edtech sucks

November 13, 2015

Five Reasons Not To Use Educational TechnologyBy: Andrew Campbell (@acampbell99)

Five Reasons NOT to Use EdTech

https://goo.gl/33k3DT

Hope & Optimism

“All Islamic artists make a deliberate error in their work on the grounds that

Only God Is Perfect.”

“The small dots within each of the two energies (represented by black and white) symbolize that there is always some Yin

(black) within Yang (white) and vice versa.”

Islamic Art

Yin and Yang

Part of embracing technology in the classroom has to be recognizing the flaws

Credit: Audrey Watters

If a historian were to draw a line connecting Jean Piaget’s work on developmental psychology to today’s trends in educational technology, the

line would simply be labeled “Papert.”

“We put computers in schools and kids don’t come out thinking any

better” Steve Wozniak, May 1st,

2015

“Without ed-tech criticism, we’ll still be stuck…with a technocentrism that masks rather than uncovers let alone challenges power” Audrey Watters (@audreywatters)

Acorn Electron (32 kb of Ram)

“Students today are growing up in a world where technology and

digital resources are an integral part of their everyday lives. We

need to tap into that existing knowledge and familiarity with

technology to make learning even more compelling, and allow our

students to become the innovators, entrepreneurs and

leaders of tomorrow.”

Liz Sandals, Minster of Education, announcing a $150,000,000 Technology

and Learning Fund

September 4th, 2014

Technology in the Classroom

$344 Billion$382 Billion$483 Billion

$31.31 billion (2013)

$59.90 billion (2018)

+13.9%

EdTech is BIG Business

($3-6 billion in Canada (estimated))

What Brand Are You??What Brand Is Your Board??

“Our kids are being prepared for

passive obedience, not creative,

independent lives” Noam Chomsky “The Corporate

Assault on Public Education”

How do corporate values align with the values of education?

Some Questions

Differentiated LearningDifferentiation

Professional Autonomy &Differentiated

Learning

Regulation 298: 7. (1) The principal of a school, in consultation with the teachers concerned, shall select from the list of the

textbooks approved by the Minister (Trillium List) the textbooks for the use of pupils of the

school, and the selection shall be subject to the approval of the board. R.R.O. 1990, Reg.

298, s. 7 (1).

Under Threat?Who chooses the

digital instructional materials in your

school?

Do educators have input into the digital

tools used?

Is there a list of approved tools that

educators select from based on student

needs?

Would You Take That Deal?

SMARTeacher Inc., Burlington, Ontario

“if a marketer knocked on your door and asked to spend several hours secretly

observing your child, recording everything he or she was doing and

saying for secret purposes, you’d probably tell them to take a hike. This is

happening every day with very little resistance.”

Sara M. GrimesUniversity of Toronto, Faculty of

Information

I Just can’t even…

Ganz Toy Company, Woodbridge, Ontario

On March 7, 2012, The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada initiated a complaint against Ganz under subsection 11(2) of the Act.

In 2005 Ganz, a privately-held Canadian partnership, introduced the concept of web-enabled plush toys called “Webkinz” (“Pets”) and launched the accompanying ‘Webkinz

World’ website

RecommendationsMinimize the collection of personal informationPrevent the “inadvertent collection” of personal information (usernames)Deleting inactive accountsPrivacy practices must be understandableDefault Settings Should Be Private

“One thing is clear: those who have the power to protect

student privacy will not do so as long as they can continue to subsidize the cost of public

education with student data.” Jessy Irwin. (@JessySaurusRex)

Grooming Students for A Lifetime of Surveillance

“The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.”

William Gibson, Author of “Cyberpunk”, 1993

“ a great digital divide persists where lower-income households

remain without internet.”

“38% percent of Canadians in the lowest income quartile don’t have

Internet access…

…compared with 5% of Canadians in the highest income quartile”

“Arthur” By Marc Brown, circa 1986

An Historical Problem

“Every child deserves the chance to

participate in the information revolution.”

Bill Clinton, President of The United States of America

State of The Union Address, 2000

“Those from low SES are less likely to have a computer in their own

home (2003)”

“Statscan data points to Canada’s growing digital divide (2013)”

•Students from low-income families aren’t exposed to technology

•Students don’t see technology use modelled in the same way (Second Level Digital Divide)

•Low income students can’t access the same resources outside of school time

•Only see the internet through school filters•Excluded from benefits of innovative

practices (BYOD, Flip Class)

Consequences of The Digital Divide

What Do These Jobs Have In Common?

?

Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations (PLATO)Late 1960’s. Dr Donald Bitzer’s (U of Illinois) “Teaching Machine”

“One thing we feel strongly about: teachers aren't going anywhere. Whatever word you

choose - teacher, tutor, preceptor, or something else - the role a teacher plays in the classroom is

huge.” Jeff & Katie Dunn

“Teachers are not, and cannot be automatons handing out information to students. They

are leaders, guides, facilitators, and mentors.”

“Teachers often ask me, am I going to lose my job? I say no because your job will get harder. It will become a different job. It will go from

being a master standing at the front of class to a helpful friend at the back.”

Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University

Teaching is Changing Because of Technology

“older, more experienced teachers – not younger, so-called digital

natives – are experimenting more with new technology in the

classroom” Young Canadians in a Wired World (2013)

What about teachers not suited

to using technology?

What about students or

subjects that don’t want or suit tech?

Questions

Are You an Innovator or an Early Adopter??

Beal, Rogers and Bohlen

Characteristics of the Early Majority (34%)Socially aware: don’t want to risk rejection by standing out from the crowdApproaching new ideas with cautionWhen others adopt dive in for fear of being left behind

Characteristics of the Early Adopters (13.5%)Eager to explore new options (cutting edge)Willing to take risksConsidered leaders: Spread new ideas.

EdTech Needs of Early Majority✤ Exposed to embedded early adopters showing

them the benefits of new technology✤ Support in learning how to use them and

encouraging them to take risks✤ Reliable infrastructure- reduce risk of failure

Are We Providing A Reliable Infrastructure?

Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION)6,000 km of fibre connecting more than 2 million students, educators, researchers and

innovators in Ontario

Five Reasons NOT to Use EdTech

https://goo.gl/33k3DT

Thank you for listening

AndrewSCampbell.Com @acampbell99