A common theme across lots of my reading and media consumption this week has been acceptance, specifically acceptance of digital innovation and how it has changed and will change our lives. Prompted by the BBC article on Japan’s relationship with robots (Zeeburg, 2020), I started to consider how a country with such a culture to those in the West embraces technological advancement – both in education and non-education settings. My general impression is that Japan has more optimism for this than many Western countries and I was intrigued to understand why.
A result of this pathway into trying to understand made me reflect differently on the Miller (2011) text to what I had on first reading. I started to consider the concept of ‘homo faber’ and the idea that ours may be the last generation of ‘natural human’ from a new perspective. I started to question whether this change is inevitable and, if it’s not, what one could do to stop it. I’ve always been a pragmatist who is accepting of change – working out quickly what it means for me and attempting to benefit in the best way possible. However, I understand that others aren’t as comfortable. Perhaps it’s natural for us to develop and we have always accepted change.
Does accepting change really have to be that scary though? On discussing education and technology research, Selwyn (2012) asserts that researchers should “remain mindful of the continuities, recurrences and repetitions associated with new technologies”. This gives me an impetus next week to look back on adjustments to previous technologies (in education and beyond) and learn lessons from the past to ease our future adoption of technological changes.
Miller, V. (2011) Chapter 9: The Body and Information Technology, Understanding Digital Culture, Sage.
Selwyn, N. (2012) Ten suggestions for improving academic research in education and technology, Learning Media and Technology, 37(3), September 2012, 213-219
Zeeburg, A. (2020) ‘What can we learn about robots from Japan?’, BBC.com, 24 Jan 2020, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191220-what-we-can-learn-about-robots-from-japan
‘My general impression is that Japan has more optimism for this than many Western countries and I was intrigued to understand why.’
Yes, a really interesting question. And if we think there *is* a different, then we are acknowledging that culture does indeed play a significant role in the not only the design and development, but also the uptake, of technologies. This is a central premise for this course.
I also think it is perhaps harder to see our own culture in this way , as something engrained in our way of thinking. Most of us tend to think that the way we think is ‘normal’, and it is other cultures which have ‘cultural ways of doing things’.
‘Perhaps it’s natural for us to develop and we have always accepted change.’
So, if we accept that idea, then it seems quite hard to also assume a ‘natural’ human condition, right? If we have always ‘developed’, and persistently experienced some kind of change, what is the core ‘humanness’ that has persisted, that has remained unchanged?
‘This gives me an impetus next week to look back on adjustments to previous technologies (in education and beyond) and learn lessons from the past to ease our future adoption of technological changes.’
Sounds like a good strategy! it is definitely a way of trying to remain critical about ‘new’ and ‘revolutionary’ technologies.
Thanks for the comments, Jeremy. As a result, I’ve considered the term, culture, much more widely than I had before, as well as thinking about the power and motives behind the development and uptake of technologies. It reminded me of the Opening Ceremony to the London 2012 Olympics where Tim Berners Lee sent a Tweet that read ‘This is for everyone’. I wonder how often citizens feel this about technological innovations
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/12/tim-berners-lee-on-30-years-of-the-web-if-we-dream-a-little-we-can-get-the-web-we-want