We are the magic – not the technology

 

We get caught up in technology – applauding it, criticising it, defining and redefining it. It is at once our saviour and our damnation. It. It. It isn’t anything without us, without our thinking and attitude driving it.

In schools and universities, technology is at the centre of debate about what works and what doesn’t in education. Often used as a scapegoat for failed projects, technology is not autonomous; it is something we need to take control of in a collective, creative way. Yes, it shapes how we do things.  Yes, it’s changed the way we do things. It has become ubiquitous. As it continues to develop at an unsurpassed rate, we need to remember – more than at any time in history so far – that it is a tool in our hands.

In his TED talk, and with the aid of exquisite photography, Alex Hammond demonstrates the personal relationship between pencils and their creative owners to remind us that we are the magic behind what is created – not the technology.

2 thoughts on “We are the magic – not the technology”

  1. A topic I am deep into with one of my student/researchers. Like most ‘change agency’ vocab., ‘technology’ is a net with a large gauge. It lets lots through. For example, I have always thought that 3X5 cards were one of the finest technologies ever devised. Techne is the root for technology, right? Techne means skill not tool. It ain’t tool, it’s the techne. We need to grab back any entendres we can, double and otherwise, to carpe that logos.

    1. Just what I wanted to know, Terry. Techne means skill – that changes everything. Otherwise technology becomes the word used for what is new and frustrating in an attempt to ditch everything new and stay with the tried and true technologies which aren’t as complex. Skill, yes. Lately I’m reading so many instances of ‘I thought technology was meant to make our lives easier’. We need to take control and figure things out. I still find the potential and rate of change in technologies so amazing but I look around and everyone is seemingly unimpressed. I’m like ‘wow’ and they’re like ‘meh’.

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