#edcmooc - Week 4: Redifining the human

Week 4: Redifining the human

Again, the boundary between man and machine is questioned this week. In one video, a robot is able to experience loneliness, happiness, faith and friendship, leaving us to question: what makes it not human?

In other words, if the humanistic principles of autonomy, rationality, self-awareness, responsibility, etc. can be part of an artificial intelligence, what makes us human? The composition of our flesh? It does not seem that experience in the world is the answer.

All discourse about transformation, recovery and technological advancement was built by the discourse of online education. In general, the goal is to treat technology as if it were under control individual and social. I do not think this is an appropriate position to take, but I also do not believe in a technological determinism. My option is for a revision of the both concepts of human and technology, which also goes by the idea of ​​intelligence (and artificial intelligence) in individual and collective terms. It is the example of the Internet, collectively I have no doubt that we are smarter with it, even though individually some people have accommodated their ability to think for themselves.

#edcmooc - Week 3: Reasserting the human

Week 3: Reasserting the human

I was travelling and without Internet, so the delay in this post… but here are my week 3 considerations:

The technology challenges own notion of human being. Humanistic ideas such as equality, freedom and autonomy - that define some of our ways of understanding human nature - are not quite so clear criteria when technology becomes part of our routine and can, for example, extend and simulate human interactions.

The humanist project until now has not been reached, the idea of ​​gender equality, race and class - that seems to distance himself with the spread of technology - also helps to undermine the foundations of the idea of ​​human being.

However, the very MOOCs can be understood as a humanist project, as it poses questions about freedom and equality. In this sense, technology can be a tool for the humanist ideal of democratization and equality of access.

Finally, the question that remains is what in the technology questions our "humanity" and with what it can contribute to seeking a humanist project? And how these issues are behind the discussions about technology and education?

#edcmooc - Week 2: Looking to the future

Week 2: Looking to the future

In this post, about Week 2 activities, I want to highlight some observed points and let it be some questions:

•          In the past, higher education was a requirement to be considered middle class. Today, it is a requirement to not let be.
•          Debt versus educational quality, higher education would rather at the service of capitalism?
•          Possibility of and feeback update provided by MOOCs, how it expands the possibilities of common classroom? (Britannia X Wikipedia)
•          Music, school, hospital, industrial and agricultural production. As they were in 1800 and how in 2000? (Lectures and TAs / WebMD)
•          What is the same and different between MOOCs and correspondence courses (which didn’t work)?
•          MP3 and MOOCs, the comparison is valid? In what cases?
•          Humanities and Exact Sciences MOOCs can work in any case? (My experience at university is almost equal to a MOOCs but studied Physics)
•          Exception and long tail. Even that serves only 0.001% of the world population, it is a lot.
•          Customization of teaching x control society - where we stop?
•          Statistical tools can create a huge database (synoptic)
•          Flipping class, this would be a big change?

#edcmooc - Week 1: Looking to the past

Week 1: Looking to the past

Among the short films of this week, this one I chose as the most interesting (and disturbing).

Film 1: Bendito Machine III (6:35)

As the question indicates, the film suggests some ecological and social implications of an obsession or fixation on technology, like the destination of old technologies and the union of the group around the television. Some of them, are excluded (or destroyed) by the technology, especially the ones that don’t shared the interests with the programming. In this way, the characters have few choices in relation to their technologies. One of them is replace them for new technologies, with more resources but also more dangerous. The main characteristics are the sound, image and the ability to attract attention (addicted) users.

#edcmooc - About me

About me

My name is Alysson Ramos Artuso and I live in Curitiba, Brazil. I'm 30 years old. I'm graduated in physics, I have a master in Education and a PhD in Statistics.

I also like foreign languages, so I (try to) speak English, French and a little bit of German, besides Portuguese.

I work as professor, researcher, editor and writer. I teach Physics and Statistics, I research about education, I work like editor in a Educational Publisher and I wrote a Physics collection for high school in Brazil.

The goal of this blog

After each week, publish at least one post with my highlights (and try to write them in English, sure). Let's see...