Human Culture

 The final project is a presentation for an imaginary technology conference called in order to evaluate the impact of technology on culture. Students will pose questions of cultural concern in regard to new or emerging technologies and answer these questions in a multimedia presentation that uses scholarly research. The project will be completed in stages throughout the course and shared with the class in the final week. Students choose a new or emerging technology and ask the following questions about it (from Neil Postman, Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century):

• What is the problem for which this technology is the solution?
• Whose problem is it?
• Which people and what institutions might be most seriously harmed by a technological solution?
• What new problems might be created because we have solved this problem?
• What sort of people and institutions might acquire special economic and political power because of technological change?

Students answer these questions by doing research in the library. At least six scholarly sources must be employed to answer the questions.

Your exhibit will consist of a multimedia presentation on a particular technology and its relationship to culture. The exhibit will address the following issues regarding technology and culture:

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is for you to understand and articulate the relationship between technology and culture

Skills

The project will enable you to develop the following skills:

• Identify, define, and evaluate the influence of technology on human culture
• Analyze and evaluate specific relationships between technology and literature, writing, philosophy, religion, art, music, and posthumanism
• Articulate cultural critiques of technology
• Synthesize interdisciplinary scholarship in technology and the humanities
• Demonstrate the ability to design and produce multimedia communication appropriate to a given research or creative context (purpose, audience, event, form, genre, medium)

Knowledge

The project will enable you to obtain the following content knowledge

• Nature and function of technology
• Nature and function of culture

Part 1: Project Topic and Resources

1. Choose a technology to question in your final project in preparation for your presentation at the Online Technology Conference and answer the following questions about it:

• What is it?
• Why did you choose it?
• At this point, what do you think the answers to Postman’s five questions will be? Why?
• What steps will you take to answer the questions?
• What obstacles (if any) do you see in your way to answering the questions?

Your responses should be at least 400 words, in total, adhere to MLA style guidelines (Times New Roman and size 12 font, 1 inch margins), and should be carefully edited and proofed for standard use of English.

1. Create an analytical annotated bibliography of resources you will use for your project. These must include at least six scholarly resources. The annotation for each source should be at least 150 words.

General assistance with annotated bibliographies and MLA citations can be found on the UMUC website at the below links.

• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
• MLA Citation
• Additional assistance with MLA formatting can be found at Research and Documentation Online, 5th edition
• Due Date for Part 1: This submission is due during Week 2, with the final day of submission being the Sunday of the second week (11:30pm ET). Please see the Course Schedule for the exact final due date for this submission.

Part 2: Project Outline and Media

1. This week you will create an outline of your project.

Use this resource for assistance on how to create an outline: Prewriting and Outlining

1. With the outline you created, create media for your project using the below resources to guide you. Use this resource to help you think about how to best address your audience:

• Writing for an Audience

Resources to help you with the presentation:

• Sample PPT with Notes
• Twelve Tips for Creating Effective Presentations
• Website for help with designing a PPT
• Introduction to SmartArt Graphics
• Convert Slide Text to a SmartArt Graphic

Due Date for Part2: This submission is due during Week 4, with the final day of submission being the Sunday of the fourth week (11:30pm ET). Please see the Course Schedule for the exact final due date for this submission.

Part 3: Submit First Draft for Feedback

This week you will submit a draft of your completed narrated presentation. The presentation should last at least 20 minutes and no more than 30 minutes. You may use PowerPoint to narrate your presentation or use a screen casting software to make a video.

IMPORTANT: Please, make sure that your start your presentation with the words,

Due Date for Part 3: This submission is due during Week 5, with the final day of submission being the Sunday of the fifth week (11:30pm ET). Please see the Course Schedule for the exact final due date for this submission.

FIRST PART 

The choice of technology for this project is the Synchronous and Asynchronous technology. This is a kind of online e-learning technology used by students to get their work done. Learning may take place in or out of the classroom. It may be self-paced which is denoted as asynchronous or can be tutor-guided which is denoted as synchronous learning. Within an asynchronous education setting, learners are capable to take part in their education, providing them with the chance to interrelate with their classmates, give peer response, and reflect on the standing of their individual learning targets and results. In a synchronous learning setting, learners are provided with significant interactions in a one-on-one setting where students actively participate and respond to their peers. In this technology age, this kind of technology is very useful and applicable in the education sector hence more the reason of selecting it.

At this point, the answers to Postman’s five questions might be:

1.The chosen technology will solve the problem of online learning whereby it will create an effective environment that will facilitate the provision of e-learning without any difficulties.

2.The problem is for the education sector that has to facilitate the provision of e-learning in the digital world in this technology age.

3. The news problems that may be created by solving the original problem comprise the issue of enlightening the students and the tutors on the use of the technology.

4.The people and the institutions that could be most seriously impacted by this new technology are those that have remained adamant to technology change. Those people and institutions that are against technology in the education sector and as a result they are the ones who will be mostly affected.

5.The students and the learning institutions will gain special economic power from the technology chosen because they are directly involved in the technology.

To answer the questions effectively, the following steps could be followed. The first step is to carry out an experiment to test the efficiency of the new technology. Let some students use the technology and others to use the traditional learning methods. After that, compare the change between those using the technology and those using the traditional learning settings. After observing the changes brought about by the technology, answer the questions effectively.

Annotated bibliography

Bonk, C., & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 model: Online learning for the diverse learners of this world. Distance Education, 27(2), pp. 249-264.

Bonk and Zhang in this article talk about a new model for designing and providing online education known as R2D2 method. Such a model is particularly significant to address the diverse preferences of online students of diverse generations and diverse internet familiarity. In operation, the R2D2 model is one way to organize and create sense of the varied range of instructional possibilities presently accessible in distance learning. It offers new means of learning for different online learners, and exhibits easy-to-use education activities for tutors to integrate diverse technologies in online education. The R2D2 model offers a framework for extra engaging, responsive and dynamic learning and teaching in online setting.

Bolliger, D. U., & Shepherd, C. E. (2010). Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses. Distance Education, 31(3), pp. 295-314. doi:10.1080/01587919.2010.513955

Bolliger and Shepherd in this article conducted a study that explored learner’s views concerning the incorporation of ePortfolios in two online graduate-level courses at a small research university within the Western United States. The authors explored learners’ perceptions of connectedness, communication, value, and supposed learning through ePortfolio integrations and formative peer review to endorse a sustained learning society.Forty learners participated in the study. Results obtained showed that ePortfolios positively influenced some learner’s view of connectedness, communication, and learning. According to Bolliger & Shepherd (2010), previous ePortfolio gender and experience were liable for minor variations in learner perceptions. Bolliger and Shepherd arrived at a conclusion that ePortfolios can raise education societies in online education programs.

D.U. Bolliger is a Professor at the Department of Professional Studies at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA. C.E. Shepherd is also Professor at the Department of Professional Studies at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA.

Özden, M., & Arifoglu, A. (2009). A blended e-learning environment: A model proposition for integration of asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. International Journal of Learning, 16(2), pp. 449-460.

According to Özden and Arifoglu, in online education, lack of one-on-one interface bars tutors from observing and monitoring learner’s activities effectively, particularly in crowded sessions, and subsequently they fail to efficiently evaluate the performance of online students. On the other hand, regardless of being physically distant, instructors should monitor learners’ activities and evaluate their performance efficiently in order to inform the students on what to improve. The authors of this article developed an e-learning instrument for distance learning that incorporates asynchronous and synchronous learning settings to provide an enhanced e-learning platform. The tool facilitates tutors to monitor learners’ activities, evaluate participation of students in online synchronous sessions and offer asynchronous access to evaluation information following lectures. The tool is aimed to monitor performance of online learners more effectively.

Mason, R., Weller, M., Pegler, C. (2004). E-portfolios: an assessment tool for online courses. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 35(6), pp. 717-727. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2004.00429.x

The article talks about the various applications of e-Portfolios in a learning setting and looks at specific features or aspects of the electronic edition of portfolios. Mason, Pegler, and Weller concentrate on the use of the e-portfolio as an evaluation method. A case is developed for the application of the e-portfolio as a proper end of course evaluation process wherein learning items are the foundation of the course design. The data from the evaluation course is presented. Through the evaluation, conclusions are made regarding the suitability of e-portfolios as an end of course evaluation technique. The results reveal that e-portfolios is a very effective evaluation technique for an end of course.

Robin Mason is Professor of Educational Technology, Chris Pegler is a lecturer and doctoral student, and Martin Weller is a Senior Lecturer, all at the Institute of Educational Technology.

Engelsen, K. & Dysthe, O. (2004). Portfolios and assessment in teacher education in Norway: a theory‐based discussion of different models in two sites. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29(2), 239-258. doi: 10.1080/0260293042000188500

According to Dysthe and Engelsen, two tutor institutions within Norway engaged in a novel ICT-based portfolio projects provided data for their research. Within this article, they talk about a model of examination for portfolio procedures founded on sociocultural point of views of education and evaluation. Moreover, they define and talk about the dissimilarities and resemblances of the portfolio models within the institutions with regard to their analysis model. In addition, they underline areas that need improvement. The collective evaluation practices are highly impacted by customs of exams in the two institutions. According to Dysthe and Engelsen, digital portfolios offer novel learning chances that are not still completely exploited and hence provide a good chance of enhancing online learning. Moreover, they explored the critical elements of portfolios in tutor learning in light of social learning theory.

Olga Dysthe is a lecturer at the University of Bergen, Norway while KnutSteinar Engelsen is a professor at the Stord University College, Norway.

Harris, J.(2009). Teacher’s technological pedagogical, content, knowledge, and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(4), pp. 393-416.

This study analyzes extant approaches to integration of technology in teaching claiming that several latest methods are technocentric, regularly omitting adequate consideration of the dynamic and complicated relations among technology, content, context, and pedagogy. Harris recommended the use of technology, pedagogy, and content information framework as a means to consider efficient technology integration identifying technology, content, pedagogy, and setting as interdependent elements of tutor’s knowledge essential to educate content-based curriculum successfully through learning technologies. According to Harris, TRACK-based activity forms are viewed as a substitute to existing expert development methods and clarify the manner this new means of reasoning could authentically and effectively assist tutors in the integration of technology in education setting.

Judith Harris is an independent researcher and textbook author.

References

Bolliger, D. U., & Shepherd, C. E. (2010). Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses. Distance Education, 31(3), pp. 295-314. doi:10.1080/01587919.2010.513955

Bonk, C., & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 model: Online learning for the diverse learners of this world. Distance Education, 27(2), pp. 249-264.

Dysthe, O., & Engelsen, K. (2004). Portfolios and assessment in teacher education in Norway: a theory‐based discussion of different models in two sites. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29(2), 239-258. doi: 10.1080/0260293042000188500

Harris, J.(2009). Teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(4), pp. 393-416.

Mason, R., Pegler, C., & Weller, M. (2004). E-portfolios: an assessment tool for online courses. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 35(6), pp. 717-727. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2004.00429.x

Özden, M., & Arifoglu, A. (2009). A blended e-learning environment: A model proposition for integration of asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. International Journal of Learning, 16(2), pp. 449-460.