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Ascilite11 presentation v bozalek slim

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What are emerging technologies?

One of the recurring conversations in this project has been around the question "what are emerging technologies" in higher education. We have returned to this question in most of our meetings, and the answer, like the technologies, is still emerging.

We seem to be fairly clear about the term technologies. We are understanding this quite narrowly to mean information and communication technologies. (Although I might be being presumptuous here. This is not something we have discussed. Perhaps we have different understandings?)

Our discussions have revolved around what we consider emergent. At first we grappled with definitions, but there are clear differences here.

Firstly, there seems to be agreement that emergent technologies are not just new technologies. Indeed this has been confirmed by our research. When we asked lecturers to tell us about the most innovative technologies they are using, the overwhelming response was learning management systems (LMSs), not a technology that is in any way new.

One line of argument is that emergent technologies are those that are in the process of being used more widely. They are emerging into the mainstream of academic practice. By this measure, most ICTs are emergent because higher education in South Africa has made little use of them until recently. If we observe more and more people using a technology, we call it emergent at the point where its use is gaining momentum, before it is ubiquitous.

A second line of argument is that emerging technologies are those that have emergent properties, so that the impact they have goes beyond just their use. Technologies are emergent when they are used in ways that do not simply replicate existing teaching practices, using technology, but transform teaching and learning. So making course content available for students to download instead of providing printed notes would not be emergent, but making materials available before class and then using the lecture time for more active learning might be.

I think that both of these definitions could be valid and interesting. The first is easier to research. One can count what is being use, how frequently and how widespread the use is. The second is more difficult because we would need to identify the emergent properties and those can be hard to spot, particularly in the educational context.

We seem to have settled on the following characteristics of emerging technologies, thanks to Veletsianos, rather than a definition.

Emerging technologies..

1. May or may not be new

2. Are evolving

3. Go through recognisable hype cycles

4. Are not yet fully understood

5. Are not yet fully researched

6. Are potentially disruptive, but this potential is as yet unfulfilled

(Veletsianos, 2010:13-17)

But there are concerns that these criteria might not be complete. I am also concerned that they capture neither of the two perspectives outlined above.

I hope that by opening up the debate we may be able to capture some of the conversations we've had and clarify our thoughts. I look forward to other contributions.

Emerging Technologies in SA HEIs: towards transformative teaching and learning practice

This is the presentation we did for the 2011 HELTASA conference:

2011 11 29 emerging technologies heltasa

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