Volume 2 - issue 2 - 2006
Editorial Vol 2 - issue 2
This journal has a complex subtitle: Media, technology and lifelong 
learning. The subtitle will to many of our readers be perceived as a synonymous to “ICT in education”. However, ICT in education is strongly influenced by informatics and psychology. Even if schools are main receivers of educational technology, not many inventions in the field stem from the educational field itself. There are many tendencies reminding us of the continual conflict between technology and education. The task of this journal has the aim to discuss media and technology on educational grounds. One might think that in the ideal world, media and technologies would develop gradually from good practice where the technology would fit to the expressed needs and desires of the teachers and students of the actual situation. Ivan Illich brings such an example to the fore: in the 7th century the process of christening the people in Northern Europe came to slow down. For some reasons it was difficult to teach newly recruited students in the monastery schools Latin and therefore Christianity. Some clever monks in Ireland came up with the idea of inserting a graphical sign - an open space - to mark the differences between letters that ends a word and starts the next (Illich 1995, p. 87). Inserting an open space, made words distinct and a lot easier to understand. This innovation speeded up the learning process not only for slow learners of the Northern Europe, but for the whole community of readers worldwide. Inserting a space greatly improved the technology of writing, reading and teaching. A genuinely simple innovation radically changed how writing was undertaken, and the innovation came from teaching.
learning. The subtitle will to many of our readers be perceived as a synonymous to “ICT in education”. However, ICT in education is strongly influenced by informatics and psychology. Even if schools are main receivers of educational technology, not many inventions in the field stem from the educational field itself. There are many tendencies reminding us of the continual conflict between technology and education. The task of this journal has the aim to discuss media and technology on educational grounds. One might think that in the ideal world, media and technologies would develop gradually from good practice where the technology would fit to the expressed needs and desires of the teachers and students of the actual situation. Ivan Illich brings such an example to the fore: in the 7th century the process of christening the people in Northern Europe came to slow down. For some reasons it was difficult to teach newly recruited students in the monastery schools Latin and therefore Christianity. Some clever monks in Ireland came up with the idea of inserting a graphical sign - an open space - to mark the differences between letters that ends a word and starts the next (Illich 1995, p. 87). Inserting an open space, made words distinct and a lot easier to understand. This innovation speeded up the learning process not only for slow learners of the Northern Europe, but for the whole community of readers worldwide. Inserting a space greatly improved the technology of writing, reading and teaching. A genuinely simple innovation radically changed how writing was undertaken, and the innovation came from teaching. Interactive and face-to-face communication:
a perspective from philosophy of mind and language
Based on experiences from an educational programme for medical paramedics which combines physical gatherings with online activities, Halvor Nordby has developed a framework for both interactive and face-to-face communication. Important questions he addresses are similarities and differences between these two types of communication, and he makes use of modern philosophical hermeneutics in his research. With successful communication as the goal, both descriptive and normative approaches are made. Halvor Nordby is professor at Lillehammer University College and at the University of Oslo.
When means become ends: technology producing values
Bjørn Hofmann explores in this article the connection between technology and values. Technology has turned out to be the symbol of our culture, and has developed to be a goal in itself. The author emphasizes our responsibility even if technology is uncontrollable and not easily can be removed when it first has been invented. By building up a technological axiology Hofmann argues for the importance of being responsible to avoid a technological imperative. Bjørn Hofmann is adjunct professor at the University of Oslo and at the University College of Gjøvik.
Do students profit from feedback?
According to a study among undergraduates, Arild Raaheim has found that proper feedback seems to be of great value for the exam results. The students could choose between portfolio assessment, where they were given written response during the course period, and a traditional exam. In his discussion of the findings, related literature on feedback and learning is reviewed. Arild Raaheim is professor at the University of Bergen.