Author Archives: friesenn

Learning theory & MOOCs

Posted on December 9, 2013 by friesenn

[slideshare id=28998466&doc=e-learningandinstitutionallearning-131207150207-phpapp01] Just got back from East China Normal University in Shanghai, where I gave this presentation. It frames the possible success of MOOCs (their demise is not yet a fait accompli) in terms of what I describe as “institutional … Continue reading →

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Paradigm shifts and Educational Forms: A Textbook Case

Posted on November 18, 2013 by friesenn

This article just appeared in “Online First” for AERA’s Educational Researcher. It is intended as a kind of ‘sequel” to my study of the “transmedial history”of the lecture, which was published in the same journal in 2011. Both articles look … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Media Theory, Textbook, Writing | Leave a comment

"Note to Self:" A Genealogy of the internal dialogue from Aurelius to Vygotsky

Posted on November 11, 2013 by friesenn

Referencing Foucault’s notion of “technologies of the self,” this paper/chapter traces the notion of the self-reflective, self-directed dialogue from the practices of the late Ancients (e.g. Aurelius) through Vygotsky to today’s digital tools of self-management and self examination. Here’s a link … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Textbook, The Self | Leave a comment

Faculty ProD Keynote: Simulation, Stimulation & Silence – Learning Online and Off

Posted on October 10, 2013 by friesenn

I gave this keynote at an excellent professional development event at my alma mater, the University of Alberta in August. CTL TECHKNOWLEDGY Symposium Keynote Here’s the abstract: Almost 20 years after the popular adoption of the Internet, we are still … Continue reading →

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"On beyond Ong:" the bases of a revised theory of orality and literacy

Posted on October 9, 2013 by friesenn

J. Coleman’s Public reading and the reading public is excellent book that goes way beyond its ostensible medieval specialization, and offers a comprehensive critique of the antiquated ethnocentrism of the Ong / Goody approach to orality and literacy. This approach, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Media Theory | Leave a comment

Bernhard Waldenfels: Responsivity and Tele-absence

Posted on September 6, 2013 by friesenn

Two things regarding the contemporary German phenomenologist, Bernhard Waldenfels (pictured, right, with his wife Christine on his way to a Merleau-Ponty seminar in 1961): I’ve tracked down a hard-to-find piece by Waldenfels in which he explains one of the main … Continue reading →

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"Problems with Identity" – Chapter from Forgotten Connections

Posted on August 23, 2013 by friesenn

In the final chapter on identity, Mollenhauer embarks on what I believe is a tour-de-force conclusion to his book Forgotten Connections. Building on Sartre and others, Mollenhauer defines identity as our often challenging relationship with ourselves, and illustrates the characteristics of … Continue reading →

Posted in Klaus Mollenhauer, The Self, Writing | Leave a comment

Education, Media and the End of the Book –a view from German media theory

Posted on August 1, 2013 by friesenn

Just finished a draft of this paper with Rainer Leschke. It incorporates a number of concepts and references familiar in German media studies (Medienwissenschaften), including notions of a Leitmedium, of Medienvergessenheit and media-systems. But these aren’t all necessarily German. One of these … Continue reading →

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Educational Change & the Longue Durée: An Analysis of the Anatomy Lecture

Posted on July 1, 2013 by friesenn

Proof of a paper, co-authored with Wolff-Michael Roth, soon to appear in Educational Philosophy and Technology. Here’s the abstract: Although there are many points of continuity, there are also a number of changes in the pedagogical form of the anatomy … Continue reading →

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“Note to Self”: The Genealogy of Internal Dialog in Educational Material & Practice

Posted on June 30, 2013 by friesenn

An abstract and short paper I’ve been working on as a conference proposal: This presentation provides an overview of the history of the “internal dialog” as a pedagogical form whose variations have played a key role in educational materials and … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Theory, Textbook, The Self | Leave a comment