I’ve worked with technology for quite some time now and much of that work was has involved different areas related to education, from administration and support, to course design and training. Yet, I am learning so many new things about educational technology already. The first course I am taking towards the MET degree, ETEC511: Foundations of Educational Technology course, has introduced me to new ideas and topics. What I find especially exciting, is sharing and learning from my classmates.
In the ETEC511 course we explored the history of educational technology. One theme that emerged was that all the educational technologies (such as; lectures, pencils, calculators, PowerPoints, clickers, ipads. etc.) were all at some point, considered to be novel and faced resistance by some. In fact, for all these technologies strong arguments can be made both for and against their uses. (Powerpoint is Evil, was one of the more strongly worded articles.) However, there has been no substantial research providing overwhelming evidence that one form of educational technology is superior than another.
It is also true that we live in a society which is enamoured with the idea of progress. We value the newest, fastest, sleekest, shiniest technological gadgets and tools. In one of the course discussions, a classmate mentioned this wonderful “new” technology. Watch this video to see for yourself.
While I am not particularly a fan of Ikea, this video advertisement is without a doubt, brilliantly done.