Mediation as Domesticating
At the beginning of the following paragraph I made another connection, this time to the domesticating use of computer technology, for review, reinforcement or drill and practice:
| "with few exceptions, teachers are not using games in their classrooms for anything other than rewards given after the 'real' work is done" (p. 479) |
Further,
| "At the start of the class, most of the participants had imagined that digital games in class would be used as independent study aids . . . without much input from them. The notion that games could be used simply to open a discussion or as part of a larger lesson seemed to suggest opportunties to them that they had not previously considered" (p. 484). |
These two quotes from Becker's work sound very similar to that of a teacher participant in Subramaniam's research Findings. The commonality is in the assumption that integrating computer technology into classroom lessons simply involves turning students loose on websites or computer programs to review and practice. This quote also implies the importance of the mutual investment and social interaction between the student and the teacher.
Becker provides further examples of domesticating uses of technology. Teachers use computers for administration and email but when computer technology is integrated into the classroom teaching and learning, it is primarily for reports and presentations (domesticating) and reference (potentialy liberating if teacher is a guide).
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.