elearnspace

I’ve long enjoyed Chris Lott’s contribution to learning and technology. He brings his passion of poetry, philosophy, and technology into an informed world view. First time I met him face to face, we spent time arguing about Prensky (he challenged my notion that Prensky took edutech in the wrong direction. Chris argued that for a time, Prensky gave voice to a distinction that many were beginning to notice). Chris is a critic and an idealist (which is a positive). I just came across a presentation he delivered titled From Plato to Perl: the Problem of Sociality and the ‘Idea’. He explores the mechanical predecessors of the digital age (fascinating to think about the many “near hits” in what eventually became the internet). A critical argument is advanced at about the 15:30 mark on how we are erroneously applying “mechanisms that we don’t understand”, “retaining the least productive mechanisms” of scholarship and humanism and applying mechanical approaches to education. Good use of stories and example throughout the talk (Babbage, Tennyson). If you prefer text to video, similar ideas are expressed in this paper.