’
Everything that takes place in school is influenced by a variety of people, processes and other pressures.
In this sense, it is important to think through how any technology use will ‘fit’ with the whole-school context.
This includes familiar issues such as lack of time and resourcing.
It also includes a range of within-school issues that do not usually get talked about when it comes to technology use – from the physical layout of classrooms and school buildings, to staffroom micro-politics.
Similarly, technology can be influenced by a range of outside-school factors – from National Curriculum requirements through to local neighbourhood characteristics.
This means that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ way of getting technology to work.
Successful technology use requires a lot of planning for the specific contexts and circumstances of your own school.
#5.
Think about unintended consequences
Even if you are clear what you want to achieve with technology, it is important to give some thought to what other consequences might also result.
Using any technology in the classroom might have unexpected implications for pedagogy, student behaviour and group dynamics.
At the same time, technology use also raises issues that stretch well beyond the classroom.
For example, what data is being generated by the software you are using and where does it go?
Is data being sold to third parties, or used by school authorities to measure and monitor performance?
Perhaps most important are concerns relating to fairness and equity.
Research shows that technology use tends to benefit particular students over others – usually those who are already most advantaged (the so-called ‘Matthew Effect’).
So, which students are likely to gain most from your use of technology, and who else might actually suffer?
In the words of the media critic Neil Postman, the most important considerations are not questions of what technology will do, but questions of what technology will undo.
#6.
Technology use is a collective concern
There is a longstanding tendency for successful school technology projects to be those driven by ‘charismatic champions’.
The introduction of new technologies into school is understandably reliant on the expertise and energy of committed individuals – from the enthusiastic IT-using teachers who drag colleagues into projects, to the technicians that keep everything running on a shoestring.
The trouble with this approach is that once these individuals move on, then the impetus for technology use often moves with them.
Instead, sustained technology use is best achieved by making digital technology a collective, communal and shared concern.
Rather than one person pushing things through, technology works best when teachers work together – talking with each other and getting the whole school community on board in working out what to do.
The days are of education technology being a personal passion project for just a few teachers are over.
Developing technology use should be a collective responsibility for all staff, students and parents.
#7.
Beware of over-confident ‘experts’
Educational technology is an area that is fuelled by bold predictions, strong assertions and promises of improved teaching and learning.
There are many people who make a good living from telling teachers what technology can do for them.
Unfortunately, this is an area where no one can be completely certain of what will happen.
As mentioned previously, every school is a locally specific context.
What works in one school might not be applicable to another.
It is nigh-on impossible for researchers to ‘prove’ that education technology leads to particular gains, improvements and outcomes.
Anyone who is trying to tell you otherwise is either being cavalier with the facts, or else trying to sell you something.
The most useful education technology knowledge does not come from globe-trotting ‘gurus’, keynote speakers and product evangelists.
Instead, the best technology advice can often come from simply trying things out for yourself and/or speaking with colleagues working in similar situations and circumstances.
There is still a lot to be said for teachers drawing on local knowledge and trusting their own judgement.
Conclusions
Set against the hype that usually surrounds education and technology, these low-key suggestions might not seem particularly exciting or inspirational.
Yet the actual implementation of digital technology in schools is rarely that exciting or spectacular.
Neither is school technology simply a ‘technical’ issue of what new device to buy next, or which app to get your class to download.
Instead, school technology is a ‘socio-technical’ issue – relating to the social, cultural and political aspects of people and schools, alongside the technical aspects of organisational structure and processes.
In this sense, getting the best from digital technology involves thinking about the specific contexts of your school, and how you can work with (and sometimes work around) them.
This all points to the need to approach technology use in schools in a manner that is realistic rather than idealistic. This involves being questioning, objective, discerning, disinterested and dispassionate when it come to the claims being made about specific technologies. This involves being curious about the problems – as well as potential – of new technologies. Above all, this involves seeing digital technology as something that requires plenty of forethought and collaboration with others around you.
Digital technology undoubtedly involves more (rather than less) thought and effort for teachers. Of course, there are plenty of benefits to be had from engaging with the vast variety of digital opportunities that are now available to schools. Yet perhaps it is most fruitful to always view digital technology as a choice. Digital technology is not something that teachers have to adapt to in the best way they can. Instead, digital technology should be something that you engage with on your own terms, to achieve your own goals and to address your own needs. Used appropriately, digital technology can be a powerful addition to any teacher’s repertoire. I hope that these articles provide you with plenty of food for thought.
Remember: Please offer at least one comment on the video and one comment on the text to begin the conversation.
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