Thursday, January 26, 2017

Why I Dislike Educational Technology, But Love Online Learning - Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

How can one dislike educational technology but also love online learning? Simple. Technology has - at least until now - been more of a force for ill than for good in higher education. Our edtech tribe has consistently over-promised and under-delivered on the potential and benefits of technology. We have done too little to put the educator at the center of our efforts. My edtech community has not done what we should to fight for the rights of contingent faculty. We have failed to challenge the higher education productivity narrative, in which it is assumed that technology at scale can substitute for and replace (expensive) educators....As a card carrying member of the edtech establishment, I’m as guilty of these edtech sins as anyone else. While I'm pessimistic about the potential of technology to be a force of good in higher education, I am enthusiastic about online learning.... The reason that I’m a fan is that I’ve yet to witness a more powerful catalyst for advancing residential teaching than online learning. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/why-i-dislike-educational-technology-love-online-learning