An exploration of the habitus of educational technologists:

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An exploration of the habitus of educational
technologists

• what does the research tell us?

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Why this topic?

1999 Artists Impression
TODAY
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The Innovators
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The ISIS Project
Technology Challenge Number 0.
NDLR Inaugural Symposium
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• What are your professional beliefs?

REFLECTION 1
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Transformation vs Reproduction Why so little
  change?

..the computer has done little that is
educationally significant. What it has done is
capture our imagination, and prompt us to finance
possibly the biggest unfocused research effort in
the world at a cost, for hardware and software
alone, projected to exceed 8 billion in 1987.
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
The Education Sector Today What do the
statistics say?
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
The Education Sector Today What do the
statistics say 2?
Despite some evidence of an increase in
participation rates by lower socioeconomic
groups, they continue to be underrepresented at
third level..In addition students from higher
socioeconomic backgrounds are highly represented
in universities (The Economy of Ireland, 9th
Edition National Sectoral Policy Issues, p.298)
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
What are other commentators saying

In the EU 17 of people have a chronic illness
or disability 15 of these are of working age.
Only 30.5 of the disabled labour force
population is employed. 25 of new disability
benefits are due to mental health difficulties
(Lisa McCormack, Equal Conference Address)
5 In Ireland nearly 30 of the workforce has
only Junior Certificate or less, while 10 has
only primary level or no formal qualifications at
all. Furthermore, 25 of adults still lack very
basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
(www.nala.ie) 6 Despite some evidence of an
increase in participation rates by lower
socioeconomic groups, they continue to be
underrepresented at third level..In addition
students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds
are highly represented in universities (The
Economy of Ireland, 9th Edition National
Sectoral Policy Issues, p.298) 7
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 1.

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• How would you describe the dominant feature of
  3rd level education today?

REFLECTION 2
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
What are other commentators saying

The primary function of the education system is
to equip individuals with the knowledge and
skills necessary to participate in the economy at
both an economic and social level (Carol Newman,
The Economy of Ireland, 9th Edition National
Sectoral Policy Issues, p.298 7 In the main,
formal education today is part of the problem,
not part of the solution, because its effect is
social-order maintenance (Anne Goodman, Now
What? Developing Our Future Understanding Our
Place in the Unfolding Universe) 8 Going to
college is not the same as getting an education.
John Dewey. Video clip 9 Moreover, schools
not only oppress certain categories of students
by denying them access to development of their
capabilities, but they also oppress teachers by
preventing them from engaging in pedagogical acts
that serve the interests of justice and equality
J. Elliot (1998) The Curriculum Experiment. OU
Press. 10 Education is the only business
still debating the usefulness of technology.
Rod Paige Former US Secretary of Education 11
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 2.

Going to college is not the same as getting an
education. John Dewey. Video clip 9
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Did any of these observations say anything to YOU?

REFLECTION 3
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
Possible observations.

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
The changing face of educational technology
The primary function of the education system is
to equip individuals with the knowledge and
skills necessary to participate in the economy at
both an economic and social level (Carol Newman,
The Economy of Ireland, 9th Edition National
Sectoral Policy Issues, p.298 7 In the main,
formal education today is part of the problem,
not part of the solution, because its effect is
social-order maintenance (Anne Goodman, Now
What? Developing Our Future Understanding Our
Place in the Unfolding Universe) 8 Going to
college is not the same as getting an education.
John Dewey. Video clip 9 Moreover, schools
not only oppress certain categories of students
by denying them access to development of their
capabilities, but they also oppress teachers by
preventing them from engaging in pedagogical acts
that serve the interests of justice and equality
J. Elliot (1998) The Curriculum Experiment. OU
Press. 10 Education is the only business
still debating the usefulness of technology.
Rod Paige Former US Secretary of Education 11
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
Private and public sector innovators See things
from different angles Have a broad
perspective Are risk takers Communicate
effectively Know how to build support Are
flexible but committed Are persistent
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Public Sector
Public sector innovators

The rise of the centrethe demise of the
individual!
This concern has been raised by Barcan (1996)
18 who contends that the requirements of the
evaluation system soon comprise the academic
practices under scrutiny practices change in
order to meet the evaluation criteria.
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
We need to articulate and debate the WHY?

HOW WHY
Only the enlightened collective has the power to
resist the structures of domination.
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
We need to articulate and debate the WHY?

Only the enlightened collective has the power to
resist the structures of domination.
http//opte.org/
Fred McCubbin Down on his luck
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
We need to restore the balance?
Diana G. Oblinger in EDUCAUSE Review March/April
2008
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• What do you give voice to in your role as an
  educational technologist?

REFLECTION 4
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
SO WHY ARE WE HERE?
The Case for a Reflective Educational
Technologist
But Ive no spade to follow men like
them Between by fingers and my thumb the squat
pen rests Ill dig with it
Figure 3Trend in the level of qualification of
second-level school leavers 1980-2002
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 3.

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Can you think of any artefact that captures your
  current views on education e.g. music poem,
  book, experience?

REFLECTION 5
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

Putting the I back into Innovation
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Educational Technology Taxonomies 1

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Educational Technology Taxonomies 2

Horton Horton 2000
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Educational Technology Taxonomies 3

Salmon, 2003
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 4.

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
VALUES and BELIEFS 1!
Levin and Bruce (1997) 23 is that often the
classification system presented is treated as
universally valid rather than as a statement
about a particular set of values and beliefs
about technology, teaching and learning. The
important aspect of these classifications is that
each of them expresses a view of the world that
has significant ontological, epistemological and
pedagogical implications
Glenn Kleiman in Myths and realities about
technology in k-12 schools Five years later
Commented in 2000 that one of the key
determinants will not be the number of computers
purchased or cables installed but rather how
we define educational visions, prepare and
support teachers, design curriculum, address
issues of equity, and respond to the rapidly
changing world (2000, p.14) 29
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus
VALUES and BELIEFS 2!
In essence we are debating the benefits of
educational technology using a vocabulary that
has limited impact and in arenas that are not
debating the core challenges facing education and
society today. A language that is often driven
by a narrow economic rationale, at times
disguised in the language of educational
pragmatism.
In an Irish context if all educational technology
projects were stopped all innovations using
moodle, podcasts, whiteboards, WEB 2.0
disappeared from the education scene in the
morning ! How would the statistical profile of
our sector change as illustrated with the graphs
earlier?
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• If educational technology was no more what would
  the impact be on..

REFLECTION 6
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 5.

Jack Mezirow in Adult Education and Empowerment
for Individual and Community Development The
process of transforming our frames of reference
begins with critical reflection. What I mean by
critical reflection is the process of assessing
ones assumptions and presuppositions.Premise
reflection can lead to a transformation in our
meaning perspective or habit of mind 30b
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• So what are your assumptions and presuppositions
  about educational technology?

REFLECTION 7
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Pierre Bourdieu Habitus

the relationship between an individual and a
field or domain of interest is mediated by the
habitus, a collective and individual disposition
that is unconsciously formed over time and
exhibited through both cognitive and physical
actions.
Operationally, habitus connotes more relevant
teacher/student qualities than does ethnicity,
race, class, or even gender and age. It makes
more sense to speak of interactions of habitus
than, say middle-class teachers and at-risk
youth, or white teachers and minority youth.
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Habitus and Innovation 2

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• LOIC Wacquant The habitus of boxers

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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Technology Challenge Number 6.

Be cool to the pizza delivery dude By Sarah
Adams
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• Are YOU interested in turning an enquiring gaze
  on yourself?

REFLECTION 8
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Educational Technology, Innovation and Habitus

• What is OUR STORY An Invitation

This I Believe is an international project
engaging people in writing, sharing, and
discussing the core values that guide their daily
lives.
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Finally..the optical technology..
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and the website..
www.mosceal.com
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My Journey
Earlsfort Terrace 1981
Letterkenny 1984
1988-1993
Tallaght 1994
ITB 2004