International MOOCs conference 2015Siân Bayne, University of Edinburgh

An example: critical posthumanism and sociomaterialsm

“questioning that the figure of ‘Man’ naturally stands at the centre of things; is entirely distinct from animals, machines, and other nonhuman entities; is absolutely known and knowable to ‘himself’; is the origin of meaning and history; and shares with all other human beings a universal essence.”(Badmington, 2004)

Humans and non-humans are engaged in a history that should render their separation impossible.(Latour 2003)

“One can predict that in a few more years millions of school children will have access to what Philip of Macedon’s son Alexander enjoyed as a royal prerogative: the personal services of a tutor as well-informed and responsive as Aristotle.”(Suppes, 1966)

Learning design: teacher automation

intelligent tutoring systems

artificial intelligence in education

educational datamining

learning analytics

“the ideological shaping of educational technology along individualistic, neo-liberal and new capitalist lines.”(Selwyn 2014)

The critical pedagogy approach re-focuses attention away from the functionality of e-learning environments back to the core relations between students and teachers and the conditions in which they find themselves.(Clegg 2003)

Faculty response: “a two-fold mobilization in defense of the human touch.” (Feenberg 2003)

Teacherbot

#edcmooc

“While I was trying to figure out what the hell ‘post-humanism’ means, the teacher bot led me on a merry chase looking up quotes and obscure academic references, which had the interesting side effect of ‘ambush teaching’ me. I will happily admit, that I do not feel like I have been to a class. I do not feel like I have been taught, either. I do, however, think I have learned something. I’ve certainly been prompted to think. Isn’t this what every good teacher/trainer strives for?”Giddens 2013

@sbaynesian.bayne@ed.ac.uk

The posthuman predicament encourages us to undertake a leap forward into the complexities and paradoxes of our times. (Braidotti 2013)