Photo by Matthew Fassnacht on Unsplash
In the final third of Wellers 25 years of ed tech (2020) the quote, “technology is not ethnically or politically neutral” (p. 188) resonated with me. I agree with this comment so completely and yet it is rarely at the forefront of my thinking when developing or instructing an online course. From Weller’s book it seems as though there are two main causes for the biases of technology. The first are the structures of search engines. Second is the human construction of online courses. These points are accentuated when I read articles like Bloomberg’s “Trump Wants $5 Billion from TikTok deal for history project” where there is a blatant misuse of power and technology to spur biased information.
In his discussion of computer-mediated communications, Weller refers to how the natural process of communication that occured in a university settings needed to be intentionally built into online courses. However, there is the potential for courses developers that are building in these natural processes to provide limited or biased perspectives. In a face-to-face classroom, there would be more natural checks and balances by the opportunities to learn from each others perspectives and experiences. Having an awareness of our own biases and limitations is important when constructing online courses so that our intentional structures don’t unintentionally restrict the learning process or present bias. Could the potential lesson here be to provide more options within online courses to limit our own biases? Or to have teams of course developers?
According to Weller, another cause of bias within technology are the algorithms that promote “polarizing content” (173). Weller is right in pointing out the social responsiblity educators have. As a K-12 teacher there needs to be some safe guards when allowing students to find their own resources. This also emphasizes the importance of teaching skills that would allow students to find and process information online in a critical and thoughtful way.
An awareness of the bias within technology is important to use as a mirror to reflect on our own practice.
References
Jacobs, J., Parker, M., & Wingrove, J. (2020, September 20). Trump Wants $5 Billion From TikTok Deal for History Project. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-20/trump-wants-5-billion-from-tiktok-deal-for-new-history-project?utm_source=EdSurgeInnovate
Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press.
Recent Comments