The practice of scholars publishing their thinking and research as peer reviewed work in print has become in recent years the primary measure for demonstrating competence in higher education. Unfortunately, this increased emphasis has at times been to the detriment of good teaching. Interestingly, several current trends suggest that the "publish…

Taking a media ecology perspective, this article argues that technology cannot be neutral, because it is a form of change, and it has an inherent bias based on the properties of its materials and methods. Additionally, the application of a technology is an intrinsic part of the technology itself, as is technique, instructions, software, or…

This article examines what "stakeholder groups" have to say about the nature, and indeed the meaning, of "technology." The author uncovers a variety of interpretations of the term "technology" and finds much disagreement and indeed confusion regarding whether concepts such as "science," "technology," and "engineering" are independent of each…

The author describes the three bases upon which she rejects the assumption that a technology and its use are neutral: every technology predisposes a certain use; shapes habits of mind and social organizations; and is the outcome of deliberate choices made by individuals and societies. She then proposes a "triadic model" of technological…

The author argues that education should take advantage of the new virtual knowledge network accessible to every person on earth. She describes how the complexity of the Web has absorbed what is known by humankind and emerged it in a self-organizing, self-vetting network that comprises the most authentic, recent, and cogent version of knowledge…

This article shows that technological neutrality, determinism, and autonomy correspond to parts of a spectrum of possible historical relations between societies and their technologies. The spectrum of relations is based on the recognition that as we change technology, technology simultaneously changes us. This reinterpretation compels us to face…

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) is most remembered for his statement "The medium is the message," an aphorism that embraces the theme of this issue of "Educational Technology." McLuhan showed as never before the hidden biases within all technologies. Today, 100 years after his birth, his laws of media and perceptive aphorisms continue to resonate as…

Even though an artifact or tool may be designed to be particularly effective in accomplishing a particular purpose, these affordances are unclear (and hence, not efficacious) without significant cultural knowledge--which one gets from other individuals. The author concludes, through a personal journey of disclosure and understanding, that the good…

Technology, thought of as the ensemble of utilities and devices and of their impact on our lives, proceeds in steps, each of which seems plausible. This kind of development also encourages the view that technology is value-neutral. It always can be used both for good and ill, and we decide how to use it. The production of food and the development…

This article analyzes the articles published in the journal "Distance Education" from 2000-2010. The researchers analyzed these articles to determine the primary topics, research methods, key phrases in article titles, authorship, and most highly cited pieces. The development of new approaches to engage in distance education is a recurring theme…

For a society so adept in developing advanced technology, people have been grossly inept and negligent in concocting organizations and devising political and managerial innovations to apply technology effectively. This is true particularly in education, where technological innovations, including applications of computers, stagnate without…

Most current debate on instructional technology is characterized either by grandiose speculation on the salvation of education through automation (without specification of "what" and "how" technological innovations will actually be introduced in specific classroom situations, and how the changes will be financed), or by jargon-filled hairsplitting…

The digital revolution is transforming the ways in which knowledge and culture are produced, accessed, and, most of all, created and re-created. And as the Internet is nowadays generally acknowledged to be a public or a common good, this leads us to re-think the laws written for the 20th century technology, economy, and culture. Moreover, the…

Failure to transform educational institutions through the use of new technologies has been blamed on the continuation of outmoded pedagogy. However, the new spaces opened up by using technology are leading to new pedagogical approaches and an expansion in its role. Three areas currently important for European educational technologists are explored…

The article describes Web 2.0 as a revolutionary technology for actual learning. Using the example of the Wikipedia article about Fukushima, it discusses emergent processes of knowledge building and explains how they can be used for learning purposes. The examples make it obvious that it is the social system that makes groups work so effectively.…