As a student in the Master of Educational Technology program at UVIC, I found chapter 5 “Toward Understanding ‘Computer Application’” in the book Curriculum in a New Key – The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki, an interesting place to dwell for the afternoon. In my classes, we have talked about the meaning of educational technology and questioned what our program is about. There are many definitions for, and understandings of, technology in education. After reading this chapter, I saw similar strands of thought to my past thinking and emerged with new ideas.

One idea that Aoki explores is that “it is not computer technology that is dangerous; it is the essence of computer technology that is dangerous” (Aoki, p. 153). The idea that “the essence of computer technology reveals the real as “standing reserve,” and man, in the midst of it, becomes nothing but the orderer… but by so becoming, man tends to be forgetful of his own essence, no longer able to encounter himself authentically” (Aoki, p. 153). While there is more depth to the chapter and many other strands of thinking, I will focus on this section today and think about how I might act differently knowing this. To me, the thoughts that Aoki shares speak to the ease with which we as teachers can lose ourselves when using technology in the classroom. An example that comes to mind in my world is the online school system in which I teach. The technology of being online dominates, while the voice of me as a teacher, is subverted. The way that the system is designed for many online schools in British Columbia is to have a large teacher-to-student ratio and have the teacher purposefully set up as the orderer, as Aoki describes. In this setting, it is difficult for a teacher to encounter themselves authentically and it is more likely that they see little of themselves in the realm in which they teach. The technology of online courses is prized by many, but without a concerted effort of a teacher to connect with themselves, and their students, the teacher is the orderer in a less-than-human, and often faceless, role.

Photo by Tianyi Ma on Unsplash

Curriculum in a New Key | The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki | Ted T. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/pdfviewer/