Educational technology and pedagogic encounters: democratic education in potentiality

Abstract

This book is an attempt to do something else in the realm of educational technology in the field of teacher education. Nowadays too much is being made of educational technology, often valorising it as a saviour of educational institutions, in particular in relation to teacher education programmes. The reasoning quite too often is: If educational technology ‘is used’ in the training of teachers for primary and secondary education, then teachers possessing such capacities and skills might just be the panacea education systems require to respond to the challenges of learning, teaching and management in the modern era. We however are less optimistic if educational technology is perceived as an instrumental impetus for change in educational contexts. Such a technical view of education would be equally unresponsive to the demands of good education, because educational change cannot just be envisaged at the level of practice – that is, if we change the practices of teaching, such as altering the techniques we use to teach, then the theories (thoughts and concepts) that guide such practices have to be attended to as well. As Jacques Derrida (2004, p. 153) aptly reminds us, theory (theoria) informs practice (praxis) and, in turn, practice modifies theory. By implication, just looking at how educational technology manifests in certain practices would be remiss of giving credence to the significant role of theory in guiding practice. Consequently, this book looks at both the underlying theories of educational technology, and the ways in which practice is guided. Moreover, our work throughout this book is not devoid of producing ends. As for Derrida (2004, p. 148), ‘end-orientation’ is not necessarily bad in itself, as the ‘end’ in itself can prepare students to undertake new analyses and evaluations that can result in new possibilities. So, our understanding and situatedness within educational technology (means) – as opposed to using or applying educational technology – is aimed at cultivating practices (ends) that open up possibilities for new ways of democratic action. In other words, we do not pledge in advance that our embeddedness within educational technology has a utilitarian end in mind, but rather that our situatedness within educational technology (a practice itself) leaves open possibilities for new ways of understanding democratic education.