Educational technology–like the field of education in general, and many other global institutions–seems to be in a state of crisis, or at least a state of highly volatile change. The rapid advent of new systems and devices–social networks, cloud computing, fabrication tools, the Arduino and its cousins in the realm of embedded computing, just to name a few–offers tremendous creative opportunities to our field, but at the same time leaves us, collectively, with a painful reassessment of purpose. What do we want educational technology to look like; or maybe, more importantly, what do we want learning, childhood, and adult life to look like in this strange and disturbing political, cultural, and even meteorological era that we appear to be embarked upon?... |
