ThePsychology&Phenomenologyof EducationalTechnologyWrapUp

AboveWordCloud,representsentireconversationthattookplaceduringWeek8.

DLG8wouldliketobeginbythankingeachandeverymemberofETEC511formaking thisweek'sdiscussionsandinteractives,whichfocussedonourperceptionsoftechnology,both enjoyableandenlightening. InInteractivity1,DLG8focussedontechnologyandourrelationshipwithit.Webegan exploringthisconceptbyaskingWhatisarelationship?Belowrepresentsthemajortheme expressedwithinthisdiscussionthread: Tomearelationshipisaboutrelating,whichmeansthatIdontbelievethatitspossibleto havearelationshipwithaninanimateobject Iviewarelationshipasaconnectionorabondtopeopleoranimatelivingcreatures Ibelievethatarelationshipisaconnectionbetweentwopartieswherebothagreethatthis existsbetweenthem.YoucanhavearelationshipwithanotherhumanoranimalbutI don'tbelieveyoucanhaveonewithaninanimateobject Fromtheseresponsesitisclearthatamajorityfeelwedonothaveatruerelationship

withtechnology,howeversomemembersexpresseduniqueopinionsonthistopic: Forme,arelationshipisfeelinglikeyou'reathomewithsomeone.Inthecaseof Turkle'sarticlethe"someone"couldbesubstitutedby"something".Ifeelthatif someonehasarelationshipwith"something"(e.g.robotdolloranimal)thistypeof relationshipcanexist,evenifoneofthemembersdoesmoreofthegiving.

Furthermore,thisinitialquestionsparkedadivergentexplorationintothespecific definitionofrelationship.Uponreflectioninthissummary,thisisanessentialpiecetothis discussion,foritisessentialtohaveacommonunderstandingandlanguageonkeyterms beforetruecognitivediscoursecanbegin.AnapproachthatcanbecurrentlyseeninDLG10s discussionsiteastheybeginbyemphasisingtheKeyTermspresentedintheirarticles. Asfortheotherquestionspresentedinthissection,Whatkindofrelationshipis appropriate,desirable,imaginabletohavewithamachine?,Whatkindsofpeoplearewe becomingaswedevelopmoreandmoreintimaterelationshipswithmachines?,Howwill interactingwiththeserelationalartefactsaffectpeople'swayofthinkingaboutthemselves,their senseofhumanidentity?Itwasclearthatmanyperceivehowadultsuseoftechnologyas appropriate,formanyofushaveclearboundaries.Conversely,manyfeelouryouthare currentlyusingtheirtechnologyinappropriatelyformanydifferentreasons,whichincludes,butis notlimitedto,theirconstantuse.However,aswasmentionedintheoveralldiscussionthread, doweasadultsfindtheamountoftechnologyusedbyoursocietiesyouthdisturbingduetothe simplefactthatwegrewupwithacompletelydifferentlevelandoverallusageoftechnology? Personally,Ifeelthiswouldmakeaninterestinglongitudinalstudy. InInteractivity2,DLG8wasaskedtocreateaNeopettoengagewiththeworldofvirtual petsthatTurkleexploresinhervideolecture,RelationalArtifacts:FromVirtualPetstoDigital Dolls.ManyofyoudescribedyourselvesasproudownersofyournewNeopetthatyoutookthe timetocreatechoosingitsnamecarefully,itscolourandsomeofyouthespeciesbasedon yourownpersonalanimalpreferencesorthecharacteristicsassignedtothatspecies.The majorityofyouseemedquiteexcitedtobetakingcareofyournewpetfortheweek. Onequestionaskedofyouduringtheweekwastolookatthesiteintermsofits popularitywithparentsandchildren.Herearesomeofyourresponses: Thepetiseasytocreate,personalized,andcute.Thesiteiscolorfuland easytonavigate.Additionally,itfeaturesavarietyofgamesandotheractivities. Parentsmightenjoythesitebecauseitkeepsthekidsentertainedandthegames involvesomelogic. Childrenandparentscanfindacommongroundtoshareexperiencesinthedigitalworld, astheyoutharebecomingmoreconnectedtoadigitalrealityforentertainment.the gameprovidesaplacetointeractinrealtimewheretheindividualtakesownershipof theiractions.

IdothinkthattheNeopetswebsiteispopularwithchildrenandparentsbecauseitis rathereasytouse,brightandflashy,andofcoursechildrenbuildconnectionswiththeir neopet.AsTurklementions,thenewdigitalpetsarealreadyanimatedreadyforbuilding relationships.Shealsomentionsthatusersfeelmoreliketheircompanionsthanusers.

YouwerealsoaskedtothinkabouthowtheNeopetexperiencecouldaffectthepsychologyofa childandwhyachildmayconsidertheirNeopetalive,somewhataliveornotalive.Oneofthe mostinterestingresponsestothistopicwasbyDominicSmithwhoactuallycreatedhisNeopet withhis6yearoldson.TheyhadnamedtheirNeopetusinginitialsofmembersinthefamilyand thequestionIhadposedtohimwaswhetherhissonwouldfeelthatthismadetheirNeopeta memberoftheirfamily. IbelievemysonhadagreaterconnectiontothePVODVOduetothefactthathisinitials werepartofthename.HealsomadetheselectionforthelookofourNeopet.[...]My son,likemanyyoungpeopletoday,hastimeonhishands.IfIdidnotregulatethetime heplayedwithNeopets,hecouldhaveplayedforhours.Inarelativelyshortperiodof timehemanagedtofigureoutmostoftherulesbysimplyclickingandtrying. Interestingly,ashewastryingtofigureouttherulesandoptions,PVODVObeganto starveandatonepointhadadyingstatus.Denzelwasactuallysaddenedbythethought thatthischaractercoulddie!Wehadachatofcourseandhecametotherealizationthat thecharacterwas"...notreal".

AninterestingconclusionthatDominicaswellasotherNeopetusersmadethroughtheir experiencesthatweekwasthatNeopetscanbeanexcellentrealworldlearningtoolforparents tousetoteachtheirchildrenaboutresponsibility,thevalueofmoneyandsocialskills.Children canalsodevelopanunderstandingofthenecessitiesinlifeversustheluxuriesandcometo understandthatthelattercanbeearnedthroughhardwork,dedicationanddetermination. InInteractivity3,weexploredembodiedknowledgeandhowwecanensurethatanonline learningenvironmentincludesembodiedlearningopportunities.Itwasinterestingtoreadthe responsesfromseveraldifferentcurricularareas,aseachofusknowsourownsubjectarea verywell,butmaynotknowanotherareaatall. ThesecondquestionDoyouthinkstudentswilllearntheappropriatesocialskillsforthe workforcethroughanonlinelearningenvironment?resultedinavarietyofanswers. itdependsonthestudent itdependsonthejobsthatwearepreparingstudentsfor itdependsonhowthetechnologyisusedintheonlinelearningenvironment

Tosummarize,theonlinecoursewillworkforstudentsifteachersplanforembodiedlearning opportunitiesfornotonlytheknowledgethatwewantthemtomaster,butalsothesocialskills thatwewantthemtomaster.