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July 26, 2005

Sherry Turkle: "Adolescence and Identity: Finding Yourself in the Machine"

Turkle, Sherry. 1984. "Adolescence and Identity: Finding Yourself in the Machine" The Second Self. New York: Touchstone Book.

Overview:

In this chapter, Turkle discusses how adolescents relate to the computer in the process of finding a sense of self. She uses examples from her field studies.

In her opening, she argues that children are reflective, constantly interested in philosophical possibilities such as the personalities of machines. As they get older, their interests with technology are preoccupied by action - what can be done. In adolescence, there is a return to the reflective, only this time it concerns reflections about the self not the outside world.

The computer allowed Deborah and Ethan to finally have control over some part of their lives. For Bruce, it allowed him to engage with something that was ordered and predictable. Carla found that the computer had the same sort of organizing principles as her own life.

As Turkle weaves together the stories of different adolescents, she points out how young people use technology as a mirror to their lives, giving them the perspective necessary to make sense of out everyday situations or develop new strategies for handling situations. Her argument aligns with the ideas that technology enables people to make sense of the physical world by acting it out in the digital. In each case, there is discussion about how the lessons learned through technology can be applied to everyday life.

Questions:

Turkle's narrative is fantastic but i'm concerned about the implicit model. Are lessons learned through technology really applicable to other environments? Does engagement give us a mirror stage? If so, is the mirror altered by the environment?

How are things changing now that technology is a given? What other tools have been used for mirror stages?

How can we actually test the effectiveness of technology as a mirror? I'm having a hard time buying into this and i'm not sure why, but i'm recoiling into desiring more conclusive evidence.

Category: psychology

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July 14, 2005

Lave and Wenger: "Situated Learning"

Lave, Jean and Etienne Wenger. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Overview:

This manuscript introduces the concept of situated learning. It really is a book about a concept and a framework for analyzing learning with little analysis itself.

In Chapter 1, they traverse the history of their thinking while at IRL, discussing how they went from apprenticeship to situated learning by really thinking through what legitimate peripheral participation is about. The bulk of this chapter consists of word games, focusing on why certain words were chosen and how they cannot be decoupled from one another.

At the core, Lave & Wenger are interested in how newcomers become part of a community of practice through engagement with the practices themselves. Moving away from theories of "receiving" knowledge, they focus on how people's activities with the world allow them access to knowledge that is fundamentally different than observing or being spoon-fed. In other words, learning is a whole-body activity. They see their approach as Marxist in nature, where the goal is to "ascend (from both the particular and the abstract) to the concrete" (38).

In learning, one must be engaged in practice but also in the social world. Learning is very much about internalizing the surrounding culture and becoming an active participant in the practice of learning.

[There is reference to a Russian named Vygotsky and his work on "zone" which appears to be assumed knowledge that i don't have.]

Questions:

  • What is the role of activity theory in situated learning?
  • What is the significance of situated learning in the educational sphere?

Category: learning

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