A Critique of Technocentrism in Thinking About the School of the Future

Publisher Summary The presence of computers and other new technologies in learning will play a determining role in the way that both technology and culture evolve in the coming generation. The future of computer could be made in many different forms. It will be determined not by the nature of the technology, but by a host of decisions of individual human beings. Thinking of the future as an information age certainly focuses on some exciting new developments. There is more access to more information than there has ever been before. But, there is also a dangerous side to it from an educator's point of view—the danger of seeing the most important aspect of education as the provider of information or even the provider of access to information. The chapter presents a critique of technocentrism in thinking about the school of the future. The author has coined the word technocentrism from Piaget's use of the word egocentrism. Technocentrism is the fallacy of referring all questions to the technology. Questions regarding whether technology have this or that effect, whether using computers to teach mathematics increases children's skill at arithmetic, or whether it will encourage children to be lazy about adding numbers because calculators can do it, reflect technocentric thinking. The issues about how to use the computer in education reflect deeper issues of educational theory and philosophy.