How can you use lessons learned from Antarctic explorers in 1911 in your teaching? Well, in this brilliant set of slides, lecturer in Pedagogy at Loughborough University, Dr Ashley Casey, uses Inuit Dogs to discuss the need to develop a ‘pedagogy of technology‘. A pedagogy that encourages technology as a means of educating children rather than an interference to their learning.
In this modern ‘App age’ where new tools can be downloaded in an instant, the challenge is not in procuring technology and equipment. The challenge comes in applying these tools to achieve specific educational goals.
The solution is not as simple as flooding schools with technology. After all, technology is already part of the furniture. It’s about improving the pedagogical interaction.
In fact, as Dr Casey points out, the technology is just one of many pathways to achieving certain pedagogical outcomes.
When you go to the hardware store to buy a drill, you don’t actually want a drill, you want a hole, they don’t sell holes at the hardware store, but they do sell drills, which are the technology used to make holes. We must not lose sight that technology for the most part is a tool and it should be used in applications which address educational concerns. (Fletcher, 1996)
Technology needs to be seen as one of the many weapons in the educator’s arsenal, not the silver bullet. It should be a catalyst amongst a rich spectrum of tools where the focus is on pedagogy and learning, rather than what’s topping the App store right now.
We must not repeat previous mistakes and use technology to make things a little easier. Instead we must take an inclusive approach to technology and use it to enhance learning and teaching.
Have you experienced a situation where technology has been an interference rather than a learning catalyst? Let us know your insights in the comments below.