Post 9: Technology and ethics

I agree with Rice’s claim that we should let the pedagogy guide our technology. Our experience in the MOO was a perfect example of the reverse idea, letting technology drive the pedagogy. If we come in with a plan to actually teach our students within the technological environment, it can be successful. I would like to think that the classroom will never become solely technological, but I fear it is very possible due to the convenience and cost friendly possibilities. Therefore, we should try to get prepared to deal with some technological issues. We all kind of laugh at the idea that books could become extinct in our lifetime, but I think it is a very legitimate possibility. Look at how many people actually went to the library to search through the stacks to find an article for their report. I think there has been one person so far. It is a reality that the convenience of technology is lessening the importance of print media. Sure, we all printed out our articles to read them, but convenience won out over that old favorite, the book.

So we need to learn how to use this technology ethically and teach these ethics to our students. I don’t think this process will be too much different than the ways we have dealt with ethically treating print media. For as long as I have been in school it has been drilled into my head to consider the source of the information. We are encouraged to find articles written by experts, and reviewed by experts. This same thought process can apply to electronic media. In terms of education, and not culture, we can address the issue with a little micromanagement. We can encourage certain sources and exclude others. Whether technology is having a negative impact on the world is an issue larger than education. One can make a convincing argument about how television has reduced society. We can talk about the negative effects of too much television, but people love television. I’m a little bit cynical about how much we can do as teachers to truly change the impact technology has on society.