EDU 5860 Issues in Digital Technologies

Issues in Digital Technology & Education

In EDUC 5860, we examine a broad and ever-changing range of social, cultural and pedagogical issues and controversies arising from the use of digital technologies for education and learning (in and outside schools).

This year’s Issues course is necessarily impacted by the challenges of algorithmic culture, especially following the release of ChatGPT (in late 2022), generative AI image-making tools (like Dall-E and Midjourney) and LLMs (Large Language Models) that use sophisticated machine learning techniques.

Some researchers have cautioned that we are at turning point in education where human teachers might become obsolete; others argue that AI is just an expression of another techno-educational ‘hype cycle’ (Chris Dede); other educational theorists suggest that ChatGPT is a high-tech ‘bullshit artist‘ (Punya Mishra) or ‘stochastic parrot’ (Bender et al. 2021). Others worry about academic honestly. Many worry about surveillance, system bias, and disinformation. And some researchers suggest we should get ahead of ChatGPT while remaining cautious (Mark Pegrum) while others argue we should critically ‘resist‘ (Selwyn) and/or (re)imagine alternatives to both AI and traditional educational forms.

In the 2024 offering of Issues in Digital Technologies and Education, we will approach generative AI, ChatGPT and other LLMs critically, while also experimentally probing these tools to see how they work, while also exploring – beyond AI – dynamic modes of learning that are less susceptible to ‘capture’ by these systems (by AI tools which may create new dependencies on technologies while at the same time deskilling students, teachers and researchers a like).

In changing landscapes altered by global pandemics and ‘techno-innovations’, it is increasingly argued that 21st century learners need to be understood as co-makers and critical (re)designers of authentic knowledge, art and culture. Beyond AI, and to these ends, this course will examine a range of pedagogies and tools that seek to maximize the opportunities of digital networks, technologies and media ecologies for creative, critical, and authentic learning, open-ended inquiry, and situated transdisciplinary making.

The stakes of this discussion go beyond AI and ‘educational technology’ to address critical questions about participation, equity, inclusion, and democracy — and the creative capacity of anyone — in an increasingly networked society.