The Battle for BAT TEL

Description

It is by now a well-established idea that we are moving to a more technologically-aware era of L&T. There are growing bodies of literature (e.g. Cuban (2003); Belshaw (2011); Guinan (2017); Serdyukov (2017); McCloud & Latheef (2017); and Gast (2018)) that suggest firstly that academics are often adopting new technology in their teaching for reasons other than pedagogic innovation, but also about the transient nature of “newness” in technology, both L&T related and more widely.Roberts (2008) argues for “the sequential transition of the format from traditional to electronic, allowing each faculty member to develop competency over time” (p13), and Fastiggi (2013) and Mishra and Koehler (2006) both argue that the focus of students and academics should be on the task in hand, rather than the technology which is allowing it to happen.In this paper, I demonstrate a model for adopting the Environmental Law standard of “Best Appropriate Technology” (BAT) into Technology Enhanced Learning. Identifying the BAT for different subjects would allow for the development of a central depositary for research into the use and effectiveness of different technological interventions. The model does not require academics to abandon innovation, however, and there would still be space for those at the cutting edge of technological L&T research since “[w]hat is normal today will soon be obsolete, and what is innovative today will soon be normal” (Sharma, 2017).Sources:Belshaw, D., 2011, The perils of shiny shiny educational technology, Open Educational Thinkering, https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2011/02/26/perils-of-shiny-edtech/Cuban, L., 2003, Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom, Harvard University PressFastiggi, W., 2013, Appropriate Technology in Education, Technology for Learners, https://technologyforlearners.com/appropriate-technology-in-education/Gast, A., 2018, AI is the future but universities must retain the values of the past, Times Higher Education, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/ai-future-universities-must-retain-values-past Guinan, S., 2017, Classroom Technology: Tool or Toy? IATEFL LTSIG, https://ltsig.iatefl.org/classroom-technology-tool-or-toy/ McLeod, A., and Latheef, I., 2017, Transforming education through technology: Vision vs Reality, Australian Association for Research in Education, EduResearch Matters, http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=2640 Mishra, P., and Koehler, M., 2006, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge, Teachers College Record Volume 108, Number 6, June 2006, pp. 1017–1054Roberts, C., 2008, Implementing Educational Technology in Higher Education: A Strategic Approach, Journal of Educators Online 5(1), https://doi.org/10.9743/JEO.2008.1.1 Serdyukov, P., 2017, Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it? Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, Vol. 10 Issue: 1, pp.4-33, https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-10-2016-0007Sharma, A., 2017, If you are not innovating today, you won’t be around tomorrow, Autodesk Forge, https://forge.autodesk.com/blog/if-you-are-not-innovating-today-you-wont-be-around-tomorrow

Period	5 Apr 2019
Event title	SLSA Annual Conference 2019
Event type	Conference
Location	Leeds, United Kingdom