Alternative spaces for education with and through technology
This paper explores ways in which technology occasions learning outside of formal educational settings. Technology has become ubiquitous outside schools, although, as with schools, it is differentially available to diverse groups. Nevertheless, networked technologies are found in churches, libraries, Internet cafes, technology stores, community centers, and kiosks; even entire cities across Europe and North America are going wireless. The wider availability of these technologies has spawned new kinds of tools for communication and informal learning. This phenomenon begs several questions: What counts as learning with, through, and about technology? That is, how do individuals become skilled at using technology, and should distinctions be made between acquiring a simple fact through a search engine and acquiring concepts through online social interaction or self-paced learning programs? What is the relationship between the context in which the technology is used and the learning that occurs? That is, do geographical and social contexts (libraries, community centers, internet cafes, home, and the workplace) advance or constrain what individuals do with the technology and thus what and how they learn? What learning opportunities on computers do various groups in society take up? That is, to what extent do educational experiences and goals vary by age, income level, gender, language, and culture or ethnicity? Do different virtual spaces shape the kind of learning that might occur? That is, do the various affordances within blogs, wikis, virtual worlds, search engines, and the like support distinctive learning opportunities? These questions are addressed through a critical review of existing scholarship in this area. The paper concludes with a discussion of technology’s potential for maximizing opportunities for education outside institutional settings and, by extension, for radical changes within these settings.
Paper (April 2008 final draft)