Introduction: The Neutrality Debate
"Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral." Melvin Kranzberg, "The Information Age: Evolution or Revolution?" (1985)
One of the classical questions in the study of modern technology concerns the degree to which a technology compels certain choices and behaviors, as opposed to simply facilitating choices and behaviors the responsibility for which resides solely in the subject/user. The articles by Stumpf and Turkle, inspired by Tufte's Powerpoint essay, represent two different approaches to this question, and we'll begin today's session with reactions to those articles. Some further questions we might consider are:
The Role of Educational Research
Each of the teams has identified interesting articles from contemporary journals, and in the time remaining I want to discuss why the teams chose the articles they did and which aspects of the research seemed most interesting/provocative. At the very least, this will help us understand some of the questions/issues each team is trying to address in the design of their program.
The articles are:
Bridge Design and Construction
English Standards
For Thursday: We'll begin the storyboards on Thursday.