XplanaZine

Interview with James Farmer of Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

Xplana: What is your personal vision for technology in education?

JF: Personally, I’d like to see technology enhance education in terms of communication and community. I think that we are now becoming more able to embrace the opportunities the net offers us in terms of communication and community. Perhaps a move away from systems design to design which reflects how people really learn. Earl W. Stevick said it in 1970 but I sometimes feel that we’re just catching on… the most important aspect of education is ‘what goes on inside and between the people in the room’ (or online classroom, chatroom, discussion board, Inter/Intranet etc.). The more we reflect on and learn from this, the better.

Xplana: Which particular technology do you think holds the most promise for todays classroom or curriculum?

JF: As a ‘flexible’ learning’ (as they say here in Oz meaning ‘online’) person I don’t think I’ve really explored classroom technologies sufficiently well to really pick a technology there. I do like interactive whiteboards though and really don’t see how tablet PCs are really going to make an impact when all they do is create a room full of individuals working independently rather than the community a tool like a white/blackboard can (which has pretty much been proven useful already!) I think the key step for them will be when they can get rid of the projector (affordably).

In terms of curriculum, I’d say that the application of weblogs really does hit the mark. A bit back while pondering over many semi and un-successful online communities it struck me that the problem with many ‘online communities’ is that they are not, in fact, communities. For example, if you set up a discussion forum and enroll 20 student who then have a chat, it could be the start of a community but most certainly won’t become a community overnight or possibly even over time (without a skilled emoderator & purpose)… it’s basically just a conversation. Derek Powazek at ‘http://designforcommunity.com‘ defines online community formation as:

“when users are given tools to use their voice in a public and immediate way, forming intimate relationships over time.”

Now, I don’t think a discussion post is necessarily a tool with which you can fully express your ‘voice’ (a weblog is though, customizable and personal and which the user ‘owns’), discussion forums are often trapped within an LMS which doesn’t allow outside access & often restricts access within… not so public (unlike a weblog), the email notification, weblog update notification and aggregation tools available through many weblogs allow for immediate personal expression and multiple recognition of that among a community of readers and finally, have you looked at the dynamics amongst communities of bloggers of late? Built through the gradual evolution and growth of individual bloggers over periods of time (you can keep your weblog, unlike your subscription & scattered contributions to this course or that!) it’s impressive!

Xplana: In your experience, what is the biggest obstacle to the further integration of
technology into education?

JF: Misinterpretation of the role of technology. Although it’s widely accepted that the web has brought about an information revolution, I think far more permeating and important is the communication revolution which is still very much underway (and I guess, has been from the start!) Many educators seem to view technology as a way of solely disseminating content (with maybe a bit of ‘discussion’ tacked on) and as long as this is the case (and that multiple choice tests are seen as valid learning tools… didn’t we get over that a while back???) the full value of communication tools (such as weblogs) won’t be realized.

Xplana: What is one digital experience you think every learner should be able to have?

JF: Communicating with an interested worldwide audience through the click of a mouse.

Xplana: What has been your most positive learning experience to date?

JF: Working extensively with a blue-blooded technologist (Lindon Parker of http://www.twomoon.com.au fame). I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed such a painful, stimulating and scary learning curve before & would recommend it highly to anyone who’s got the energy!

Xplana: Do you think the landscape of education will be altered significantly by technology in
the next five years? If so, what are some of the changes you see occurring?

JF: I *hope* that the landscape will start top look a bit more natural (a few more trees, glacial valleys etc. as opposed to industrial estates!) but doubt if it will. The tools are too new and too quickly emerging to really mature at the moment (email arguably is still to ‘mature’ in some ways… how long before the bulletin board, weblog or LMS does!) However, I think that once this overriding quest for ‘resuability’ dies out (can you imagine reusing textbooks from ten years ago.. howabout ecourses from five?) a move towards skilled emoderators or econveners, openness and collaboration could be on the horizon.

Xplana: If you had one billion dollars to spend on technology in education, how would you
spend it?

JF: An institute for excellence in online teaching and learning and an open source weblog LMS that’d take the world by storm :o)