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Word processors (as evidenced by this viral tweet) are a PERFECT example of edtech that people choose based on a complex convergence of, yes, functionality, AND *perceived* functionality (esp. w/in peer networks), financial constraint, and FEELINGS. Want to dig in more? (1/x) https://twitter.com/JakeAnbinder/status/1390352898916290569">https://twitter.com/JakeAnbin...
This thread is filled w/arguments about functionality alone: GDocs is free, more accessible on mobile, & has nearly identical basic features (e.g. the ability to compose, share, "track changes," etc). But enveloped w/ those function arguments are arguments about values (2/x)
The biggest value at tension is w/ flexibility: the GDocs defenders make the case that GDocs gives users more options, both for composing & sharing (true!). The MS Word defenders make the case that Word offers more precise & sophisticated formatting (also true!) (3/x).
As educators, then, we have to think about these value choices at play when we& #39;re assigning students to us edtech (and yes, word processors are edtech). What does restricting certain files, software, or devices say about our values? (4/x)
Further, what are the risks & rewards of edtech choices? Google, by the way, is not a neutral choice. Privacy concerns GALORE with Google remain, even w/in ed licenses on campuses. Unfortunately, free & ubiquitous = extractive in ways we can& #39;t always see immediately (5/x)
No easy answers here, except I think it& #39;s worth talking w/ your students (heck, your colleagues & your peers too for that matter) when you ask them to use edtech. Ask about the needs of people w/ whom you& #39;re sharing digital work. Avoid assumptions about tools. (6/x)
Also, there& #39;s a LONG and fascinating history w/ instructor dissatisfaction over word processors. Naomi Baron (2000): "They complained that the essays they received that had been prepared on word-processors were often inferior to those produced on typewriters" (p. 213). (7/x)
So, we also need to think about how tech changes (e.g. from desktop-based to cloud-based) may make us make claims/statements about the quality of the work when, really, it& #39;s about the convergence between our material practices and tacit values/feelings about work (8/x).
