{"id":15591,"date":"2014-10-13T09:00:14","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/edc\/?p=15591"},"modified":"2021-08-13T10:16:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T14:16:39","slug":"blog-technology-giveth-technology-taketh-away-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/2014\/blog-technology-giveth-technology-taketh-away-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog: Technology Giveth and Technology Taketh Away Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nestor B. Querido, CUOL Supervisor<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the second in a three-part blog series about technology. Read part 1 here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

With all its appeal and wizardry, there is a flip side to technology \u2013 it can spawn unwanted consequences. We don\u2019t fully understand what limitations technology might bring, but we imagine that it is for a good cause and hope for desirable outcomes. Technology, however, can transpire outcomes that are contrary to what it was originally intended for \u2013 the unforeseen or unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

In the book The Surrender of Culture to Technology<\/a>, Neil Postman wrote the following verses:<\/p>\n

\u201d\u2026unforeseen consequences stand in the way of all those who think they see clearly the direction in which a new technology will take us. Not even those who think who invent a technology can be assumed to be reliable prophets\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

“My paragon of inventors, the discoverer of an art is not the best judge of the good or harm which will accrue to those who practice it.”<\/p>\n

We have come to rely on technology. It\u2019s like a rushing waterfall \u2013 once they\u2019ve gone over the edge, there\u2019s no turning back.<\/p>\n

“My God, what have we done?” the co-pilot of the Enola Gay, Robert Lewis, wrote in his diary shortly after his plane dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. The Manhattan Project<\/a> perhaps delivered an irreparable outcome. But on the other hand, was it just a matter of time before someone else discovered it first?<\/p>\n

Our curiosity drives us to discover new things. But sometimes we see only the short-term benefits and overlook the long-term effects. We sometimes ignore the social and psychological impacts of our creation.<\/p>\n

The successful cloning of a lamb called Dolly<\/a> was announced in 1996. Immediately, many catechized the procedure. Anxious and concerned questions arose regarding the ethics of cloning.<\/p>\n

Genetically Modified Food (GMF) or Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) now drive the economy, but we don\u2019t know what these chemically induced and manipulated organisms can really do to our body.<\/p>\n

Technological advancements can lead to significant environmental problems, such as polluted air emission and contaminated liquid discharges by big industries (from chemical to water pollution). The adoption of automobiles can lead to deaths and injuries from accidents. Some bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, creating superbugs. These are all unintended consequences of inventions.<\/p>\n

In academics, it may appear that the impact of technology is not as extreme as the effect of the atomic bomb, but outcomes of a different nature are surfacing today that cannot be ignored. For instance:<\/p>\n

e-cheating<\/a> is trending throughout the young generation. According to reports from the conferences I\u2019ve attended, many students are using e-devices to cheat in school. They don\u2019t even consider it unethical since it\u2019s part of technology.<\/p>\n

There has also been an unexpected decline in writing skill due to excessive \u201ctexting\u201d lingo and online chatting. Many have relied on technology to improve spelling and grammar. Even the elegance of cursive writing is disappearing today.<\/p>\n

There are also talks about the fact that students who do the majority of their reading online are less able to determine what is and is not a valid source. They are less skilled in critical reading.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s environment, educators have to adapt to the shifting nature of learning in education. Let\u2019s take MOOCs for example. According to Sanjay Sarma, who leads MIT’s MOOC<\/a> efforts, the rational for MOOC was that it \u201c\u2026is a recognition that the lecture model needs an upgrade.\u201d “Surely something’s got to change in 1,000 years,” he said, noting that the lecture model dates to at least 1088, when the University of Bologna was founded.<\/p>\n

Today MOOCs are undergoing an overhaul \u2013 and they are proceeding fast. Matthew Pellish<\/a> (EAB -Washington DC), the keynote speaker at this year\u2019s CUOL AGM, shared information on the release of MOOC 2.0, which indicates that MOOCs are undergoing complete re-adjustment and refinement.<\/p>\n

Pellish\u2019s presentation, entitled Promise and Perils of Innovation<\/a>, highlighted how MOOCs have moved from a perceived threat by higher education, to arguably innocuous in all counts. The interest in MOOCs peaked and then steadily dropped off as institutions realized that while enrolment was high, completion rates were drastically low (2 per cent of enrolment, on average). However, he stressed the importance of seeing online learning as an opportunity to expand learning resources toward a multimodal approach by \u201cunbundling\u201d the traditional packaging of courses and programs.<\/p>\n

Pellish also pointed out that \u201conline education just a few years ago was all about overcoming faculty resistance to teaching online, and now faculty are literally lining up to do this, leaving their jobs in some cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever a new invention surfaces, we implore for ideological, moral and ethical values, but we don\u2019t really know what the eventual social and psychological outcomes will be. All of our technological roads twist and turn, and we can never see around the bend or through the fog. Whatever the outcomes, technology has become central to modern life. So where is our society heading?<\/p>\n

Stay tuned next Monday for the third and final blog in this series. In my next blog, I will conclude with how technology in education is perceived. The current status of academics on technology and the outlooks are very cautious and restrained. Could technology be a hindrance or an advantage? You decide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nestor B. Querido, CUOL Supervisor This is the second in a three-part blog series about technology. Read part 1 here. With all its appeal and wizardry, there is a flip side to technology \u2013 it can spawn unwanted consequences. We don\u2019t fully understand what limitations technology might bring, but we imagine that it is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[381,258],"yoast_head":"\nBlog: Technology Giveth and Technology Taketh Away Part 2 - Teaching and Learning Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Nestor B. 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