Slides from EMMA/Federica conference September 2015

1. International MOOCs
conference 2015
Siân Bayne, University of Edinburgh

2. An example: critical posthumanism and sociomaterialsm
“questioning that the figure
of ‘Man’ naturally stands at
the centre of things; is
entirely distinct from
animals, machines, and other
nonhuman entities; is
absolutely known and
knowable to ‘himself’; is the
origin of meaning and
history; and shares with all
other human beings a
universal essence.”
(Badmington, 2004)
Humans and non-humans are engaged in a history that should render
their separation impossible.
(Latour 2003)

3. “One can predict that in a few more
years millions of school children will
have access to what Philip of
Macedon’s son Alexander enjoyed as
a royal prerogative: the personal
services of a tutor as well-informed
and responsive as Aristotle.”
(Suppes, 1966)
Learning design: teacher automation

5. intelligent tutoring systems
artificial intelligence in education
educational datamining
learning analytics
“the ideological shaping of
educational technology along
individualistic, neo-liberal and new
capitalist lines.”
(Selwyn 2014)

6. The critical pedagogy
approach re-focuses attention
away from the functionality of
e-learning environments back
to the core relations between
students and teachers and the
conditions in which they find
themselves.
(Clegg 2003)
Faculty response: “a two-fold
mobilization in defense of the
human touch.”
(Feenberg 2003)

8. Teacherbot
#edcmooc

11. “While I was trying to figure out what the hell
‘post-humanism’ means, the teacher bot led
me on a merry chase looking up quotes and
obscure academic references, which had the
interesting side effect of ‘ambush teaching’
me. I will happily admit, that I do not feel like I
have been to a class. I do not feel like I have
been taught, either. I do, however, think I have
learned something. I’ve certainly been
prompted to think. Isn’t this what every good
teacher/trainer strives for?”
Giddens 2013

12. @sbayne
sian.bayne@ed.ac.uk
The posthuman predicament encourages us to undertake a leap
forward into the complexities and paradoxes of our times.
(Braidotti 2013)