Technology, Education and Culture…How Do the Pieces of the Puzzle Fit Together?
January 15, 2008 
As we enter a new semester and consider the interaction of education, technology and culture, I find myself, as usual, with no answer to the question.
Seems that these ideas should form a circle….education should change the culture, education should lead to technology, culture should drive education, technology should change the way we teach….and so on and on.
To me, however, I am not sure to what degree these ideas connect. While I can see that technology gives us new means of delivering instruction, are we really changing how we teach, or are we just disguising it and calling it something else. Someone pointed out that for the most part, a power point is just a glorified lecture….and I’m afraid much of our “education technology” leads to a similar outcome.
That brings me to the realization that many of us, though we have all these tools, really don’t know how to change the way we teach. Indeed, the “culture” or at least our concept of it has changed, have we really changes how we respond….or our we still doing the same things we were doing when we started our teaching careers?
I don’t know….I don’t have any answers…..I’m not even sure I understand the questions! So, I am eager to see how Dr. Lowell and the rest of the class think the puzzle fits together!
Technology may change the methods we use to teach students of the 21st century, but it does not change the pedagogy we believe in. Teaching an online course requires using technology and changing the methods used by the educator, however the goals and philosophy are not changed with the new environment.
I solemnly agree with you that sometimes educational technology is perceived as simply using PowerPoint. Whenever I talk to someone about educational technology that is the first thing that pops into everyone’s head. Why is that? Why has the defining application for educational technology according to the general public PowerPoint? How can we change this view?
I’m not sure how this applies to anything, but as I look at Lee’s question about power point and your summation of the same, I can’t help but think that there is such a difference in technology that just helps us present information to a group of students (i.e. power point) and technology that helps us link students to a world of information and perspectives (i.e. blogging, podcasts, etc.).