Introduction - Philosophy of Computing in Education
This course is dedicated to the late John
G. Kemeny (1926-1992) – philosopher, mathematician, and great teacher.
Although many alternative views will be explored in this class, my recent
rediscovery of Kemeny’s philosophies of computing in education (in written
form) have confirmed them to be much like my own.
Four philosophical views of educational
computing will be examined in this class:
1. The philosophy of relative advantage (Roblyer & Knezek, 2003; Southworth, Knezek & Flanigan, 2003).
2. The philosophy of universal machine (Taylor - tutor,
tool, tutee).
Taylor, R. (Ed.). (1980). The Computer
in the school : tutor, tool, tutee. New York : Teachers College Press.
(Available at Willis Library, UNT).
3. The philosophy of download and
go (just in time training).
4. The philosophy of symbiotic/adversarial/intelligent
machine future. (Matrix)
Boole, G. (1951). An investigation
of the laws of thought. New York: Dover Publications.
Kemeny, J. G. (1972). Man and the computer. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons.
Luehrmann, A. (2002).
“Should the computer teach the student...” — 30 years later. Contemporary
Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 2(3), 397-400.
Underlying all of this is a need to address pedagogy,
because all common philosophies of educational computing include a goal to
teach and/or help students learn.
These detailed topics fit into those
listed in the syllabus as follows:
The purpose of this course is to look at three aspects of the computer
in education.
1. Machine learning/machine-intermediated learning--the
computer as a device with which you communicate or where the machine is
only an intermediary for human to human communications.
(philosophical views 1 and 4)
2.The computer as tutor/ tool/tutee--depending on your philosophy, the
computer can take on different functions in education. Which fits your style
and why?
(philosophical views 2 and 3)
3.Pedagogy—what is technology’s role in education; how can it help you
be a better teacher? Starting at the beginning - what is pedagogy and what
is a good teacher?
(philosophical views 1-4 = all)