Category Archives: Textbook

How Luther went Viral

Posted on April 28, 2014 by friesenn

A 2011 article from the Economist (listen to audio, above) compares Martin Luther’s use of the then new medium of print in the Reformation, and the use of Facebook in the so-called “Arab Spring.” In looking at Luther’s use of … Continue reading →

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The story of the Textbook as a Foucauldian Genealogy

Posted on April 5, 2014 by friesenn

This is a recording of a presentation I recently gave at the Katholieke University of Leuven in Belgium, thanks to an invitation by Jan Masschelein.

Posted in History, Michel Foucault, Textbook | Leave a comment

The eTextbook: A Paradigm Shift?

Posted on February 8, 2014 by friesenn

The e-Textbook: A Paradigm Shift for Learning? from Norm Friesen on Vimeo. Will the e-textbook, with its multimedia potential and flexibility, bring a paradigm shift to education? In this video presentation, prepared for a keynote in Montreal in March, I … 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 →

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"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 →

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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 →

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Open Textbooks, Educational Content & Knowledge

Posted on December 1, 2012 by friesenn

[slideshare id=15443685&doc=opentextbookseducationalcontentknowledge-121201133451-phpapp02] Open textbooks are an important step toward accessible and affordable education. But there’s a gap between what’s currently happening with open textbooks and what commercial publishers have long been doing. Until this gap is closed, commercial publishers will … Continue reading →

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Wittgenstein: Education as (Dog) Obedience Training ?!

Posted on November 23, 2012 by friesenn

I’ve been revising a paper for Phenomenology and Practice, and was disturbed to learn that Wittgenstein can be read as urging punishment and conditioning for education in ways that would have made the crudest behaviourist blush! It all goes back to the German … Continue reading →

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The E-Textbook: An idea whose time has not quite arrived

Posted on May 31, 2011 by friesenn

Just posted a short report on the E-Textbook in higher education. I look at a number of studies of recent e-textbook implementation, and conclude that adoption is a few years out –but that changes in price, functionality or student priorities … Continue reading →

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