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School Knowledge, Curriculum Development and
Emerging Digital Epistemologies: Implications for
Education
By Alec Couros
EC&I 925
April 10, 2002
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................1
EPISTEMOLOGY AND CURRICULUM THEORY: .................................................. 1
KNOWLEDGE ASSUMPTIONS AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT .............3
THEORETICAL VIEWS OF KNOWLEDGE ............................................................... 4
RATIONALISM...................................................................................................................... 4EMPIRICISM......................................................................................................................... 5EXISTENTIALISM................................................................................................................... 6POSTMODERNISM.................................................................................................................. 7
CURRICULUM THEORY: BOUNDARIES OF TRADITIONAL SCHOOL
KNOWLEDGE .................................................................................................................. 9
CURRICULUMAS SYLLABUS (BODYOFKNOWLEDGETOBETRANSMITTED) ...................................10
CURRICULUMAS PROCESS................................................................................................... 11CURRICULUMAS PRODUCT................................................................................................... 12THE FALLOF SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE...................................................................................... 16
THE RISE OF DIGITAL EPISTEMOLOGIES ..........................................................17
THE CHANGING STATEOF KNOWLEDGE................................................................................ 19THE KNOWERINTHE DIGITAL AGE...................................................................................... 22
RECONCILIATION AND REDIRECTION ................................................................28
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................30
APPENDIX A ...................................................................................................................35
ii
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Introduction
This paper explores the concept of knowledge within two frameworks. First, the
notion of school knowledge from both an epistemological and a curriculum context is
explored. With this, I seek to better understand the assembly of school knowledge within
educational thought and focus on both the advantages and limitations of this traditional
construction. Second, I seek to explore the concept of digital forms of knowledge,
sometimes referred to as digital epistemologies (Lankshear, Peters & Knobel, 2000, p.
17). Such forms of knowledge can be identified as an emerging subset of what has been
coined to be non-school or owned knowledge (Paechter, 1998). As these ideas are
explored, I will begin to establish the relationship between these two classifications of
knowledge and determine whether or not they are mutually exclusive or in fact
reconcilable.
Epistemology and Curriculum Theory:
Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is driven by two main questions:
"What is knowledge?" and "What can we know?" If we think we can know something,
as nearly everyone does, then a third key question arises: "How do we know what we do
know?" Most of what has been written in epistemology over the ages addresses at least
one of these three questions. For example, in the Theaetetus, Plato considers the thesis
that knowledge is true belief that can be backed up with an account or explanation. Thus,
in early epistemological thought, Plato was concerned not only with the question of what
knowledge is, but also in determining what qualities make up truth and how the
possession of truth can be proven. Later, rationalists like Descartes and empiricists like
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Hume carried on the traditions of epistemology and defended competing theses about
how we know, and have also disagreed about what we can know.
As the questions of epistemology become more pragmatic (i.e., how is
knowledge possible toward what knowledge should be taught in schools), many
sociologists and curriculum theorists have taken on the problems within the domain of
epistemology. Of the three initial questions posed, the latter two are the most frequently
recognized and contemplated in modern curriculum theory. For instance, the question
what can we know? has been reframed by critical theorists such as Peter McLaren,
Henry Giroux and Michael Apple to whose knowledge should be taught? For this
question to emerge, it is clear that such theorists emphasize the social and political
aspects of which knowledge has traditionally been prescribed to schooling. On a more
fundamental level, theorists have begun to look closely at the role of knowledge in
schooling and how this translates to society itself.
Early sociologists such as Emile Durkheim saw education as a social thing and
as a reflection of which ideals general society wanted to perpetuate. Schooling was in
essence a process of indoctrination into larger society. He argued,
it is society as a whole and each particular social milieu that determinesthe ideal that education realizes. Society can survive only if there existsamong its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity; educationperpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child, fromthe beginning, the essential similarities that collective life demands. (1956,p. 10)
However, in the early 1970's, sociologists in the field of education began to shift their
concentration toward a thorough examination of the content of education rather than the
looking only at the institutional structures themselves. As reflected in Durkheims quote,
the earlier efforts of sociologists had been directed toward schools as social structures in
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which the curriculum was often taken-for-granted. There was an obvious and almost total
neglect of how knowledge was selected for curricular inclusion (Reynolds & Sullivan,
1980). InKnowledge and Control, Young (1971) argues that education is "a selection
and organization from the available knowledge at a particular time which involves
conscious or unconscious choices" (p. 24). He later adds "school curriculum becomes
just one of the mechanisms through which knowledge is socially distributed" (p. 27).
In simplistic terms, traditional curriculum planning considers two major ideas:
deciding upon whatknowledge is to be included in the learning process and how this
knowledge is to be learned (it is understood that replacing the word learned with
transmitted, delivered, facilitated, etc. helps to shape the explicit processes involved). If
we accept, as most still do, that curriculum development must begin with statements
about the objectives which we hope to attain or the principles upon which our practice is
to be based, all decisions upon content must be subsidiary to those prior choices. Or as
Tyler (1949) asks the question, What educational experiences can be provided that are
likely to attain these purposes? (p. 1).
Knowledge Assumptions and Curriculum Development
In the subsequent sections, it should be apparent that there are several ways of
conceptualizing curriculum planning. To this point, it needs to be emphasized that there
is a fundamental relationship between theories of curriculum conceptualization and how
theorists view the concept of human knowledge. Kelly (1999) argues:
One of the most significant, and also one of the most dangerous, fallacieswith which the curriculum debate has been, and continues, to be beset,derives from the failure to recognize the problematic nature of humanknowledge and the consequent assumption that it is possible to identify
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non-problematic elements which must form the core of curriculum withoutfurther debate. (p. 25)
Clearly, it is important to understand theories of knowledge before curriculum
planning can be better understood.
Theoretical Views of Knowledge
Kelly (1999) alludes to the problematic nature of human knowledge and the
consequent fact that there are different ways of conceiving it. What follows is a brief
exploration into the most commonly held (Western) views of human knowledge. Here,
the fundamentals of rationalism, empiricism, existentialism and postmodernism will be
explored briefly.
Rationalism
The rationalist view touts the supremacy of the intellect over other human
faculties. In this view, it is stressed that true knowledge can be achieved by the mind and
knowledge remains independent and exists separately from the often contradictory
information provided by the senses. In other words, knowledge is absolute, universal,
and exists apriori in the human intellect. Theorists such as Plato, Descartes, Kant and
Hegel have expanded upon rationalist epistemologies and have shared the basic
conviction that the evidence achieved by our senses is misleading but that the rational
mind can attain true knowledge independently (Kelly, 1999).
Within the framework of this paradigm, knowledge exists independently and is
unaffected by those humans who possess it. Knowledge is timeless, objective and in no
sense related to the particular circumstances of individual eras, societies, cultures or
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human beings (Kelly, 1999, p. 27). Such a view of knowledge is compelling to
curriculum theorists who subscribe to the objectives approach. The idea that knowledge
is universal, unchanging and exists out there to attain, is an attractive feature in the
development, administration and teaching of a curriculum as content and as universal
truths to be pursued. The latter point rationalizes education as the pursuit of knowledge
and truth. In this context, for R.S. Peters (1966), the ideal teacher:
understands vividly, perhaps, that some created objects are beautifuland others not; he can recognize the elegance of a proof, or a paragraph,the cogency of an argument, the clarity of an exposition, the wit of aremark, the neatness of a plot and the justice and wisdom of a decision.
He has perhaps a love of truth, a passion for justice, and a hatred of whatis tasteless. (p. 107)
Empiricism
In contrast, empiricism is best understood as a reaction against the metaphysical
nature of rationalism (Kelly, 1999, p. 28). John Locke is often thought to be the founder
of the empiricist movement. He believed that the human mind starts as a clean sheet, or
tabula rasa. Thus, all of the knowledge that is acquired in a lifetime is acquired through
sensory experience. This definition in essence eradicates the concept ofa priori
knowledge as described in the rationalist view.
To an empiricist, knowledge itself becomes tentative and subject to change.
While in this view, all information is seen to be gathered through sensory experience,
empiricists would agree with the rationalists on the premise that the senses can not
always be fully trusted. Knowledge construction in this view becomes a much more
personal experience; yet whether or not knowledge itself becomes personal and
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subjective in this view is debatable. For instance, Dewey believed that the proper model
for all knowledge is that of scientific knowledge. Here,
hypotheses are framed and modified according to publicly agreed criteria,
so that while such knowledge has no permanent status it is objective in sofar as it at least enjoys current acceptance by everyone. (Kelly on Dewey,1999, p. 29)
In Deweys view, human knowledge is seen as evolving and learned through experience,
however knowledge is also subject to conformity with publicly accepted criteria.
Existentialism
Born in nineteenth-century Europe, existentialism is associated with such diverse
thinkers as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. While the famous existentialists would
passionately disagree with one another on many basic philosophical issues, what they
shared was a respect for individualism. In particular, they argued that traditional
approaches to philosophy did not adequately respect the unique concerns of the
individual (Solomon, 1985).
Sartre's (1964) classic formulation of existentialism, the phrase "existence
precedes essence" (p. 215), means that there exists no universal, innate human nature. We
are born and exist, and then we ourselves freely determine our essence (i.e., our
innermost nature). Not all existentialist philosophers have accepted the "existence
precedes essence" principle. Nevertheless, that principle is fundamental to the
educational existentialist movement (Barash, 2001).
Educational existentialism is a slightly different entity that is derived from a
strong rejection of the traditional, essentialist approach to education. Educational
existentialism rejects the existence of any source of objective, authoritative truth about
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metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. Instead, individuals are responsible for
determining for themselves what is true or false, right or wrong, beautiful or
ugly (Boyles, 1997, p. 262). In this paradigm, there exists no universal form of human
nature; each individual has the free will to develop as she feels fit.
In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the
students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept
complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions. The teacher's role is to
help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take
in life and creating an environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred
way of learning. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision-making, the
existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind. Morris
(1966) writes, The existentialist attitude toward knowledge radically affects the teaching
of those subjects which are dependent upon systems of thoughts or frames of references:
it states that school subjects are only tools for the realization of subjectivity (p. 123).
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is an intellectual movement, which is quite difficult to define.
The word 'postmodernism' has very little content of its own. It is a sign; a pointer in
reference to other concepts, like the word 'north' (Riddell, 1998, p. 101). If we are to
understand what postmodernism means, we must first define modernity to which it
claims to be the successor. Modernity is equated with the scientific worldview of the
Enlightenment. The power and success of Enlightenment philosophy as an approach to
seeing the world is clear, as it has come to dominate modern academia and our present
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social, economic and moral structures. In the modern world, human reason, as
exemplified in the deductive thought of mathematics and physics, has come to replace the
superstitious worldviews of religion and other once more revered forms of irrationality.
In the ideas underlying postmodernism, there exists no such thing as transcendent
truth. What we call truth is simply a commonly held societal belief. Such beliefs are
negotiated, products of social construction and fabrication, and not objective or
external features of the world (Goldman, 1999, p. 10). Postmodernism represents a
rejection of all totalizing theories (Boyne & Rattansi, 1990, p. 12), and incredulity
toward metanarratives (Lyotard, 1984, p. xxiv). The modern worldview moves from
stability and certainty, to a complex, often chaotic, postmodern vision of the future.
The acceptance of postmodern notions has important implications for the
development of curriculum. No longer can there be a universally accepted understanding
of what content by merit becomes core curriculum. In fact, postmodernism alerts us to
ideological underpinnings related to subscribing to a particular body of knowledge or a
standard way of thinking. Curriculum construction, in essence, becomes the
bureaucratic imposition of official values (Turner, 1990, p. 11). In effect,
postmodernism brings additional weight to what has been proposed by sociologists and
philosophers for the latter half of the 20 th century; that power and knowledge are
inextricably interlinked. Curricular theorists and teachers must be aware of this
relationship.
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Curriculum Theory: Boundaries of Traditional School Knowledge
The field of curriculum study is quite remarkable among researchoriented academic fields in that it shares a common object of study ratherthan a common methodological orientation (unlike the sciences for
example). (Frein, 1998, p. 34)
The long-standing tradition of curriculum theory has been greatly influenced by
Aristotles categorization of knowledge into three separate disciplines: the theoretical, the
productive and the practical. In reflection of this framework, curriculum theory has been
traditionally constructed along the following related frames.
Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted - syllabus.
Curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students - product. Curriculum as process. (Kelly, 1999)
As is evident (furthermore in Table 1), there is little deviation from Aristotles original
construction.
Table 1: Aristotles division of knowledge versus modern curriculum theory.
Each of these frames of curriculum development will be explored in the following
sections.
Theoretical
(Understanding)
Practical
(Acting)
Productive
(Making)
Syllabus ProductProcess
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Curriculum as Syllabus (body of knowledge to be transmitted)
There is a decreasing number of people who still equate curriculum as a syllabus,
however this idea is still most common in higher education. By definition, a syllabus is a
concise statement or table of the heads of a discourse, the contents of a treatise or the
subjects of a series of lectures of study. Therefore it becomes the teachers job to
transmit the knowledge associated with these points to the students in the classroom.
A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or the
order in which they are to be studied. In some cases as Curzon (1985) points out, those
who compile a syllabus tend to follow the traditional textbook approach of an order of
contents, or a pattern prescribed by a logical approach to the subject, or - consciously
or unconsciously - the shape of a university course in which they may have participated
(p. 37). Thus an approach to curriculum theory and practice that focuses on syllabus is
mainly concerned with content. Curriculum becomes a body of content knowledge
and/or subjects. Education in this sense is the process by which this knowledge is
transmitted or delivered to students by the most effective methods that can be devised
(Blenkin, 1992).
Those who subscribe to the syllabus approach are likely to limit their planning to
a consideration of the content or the body of knowledge that they wish to transmit. Also,
it is because of this particular view of curriculum that Kelly (1999) claims, primary
teachers have regarded issues of curriculum as of no concern to them, since they have not
regarded their task as being to transmit bodies of knowledge in this manner (p. 7).
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Curriculum as Process
The process or developmental approach to curriculum roots itself not in the
content or knowledge to be learner, but emphasizes the role of the learner and concerns
itself with the development of the learner as a human thinker. This approach claims its
ancestry from contributing thinkers such as Rousseau, Froebel, Montessori and Dewey
and also more recent figures such as Piaget, Vgotsky, Eisner and Bruner. These figures
especially contributed to the elaboration of a student-centred curriculum and the
procedural approach to curriculum.
In describing this approach, Kelly (1999) distinguishes between the detailing of
the principles inherent within the aims of education and the implementation of each of
these principles in each moment of practice. These overall aims do not yield short-term
objectives (as does the objectives approach) rather they epitomize principles that are
enacted through teaching and learning. Kelly expands,
An aim can be seen as extrinsic to the activities which constitute theattempt to attain it, while a principle is integral to those activities. An aimcan be viewed as something which will be attained at a later stage in theprocess, while a principle must be seen to be present at every stage. (p. 81)
The process approach to curriculum allows proponents to continue to have goals,
purposes, intentions or aims, however it is freeing in the sense that it removes the
necessity as having these aims as explicit ends to an educational process. Moreover, it
moves away from the notion that there is only one step-by-step, predetermined route to
their achievement.
There are three common criticisms of the process approach to curriculum
construction. The criticisms follow.
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1) The approach is resource and cost intensive.2) The effectiveness of the approach is bound up with the performances ofindividual teachers.3) The approach is not amenable to central control or education authoritiesas are other models (such as the objectives approach). (Kelly, 1999)
The more sophisticated theoretical criticisms of the model are reduced to the normative
assumptions and the value systems embedded in this approach. While in the objectives
approach, the choice of what knowledge to be studied is clearly laden with predetermined
societal values, this can also be said of the processes decided upon within the process
method. This approach is caught in a philosophical bind that can only be circumvented
by avoidance: the avoidance of the fundamental dilemma of positing what a good human
being should be.
An additional criticism of this approach comes from a more practical standpoint.
Horowitz (1986) writes, the approach creates a classroom situation that bears little
resemblance to which student work will eventually be exercised (p. 144) meaning both
the academic and real world. In essence, Horowitz feels that the process
overemphasizes the students psychological functioning and neglects the sociocultural
context, that is, the realities of the academic world. In effect, the process operates within
a sociocultural vacuum.
Curriculum as Product
Kelly (1999) writes of the common inadequacies in a view of curriculum that
equates it with a syllabus, a list of subjects to be taught or a body of knowledge to be
transmitted. Ted Aoki (1988) would agree with Kelly and views the traditional
development of curriculum as an administrative category within education; the
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curriculum was seen as a management tool and took on an instrumentalist ends-means
ethos. It can be argued that the origins of these efforts were to make schooling more
efficient, focused and scientific.
Franklin Bobitts (1924) bookHow to Make a Curriculum was an attempt to do
just that. Here, Bobitt argues that one must be able to rationally justify the curriculum and
the planning of ones teaching. In order to do this the aims and objectives of the
curriculum should be clear and concise. Outcomes that cannot be described in a clear and
coherent manner should not be pursued. As an example, Bobitt proceeds to describe life
functions as one example of a curriculum area, which he subdivides into 10 areas of
activity (e.g., social intercommunication, efficient citizenship, general mental efficiency).
Bobbit then proceeds to divide each of the goals into more specific objectives. For
instance, the category interhuman relations is divided into 821 goals that yet again can
be subdivided. Bobbit explicitly breaks down the desired and teachable goals for
schooling and emphasizes that nothing should be done by the schools that can be
sufficiently well accomplished through the normal processes of living (p. 35). In this
statement, Bobbit expresses a distinction between knowledge found in schools versus
knowledge that can be attained through life experience.
Bobitts view of curriculum is strongly influenced by the behaviourist view of
education and its key thinkers which include Pavlov and Watson. Such behaviourists
believed that human behaviour is determined by rules that govern our interaction with the
environment and through this thought, advocated a deterministic and reductionist world
view (Doll, 1989; Stenhouse, 1975).
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In the behaviourist view of knowledge, learning and instruction, the central focus
for education is that of acquiring specific skills. A student acquires skills at fundamental
levels and then builds on those skills to reach more complex levels of achievement. A
behaviourist curriculum would generally be sequenced, orderly, rather mechanical, and
move from base level skills to more sophisticated skills. Drill and practice and frequent
evaluations are fundamental to the behaviourist model as the achievement of skill is
closely and verifiably related to the objectives described by the curriculum.
Ralph Tyler (1949) furthered Bobbits objectives model of curriculum inBasic
Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Here, Tyler expands the notion of curriculum
simply as objectives and identifies four key elements in curriculum planning: purposes,
content, procedures and methodology. In the spirit of this expansion, Tyler formulates
four key questions, which are now commonly referred to as the Tyler Rationale. These
questions include:
1) What educational purposes should the school attain?2) How can learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful inattaining these objectives?3) How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction?4) How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?(Tyler, 1949, p. 20)
Although Tyler began looking beyond objectives themselves, the theorist met with harsh
resistance on the narrowness of his approach. Aoki (1988) describes this approach as a
Linear ends-means, instrumentalist rationality (p. 407). Stenhouse (1975) describes
such a curricular approach as Linear programming and teaching by objectives (p. 43).
From his point of view this approach provides a route from entry point to completion
point, where the route is broken down into a series of small steps. This, according to
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Stenhouse, involves little critical thinking on the part of the learner and restricted
opportunities for transfer of learning in that everything has to be predetermined.
The emphasis on objectives and aims within this model of curriculum gave rise to
further study into analysis of educational objectives. One influential theorist in this regard
is Benjamin Bloom who is seen as the father of objectives taxonomy. Blooms
Taxonomy is designed to be a classification of the student behaviours, which represents
the intended outcomes of the educational processes. What we are classifying is the
intended behaviour of students, the ways in which individuals are to act, think or feel as
the result of the participating in some unit of instruction (Bloom in Stenhouse, 1975, p.
100). The above claims leave little doubt of the behaviourist origin and influence on
Blooms taxonomy. Bloom continued to take the taxonomy approach further and had
great influence in developing the concept of Mastery Learning. Mastery learning is a
systematic attempt to follow through the implications of the objectives model
(Stenhouse, 1975, p. 64).
The deterministic nature of the objectives model of curriculum has raised the
question of the purpose of education: what are we teaching for? An objectives
approach serves to integrate children into the current social order. It does not provide
learners with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to deal critically and creatively with the
reality in order to improve it. (Grant & Zeichner in Fien, 1993, p. 15). In other words we
are educating for the mastery of already available cultural tools and skills and not making
possible creative responses, which go beyond what is currently available in society. In
Stenhouses (1975) words,
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Education enhances the freedom of man (sic) by inducting him into theknowledge of his culture as a thinking system. The most importantcharacteristic of the knowledge mode is that one can think with it. This isthe nature of knowledge- as distinct from information- that it is a structureto sustain creative thought and provide frameworks for judgement. (p. 82)
The objectives model of curriculum is located within what Kemmis, Cole and
Suggett (1983) term the vocational/neo-classical orientation to education (p. 71). This
orientation has been described as an education which accepts technocratic and
managerial values and insofar as it uncritically accepts existing social structures and
hierarchies, may perpetuate elitism, injustice, class and gender inequalities (Fien, 1993,
p. 19).
The Fall of School Knowledge
Although Young (1970) alludes to the other mechanisms for the distribution of
knowledge, it is unlikely that he, or any other theorists in the 1970s, could have fully
predicted the role and breadth of non-school knowledge that has begun to emerge in the
late 1990s (e.g., the Internet). However, Bernstein (1971) was one theorist who began to
realize the importance of recognizing other non-school forms of knowledge and looking
at how such forms of knowledge relate to schooling.
In a sense, educational knowledge is uncommonsense knowledge. It isknowledge freed from the particular, the local, through the variouslanguages of the sciences or forms of reflexiveness of the arts which makepossible either the creation or the discovery of new realities. Now thisimmediately raises the question of the relationship between theuncommonsense knowledge of the school and the commonsenseknowledge, everyday community knowledge, of the pupil, his family andhis peer group. (p.58)
The respective role of formal education within greater society has changed in
many ways in the three decades since Bernstein wrote these words. Perhaps, one of the
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most significant changes to occur is the perception that contemporary educational
institutions no longer hold the monopoly over knowledge and learning. It is no longer
accurate to regard learning being limited to occur within the constraints of the traditional
classroom and under the supervision of a teacher. Learning has necessarily become an
element in the everyday life of individuals and the formal protocols traditionally
associated with skill and knowledge attainment have begun to blur.
Yet the push for what we have come to know as life-long learning does not
always reflect what educational theorists would regard as supporting the ideals of liberal
education (Hirst, 1965). Life long learning is touted in a dualistic breath as it promotes
the development of active citizenship while placing emphasis on the capacity of being
employed in a dynamic market economy. Although we live in the digital age, schools
today continue to operate within an educational model that takes its origin from industrial
society and Tayloristic work organization.
The Rise of Digital Epistemologies
Tell me, one might say, what it is I am educating and what sort of aworld we live in, and I will tell you what I am aiming at. (Garforth, 1962,p. 15)
One of the most common assumptions about technology in regards to schooling is
that it will act as a change agent, steering curriculum and learning into bold new
directions. In Schools Out, Perlman (1992) claims that technology will close the door on
our ideas of traditional schooling and render obsolete our contemporary notions of
teacher, student and the learning process. One needs to look as far as to the familiar
sounding opening sentences of educational technology literature to realize that
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technology, at least in theory, has deeply infiltrated our traditional notions of schooling.
Here are a few examples:
Futurists agree that the world is in the midst of an information revolution
that will rival the industrial revolution in terms of impact and importance.(Bailey & Lumley, 1997, p. 1)
Recent events at two large North American universities signaldramatically that we have entered a new era in higher education, onewhich is rapidly drawing the halls of academe into the age of automation.(Noble, 1998, p. 1)
There appears to be a general consensus that we have entered theinformation age and that we are on the verge of the information economy.(Taylor, 1998, p. 1)
The national rush to increase computer technology and networking inschools is having a growing impact on education and the teachingprofession. (Johnson et. al. 1999, p. 24)
The literature surrounding information technology today is clearly steeped in the
language of technological determinism. In this, I suggest that such theorists concur that
inventions or innovations in technology form causal relationships with individuals and
initiate and promote wide-ranging cultural and societal change. Marshall McLuhan,
known as a technological determinist, claimed, we shape our tools and they in turn
shape us (quoted in Griffin, 1997, p. 294).
Rose (2000) writes of the IT Dream that suggests that information technology is
a primary source of the images and aspirations which inform discourse and practice in
all walks of life today (p. 16). Rose suggest that the IT Dream helps to shape our
images of society as stories are told in terms of vast networks connected by digital
devices and fibre optic cables. When we tell stories about our societys future, they are
often told in terms of what human beings will become by means of technology (p. 34).
Information technology helps to determine the products of humanity.
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In discussing the idea of digital epistemology, it is very important to frame the
dialogue in terms of what we know to be true (in regards to the information age and
knowledge), and remain cautious of mythinformation (Winner, 1991) and technologys
deterministic advances. Key questions that we need to discuss include:
1) Does knowledge (or our conception of knowledge) change in theinformation age?
2) What is the shape of the knower in the digital age?
These questions are discussed in the following sections.
The ChangingState
of Knowledge
InBeing Digital, Negroponte (1995) discusses the profound changes in society as
knowledge becomes available in bits (i.e., digitized forms) rather than in atoms (e.g.,
physical things, books). He points out that information communicated in the form of
atoms can be bulky, unwieldy, one-dimensional, costly to ship, subject to inspection by
customs officials, liable to fines by librarians, destructive to trees and other living things,
and too often inaccessible as a result of being lost, misplaced, stolen, borrowed* or out-
of-print. On the other hand, information provided in bits quickly travel the Internet; go
smoothly across international borders; may facilitate interaction between producers and
receivers of information; is easily revised, corrected, updated, linked, expanded and
manipulated; and translates into many different shapes and media (e.g., text, audio,
graphics, video). Negropontes primary focus is on theform of digital media. As the
form breaks from the physical and finite, the potential for flexibility, portability and
transference of knowledge becomes incredible.
* Note: I claim strong agreement with Negropontes point regarding inaccessibility as I waited more thana week to borrowBeing Digitalas it was recalled from the library.
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Ulmer (1999) moves beyond Negropontes notions to suggest that society is
moving into the age of electracy: a neologism that indicates a practice in electronic
media that is equivalent to print literacy. "In the history of human culture," Ulmer
suggests, "there are but three apparatuses: orality, literacy, and now electracy. We live in
the moment of the emergence of electracy, comparable to the two principal moments of
literacy (The Greece of Plato, and the Europe of Galileo) (p. xii). For Ulmer (1999), this
shift means a heightened emphasis on digital and especially visual forms of knowing, and
a deemphasis on literary forms.
Bolter (1996) expands this argument to describe an apparent struggle between
verbal and visual modes of representation in popular media forms. For instance, he notes
newspaper headlines that draw out latent metaphors in its subject. Such examples
include, Turbulent times ahead for United Airlines or Mercedes slips earnings gears
(p. 259). Further demonstrations of this struggle are common in magazines such as PC
Magazine, particularly in the form of advertisements. Such advertisements will, with
text, ask a question of the reader. In many cases, the answer comes in a form of a visual
image. Bolter (1996) suggests that the relationship between textual knowledge and visual
knowledge are moving from a co-operative relationship to one of competitiveness (p.
260). Such advertisements move beyond the explicit wit and use of metaphors, and
compel the reader to see that the future is visual, if not digital. In todays world, a pixel
is worth a thousand words. (See Appendix A).
In regards to multimedia in the classroom, this competitive relationship becomes
more apparent. Compare, for example, a traditional print edition of MacBeth as opposed
to the Voyager Companys (1994) CD-ROM version of the play. While there are several
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examples of print editions of Shakespearean plays that feature elaborate illustrations,
books clearly focus on the text, or the written word, of the play. Traditional teaching
approaches also reflect this notion that the text itself is of greatest importance. On the
other hand, the CD-ROM version is designed to help students understandings of the
contextual time of the play through photographs, illustrations, videos of performances,
interviews with directors, literary commentaries and so on. While the CD-ROM begins
with the text itself as a starting point, the relationship between the written form and the
image becomes somewhat ambivalent as the multimedia devices soon take precedence
and produce greater appeal.
Perhaps the most compelling argument regarding knowledge in the digital age has
less to do with the composition (atoms versus bits) or preferred mode (textual versus
visual) of consumption, but more to do with the status of knowledge itself. Lyotard
(1984) believes that only one type of knowledge will be important in the postindustrial
world; that which can be translated into computational quantities and available in digital
forms. Anything that does not fit this particular format will be abandoned as legitimate
or useful knowledge. Thus, for Lyotard, knowledge ceases to be an end in itself; it
loses its use value and becomes an exchange value alone (p. 2).
In Lyotards regime, consumers of knowledge (e.g., students) become more
pragmatic in their view of knowledge. The students classical question, is it true? is
soon replaced by is it of use? Notions and practices of competence according to
criteria like true/false, just/unjust get displaced by competences according to the criterion
of high performativity (Lankshear & Knobel, 2000, p. 9).
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Few would argue that the Information Age has opened up new opportunities for
education in late modern society. However, the adoption of such technologies (e.g.,
Internet, World Wide Web) that connect citizens to seemingly limitless information
sources also creates uncertainties and challenges regarding the role of schools in society.
It is clear that the rapid proliferation of information technologies has created an open
learning environment within the everyday life-world and as a result, schools and
universities no longer have a monopoly over knowledge and learning. At the very least,
the role of knowledge dissemination seems up for grabs. A recent advertisement for a
The Humber Business School reads, Youve been to University, now its time to get
practical. While the argument for a more practical university experience is quite old, as
we continue to move through the digital age, the separation between the relevance of
sanctioned knowledge (ideals of liberal education) and employable skills continues to
widen.
The Knower in the Digital Age
Quite simply, when describing the attributes of the knower in the digital age, two
questions need to be discussed. As these questions are closely related, they will be
discussed in an integrative approach. The questions include:
1) What needs to be known (to get along) in the digital age?
2) How does one come to know in the digital age?
These questions do not divert from the basic questions of curriculum. Certainly the
second question is not radically different from, as quoted earlier, Tylers (1949) question,
What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes.
However, the big difference here is not in what we (as teachers or curriculum planners)
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would like students to know and what experiences we need to provide them with to attain
such knowledge. Rather, this section is an exploration of what many wired students
already know and how they, through communicative practice, come to know in new
ways.
The following is a short excerpt from a chat room taken from a Computers in
Education course. The participants could be described as typical pre-service teachers.
At the time of this dialogue, these students were in their final semester of a four-year
Bachelor of Education program.
Todd: Did you download The Learning Equation software for our Mathpresentation?
Lynn: Ya except I had some trouble getting it to load directly fromPowerPoint. We might have to embed some code to get it to autoload. Doesanyone know what the code for that is? If we dont get it to link, we can alwaysjust multitask with the Windows button function.
Joey: I think you can do it manually without the code. There is an embeddedfunction. Also, I have the webpage up and ready. We can get our WebQuest upand linked today. Regan and Shelly had some trouble with the frames one ofthe links wouldnt open up in a new window and the navigation was all messed up but I think they just dropped to the HTML source code and fixed it somehow one of the technicians knew how to do it.
Todd: Did anyone book the data projector and cart?
Lynn: I did last week. Hey, make sure to save the data to the public directory orwe wont have access to it from the cart machine we learned that last time ...the hard way. :-( Good thing Regan had the backup on a CD. :-)
Without a better understanding of the context and at least a general technical background,
this conversation might be quite confusing to most readers. However, familiarity with
the processes and concepts related to terms such as HTML, backups, WebQuest
and coding are becoming basic fair for teachers (and moreso for students). It is also
important to note that while the principal purpose of this discussion was to ensure
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preparedness for a math lesson, there are distinct underlying dependencies on technology
that both help to facilitate this discussion and provide tools for the lesson itself.
While these pre-service teachers are in a later stage in regards to their formal
education, experiences with technology are increasingly common at early ages.
SchoolNet (2001) reports that 52% of eight year olds in Canada already have access to
personal email accounts. This number reaches 81% as children approach ten years old.
Other popular online activities for the majority of Canadian preteens include participating
in chatrooms, using instant messengers, downloading games and music and browsing the
Internet. Students at a very young age become sophisticated users of information and
arguably, become knowers in a way that the majority of adults rarely achieve. In
support of this argument, Tapscott (1998) in Growing Up Digital, gives an example of
how a childs way of knowing may be foreign to the adult mind.
Hey, Mike, how did you do that?" I asked my eighth-grade son.Easy. I just clicked on the brick, Dad.But, how did you know to click there to win the bonus points?Everybody knows that.
Well, I didn't know that, and I couldn't find it in what passed for thegame's manual either. How do you learn this game? You would have toplay it over and over again, test-clicking on just about every object thatshows up on the screen. That's pretty much what Mike and his friendswere doing. Each of the guys played the game constantly, and thencompared notes with everyone else. (p. 207)
In The Childrens Machine, Papert (1992) claims that society is entering the age
of learning, during which time the competitive ability is the ability to learn (p. 12).
He suggests that technology has brought incredible opportunities to both advance
learning and to create learning environments. However, Papert writes, this prophecy for
the future of learning faces one major obstacle: schools. Education, as Papert sees it
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"remains largely committed to the educational philosophy of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries" and attempts to "impose a single way of knowing on everyone".
Tests, segregation by age, teachers as technicians who mould passive minds, and an
emphasis on reading as the "essential route to knowledge" (p. 237) are the prime
characteristics of today's education system.
Papert sees much promise in what he coins constructionism. This concept of
constructionism is based on two types of "construction." First, it asserts that learning is an
active process, in which people actively construct knowledge from their experiences in
the world. This component is obviously congruent with Piagets idea of constructivism.
However, Papert adds to this, the idea that people construct new knowledge with
particular effectiveness when they are engaged in constructing personally-meaningful
products. They might be constructing sand castles, poems, or computer programs (Kafai,
1995). What's important is that they are actively engaged in creating something that is
meaningful to themselves or to others around them
Resnick (1996) takes Paperts idea, further combining it with theories of
distributed cognition (Salomon, 1994) and has theorized on what he calls distributed
constructionism (p. 2). This concept extends constructionist theory, focusing
specifically on situations in which more than one person is involved in the design and
construction of activities (p. 3). Resnick (and I would concur) sees great promise in the
creation of knowledge-building communities. Such communities could work at a
distance, to construct and extend knowledge of the learning community. Projects framed
through distributed constructionism hold promise as a particularly effective way for
knowledge-building communities to form and grow through collaborative activities that
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involve not just the exchange of information but the design and construction of
meaningful artefacts (p. 4). It is clear that such ideas are inspired by Dewey (1933),
who saw the human mind as a meaning-making organ, relentlessly driven to make sense
of its worldan idea that predates today's notions of both constructivism and active
learning. When it breaks down, a very simple concept is advocated here; use a students
existing knowledge, skills and interest to collaborate with others on personally
meaningful projects that achieve an educational end. In this case, simple is powerful.
Another important idea is what Gilster (1997) labels knowledge assembly.
Knowledge assembly is the ability to collect and evaluate both facts and opinion,
determine bias content and to construct personal knowledge. While the concept doesnt
go much beyond the basic ideas of research and critical thinking, I would argue that the
contextof both of these activities changes greatly in the digital age. As there are a variety
of information sources (e.g., Internet, chat rooms, newsgroups, mailing lists, online
journals, books, etc.), it becomes increasingly important to understand the authority and
reliability of each, extract what may be useful from each resource and then reintegrate
and synthesis the information that has been discovered. For instance, information
gathered from a chat room, while perhaps more persuasive, would by default be regarded
as less believable.
For some authors, there is a sense that ideas such as knowledge assembly are
becoming more and more difficult as we continue on in the digital age. Data smog, the
information glut (Shenk, 1997) and information exasperation (Willinsky, 1999) are
just a few of the phrases that are being used to describe the burden of the information age.
In the information-abundant world of the Internet and other searchable data sources, it is
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becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to manage their own information needs
and continue to maintain an eye on the credibility of information items. Practices of
information gathering and assembly depend upon highly customized tools that require
skilful use to produce practical results. This assemblage of information requires the
coordination of both individuals and computerized algorithms or bots small,
independent artificial intelligence robots. Such mechanisms move around in
cyberspace and interact with other programs, performing a range of tasks, including
finding answers to questions framed in natural languages or using Boolean (or other)
logic operators.
Csikszentmihalyi (1993) writes, Humans appear to have the unique ability to
carry out extrasomatic information processing (p. 39). Extrasomatic implies that some
processing of information occurs outside of our bodies and that we dont have to rely on
internal processes. In other words, humans store processed information externally, in
books, images, videos and other media. While a book (in form) is simplistic, non-
searchable, non-linkable and limited to textual and visual representation, it is compact,
lightweight, requires no electricity and admittedly, much easier on the eyes the glare of a
computer screen. However, beyond those pros and cons, the book demands limited
technical ability. However, if we continue to store the collection of human knowledge
in digital forms, the questions emerges, who will have access to knowledge in our
society? We become dependent on not only the skills involved to access knowledge, but
also on the format of media (e.g., DVD, HTML) and infrastructure (e.g., networks,
computers, electricity) requirements of technology systems.*
* While I contemplate this idea further, I realize how familiar this question must sound and how it musthave also been relevant at the time of Gutenbergs printing press.
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Reconciliation and Redirection
From this exploration of school knowledge and the study of emerging digital
epistemologies, I have developed a few ideas that I feel are most important in
understanding the subjects in relation to each other. These ideas follow:
1) Knowledge is moving from the idea of the existence of universal truths to the
reality that knowledge is tentative. In a sense, this point may have less to do with digital
epistemologies and more to do with postmodern notions of knowledge. However, our
access and exposure to great amounts of information and forms of digital knowledge
certainly amplify notions of relative truth. In the digital age, anyone can be an author yet
fewer people legitimate authority. For traditional curriculum theories (especially
objective approaches), this can cause problems and great uncertainty in the classroom as
it becomes increasingly difficult to manage informational media. Improved approaches
to critical thinking in the digital context are necessary components to the curricular
structure. Perhaps even more relevant, this development casts doubt on the necessity or
alignment of core subject areas. What, if any, subjects or content is to be important or of
any value in the digital classroom?
2) Knowledge acquisition and learning are moving from a largely linear process
to a hypertextual reality. The objectives approach and to some extent, the process
approach to curriculum prescribes learning as a linear process. The present digital
architecture which brings non-linear media (e.g., CD, DVD, hypertext) to the forefront,
has greatly influenced learning as students become skilled at multitasking and become
easily bored with step-by-step approaches to learning. The powers of hypertext and non-
linear systems should be embraced and researched to exploit the potential for learning.
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3) New methods of knowledge construction are becoming prevalent in education,
in the media and in students personal experience. Such ways of knowing, which
emphasis visual imagery and interactivity, are quickly displacing literal modes of
knowledge. This displacement will continue to challenge educators in their choice of
resources as they move to accept digital technologies, while attempting to maintain
traditional forms of knowing. As a corollary, it is necessary to better understand how
students form relationships with both knowledge and people in the digital age, on their
own. We can take what is learned here to accelerate our understandings of how students
learn in the digital age.
4) Learning is moving from an individual journey to social communicative
practice. Although relationships between teacher and students remain paramount,
student-student and student-other relationships become increasingly important in the
digital age. Arguably, the most important role of the Internet is not to provide students
with access to information, but rather, to provide students with access to people; experts
who may know more (or less) about the subject in question than does the teacher.
Cooperative learning and the sharing and valuing of multiple perspectives are strategies
that are increasingly important. Online student relationships (via email, chat, instant
messengers, etc.) continue to thrive inside and outside of school and educators need to
both understand and integrate these relationships into the context of the classroom.
5) Student learning experiences are no longer limited to the formalities of
schooling. Knowledge and skills that were once taught only in schools become available
through other modes of contact. Students who have access to technology are learning
technical skills in a variety of settings (e.g., home, library, friends). This skill acquisition
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should be recognized and viewed as relevant prerequisite learning which becomes a part
of a childs inventory in the classroom setting. (Note: there are concerns of equity of
access attached to this statement that are very important, but unfortunately are not
discussed further in this work.)
Conclusion
The ideas presented here regarding school knowledge and digital epistemologies,
although admittedly incomplete, begin a greater understanding of both traditional ways of
knowing and emerging practice. The understanding of both areas can be instrumental in
moving toward notions of school reform in the digital age. Schools to some, while still
central to societal growth, have been criticized for decades for their inability to adapt to
society and their insistence to mould societies to an outdated model of education.
Whether by choice, or by force, this resistance will inevitably come to an end as schools
will have to adapt to learner needs in the twenty-first century.
While some will view these inevitable changes as tragic, and others as a rich
opportunity, it is clear that there are great struggles that lay ahead. However, one idea is
ultimately clear for this researcher. We must be aware of the powers of technology to
persuade our views when we ask the question, what elements of education do we wish to
preserve in the digital age. While theorists from the many camps discussed in this paper
would arrive at several different places (and likely reframe the question as well), a solid
understanding of the multiple theories of knowledge and an understanding of how
curriculum is constructed are valuable assets when it comes to wise and democratic
decisions.
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Appendix A
Example A1: A cell phone manufacturers
advertisement. The question, upwardly mobile? is
answered by an image of business persons reaching for
the sky as a metaphorical (perhaps metaphysical)
statement of success or achievement. The tendency
becomes to equate connectedness to success in a
career sense or as stated, upward mobility.
Example A2: A web brokers question, what do
you get from some web browser brokers that offer
$9.95 per trade? The answer comes as an image
of a screw with the overlay of a mans deep
anguish. This is rather telling statement as the
dotcom economy fell to the realization that the
only way to turn a profit was to offer value added
services to consumers.
Example A3: A printer companys rather
telling statement a pixels worth a thousand words,
touting the print quality of their product. The quality
of digital image is being directly equated with success
as the higher resolution side of the man is
surrounded by books and is wearing a suit; typical
signals of education and corporate success.