The Great Promise of Educational Technology: Citizenship and Education in a Globalized World (New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics)

"In this carefully argued book, Mamlok examines "The Great Promise" that digital technologies have the potential to transform and improve education. This view gives technology itself too much influence as a force driving change. Mamlok shows how a framework of neoliberal assumptions drives a vision of education as standardized, efficiency-oriented, competitive, and commodified. In contrast, he presents an alternative vision in which digital technologies could drive change guided by principles of personalized learning, collaboration, and critical digital literacy, supporting a broader conception of education as a path toward active democratic citizenship." --Nicholas C. Burbules, Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor, Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA "Around the world, many education reformers and tech companies have lauded new digital technology platforms and tools in education as groundbreaking and transformational. Mamlok examines these claims with a critical philosophical perspective, bringing fresh insights into how knowledge is produced, manipulated, and circulated in the digital age. This is a rich account of the challenges and opportunities for educators and policy-makers working to advance the goal of education for critical literacies and empowered digital citizenship." --Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Miami University, USA This book critically looks at the tensions between the promise to transform education through the use of digital technology and the tendency to utilize digital technology in instrumental and technical ways. The widespread use of digital technology has had a remarkable effect on almost every domain of human life. This technological change has caused governments, educational departments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to recognize the need to develop educational plans that would support the social and the cultural changes that have occurred with the ubiquitous permeation of digital technology into our everyday lives. This book challenges common assumptions regarding digital technology and education, through critical exploration of educational policies, interviews, and class observations in the US and Israel. In doing so, the author sheds light on the possibilities of advancing digital citizenship under current educational policies. Dan Mamlok is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Tel Aviv University, Israel Acknowledgments Contents About the Author List of Figures 1 Introduction Critical Theory Critical Theory and Technology Habermas: Striving for Emancipatory Knowledge Democratic Citizenship Democracy Revisited Citizenship Discourse and Resisting the Status Quo Book Outline References Part I 2 Why Do We Have to Worry About Globalization at All? Neoliberalism and Corporate Education Globalization Revisited Corporations, Transnational Corporations, and Education References 3 “Turning on the Lights”? Or the Great Promise of Digital Technology to Transform Education New Modes of Acquiring Knowledge, the “Net Generation,” and the Promise to Transform Education Celebrating the Democratization of Knowledge Just Google It Who Needs News When Everyone Can Create the News? References Part II 4 Introduction to Part II United States’ Trust in Technology to Transform Education From Microcomputer to National Education Plans The Israeli Plan: Advancing the Integration of Digital Technology References 5 Understanding the Matter, Disconnecting the World Fetishizing Positivism The [False] Neutrality of Technology Standardization Efficiency Competition References 6 Personalizing or Commodifying Instruction? On Personalized Learning and Student Collaboration The Sniper Rifle Pedagogy Student Collaboration References 7 Learning Through Disturbance The Individual Social References 8 Reading the World Precedes Reading the Tweet Common Definitions of Digital Literacy Endeavoring Towards Ethical Literacy Maximizing Instruction References 9 Advancing Digital Citizenship Considering the Nature of Digital Technology Critical Digital Literacy Developing a Sense of Democratic Citizenship Summary References Epilogue References Appendix: Site Descriptions and Participants The U.S. Middle School Participating Teachers The Israeli Middle School Participating Teachers List of Participants Index