anthropology

DLG 4 Response – The Sociology and Anthropology of Ed. Tech.

I chose to respond to the video above as posted in the resource section for DLG Group 4’s project this week on the Sociology and Anthropology of Ed. Tech.

1. Did you agree or disagree with the video.

I agree with what the video is saying because they are mainly stating facts.

2. What do you think the video says about how technology has changed (or hasn’t changed) our culture?

I think the video is saying that technology has a dramatic impact on our culture. It is redefining how we access information. Regular citizens are becoming more influential in providing information through blogs, tweets, and other social media. We have immediate access to vast amounts of information through mobile devices. We rely on these more heavily for communication making it more efficient than the past. Our culture’s traditions and behaviours are being shaped by technology.

I thought the fact about the huge amount of spam we receive in emails was interesting. We have always received junk mail but now it’s in electronic form. I hope all paper forms of junk mail will soon be eliminated to save trees. The video also shows that people are turning more to online newspapers which will also benefit the environment. Recently on the news, I saw that netflix has come to Canada. It’s a site that replaces television, offering shows and movies for a low monthly fee. This will surely put video stores out of business but again, create less waste for the environment. However, if everyone is turning to computers for information and entertainment, I hope that we, as a society, learn to recycle or dispose of electronic waste in a responsible way.

3. What are some of the sociological impacts that this video asserts?

Essentially, the video shows us how rapidly we are integrating technology into our daily lives. This affects all of us whether or not we use technology as individuals because it’s changing the course of how the world works around us. It is affecting how people interact in business, entertainment, education, health care, politics etc. Technology will always rapidly increase but it is how we use technology that will define the sociological impacts in our society.

As an educator, I was happy to see the part in the video which stated that in 2020 mobile devices will be the largest internet connection tool. If all students already have access to the internet on phones, ipads etc., this will take the burden off schools to fund hardware for classes. This technology will become a part of the regular school supply list. I look forward to seeing how teachers will use this resource in classrooms.

Here is an animoto video I created using images from Creative Commons that illustrate some possibilities for technology in the future that will impact our society.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

What is multicultural educational technology?

Multicultural educational technology would be the sub-field of educational technology that studies the reciprocal effects between technology and the heritage, traditions, language, region, beliefs and behaviours of groups of people.

“Although anthropologists have long appreciated variability among societies, there does not seem to be any fundamental divide between studies of technology in traditional versus industrial societies. Moreover, the same bodies of theory and method seem applicable to both.” Schiffer (2004, pp. 2-4) Traditionally anthropology studied civilizations other than our own. However, the field has since opened up to include western culture as well. I am going to focus on multicultural educational technology as it relates to minorities in the occidental world.

“Technology pervades and is embedded in all human activities. “ Schiffer (2004, pp. 2-4) Technology is not just computer related. Books, lab instruments, or systems of organization are all technologies. Books, for example, are often lacking in cultural sensitivity, often portraying the viewpoint of the majority.

“Anthropologists first showed that technologies are culturally constructed and socially constituted.” Schiffer (2004, pp. 2-4) Educators choose technologies to meet their needs from delivering content to supporting our students and ultimately passing on values and knowledge about our society. It’s natural for educators to use technology as it relates to their heritage, traditions, language or region even if their values do not always align with those of their students. This means choosing websites, hardware, software etc. that they are comfortable with to support teaching and learning. Not only technology is influenced by administrator, educators and governments values, but the whole public school system does not adequately support minority culture group’s needs.

Frequently there are a large amount of minorities that live in lower socio-economic areas who’s schools or parent groups can’t afford to fund different technologies. Sometimes these students come from families who don’t value technology themselves so their children don’t learn to appreciate it. Kerr cites Becker’s studies (1983) which seemed to show not only that children in poor schools (schools where a majority of the children were from low socio-economic-status family backgrounds) had fewer computers available to them but also that the activities they were typically assigned by teachers featured rote memorization via use of simple drill-and-practise program, whereas children in schools with a wealthier student base were offered opportunities to learn programming and to work with more flexible software. Could it be that a majority of parents with a lower socio-economic background lack parenting skills which results in a class with high behaviour needs? It is much harder to teach a high needs group of students in an open, flexible way.

“The issue for the longer term may well be how educational technology interacts with the fundamental problem of providing not merely access, but also a lasting a valuable education, something many minority children are clearly not receiving at present.” (Kerr, 2004) It seems that many minority groups will suffer when they enter the workforce due to the lack of technology experience in schools because of low funding, differences in values with educators, and lack of family support.

Becker, H. (1983). School uses of microcomputers: Reports from a national survey. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Center for the Social Organization of Schools.

Kerr, S. T. (2004). Toward a sociology of educational technology. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 113-142). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Schiffer, M. B. (Ed.). (2001). Anthropological perspectives on technology. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.