Welcome to Research in Educational Technology

The course will run in two parts from Fall '08 to Spring '09.  I'm staring this site so you can begin thinking about your topics. 

Here are some ideas that I'm working on.  You might find them interesting for your research or as a point to  start thinking about your project.  You might want to begin by looking at some books that I'm recommending (see my  Amazon List Teaching and Learning with Technology or my Amazon Reviews). 

You should choose a topic that you have a strong interest in--a big idea in educational technology that you're working on or want to work on.   

TOPIC IDEAS

Fanfiction, Participatory Culture, Do It Yourself Media--How can the ability to create media empower students and make them active participants in culture and society?  Relevant Fanfiction Links

New Literacies--what are they?  How do they go beyond technological proficiency? Relevant New Literacies Links

Technology Standards (what I'm interested in is how standards--especially technology standards--are created and implemented).  I don't think that teachers have enough opportunities to reflect, question and even disagree with standards. Relevant Standards Links --though I've got some good research that I'll email you.

Copyright, Fair Use and Digital Media--How can we be effective and ethical consumers and creators of digital media?  This report--The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy--by the Center for Social Media is a great starting point.  Relevant Copyright Links

Epistemology, Epistemic Cognition, Technology and Teaching--Epistemic cognition is an interesting area (see my Amazon Reviews or Relevant Links), that deals with how do we know what we know, what is our criteria for truth, how do we view knowledge.  It's got a lot of applications vis a vis Internet research, wikis, teaching.  Relevant Epistemology Links -- Thought the book Personal Epistemology is the best starting place for this.

YouTube, TeacherTube--I thought it would be an interesting idea to put up a few educational videos and see how people respond.  This is a rough starting point, but it's an under-explored area. 

Computers and robotics in early childhood / elementary education--I haven't done research in this area, but just read a great book on the subject--Blocks to Robots (Bers, 2008).   Highly recommended.  I might use it in Intro to Ed Tech next year.   I was asked to write a review for E-Learning Journal...I'm making my notes public--despite a hiatus in writing as I wrap up my next book--Student-Powered Podcasting.  Check out my notes in progess on the Bers book.

DIY technology, like the research in fanfiction, I've been more and more interested in DIY technology.  Technology that "questions the supposed uniqueness of the expert's skills, and promotes the ability of the ordinary person to learn to do more than he or she thought was possible." (DIY Ethic, Wikipedia, 2008). 

I'm writing a book now on the subject.  I'm looking at the technogies below through the lens of the following criteria:

--Are available free or relatively inexpensive
--Empower people with skills and abilities that was in hands of only a few a generation ago (about 20 years)
--Advance both individual and community development
--Though accessible, still help an individual do more than he or she thought possible
--Create environments and artifacts that are authentic and practical

The Technologies I'm looking at are:

Video
Audio
Machinima
Animation
Robotics
Photography
Book publishing
Comics
Fanfiction
Performance
Game Building
Crowd Sourcing
Inventing
Clothes Design
Hybrid media such as mash-ups
Circuit Bending

Some of these such as crowdsourcing, machinima, DIY Web sites such as Instructables  would make interesting thesis topics.  Check out my links on Delicious for DIY.