Hughes Discussion, Chapter 6

In an ever-anticipated Chapter 6, Hughes finally reveals the purpose for his continuous blathering and beating around the graphically animated bush to reveal that his main purpose was to make the public more aware of technology and the ability of humans to use their own morality and democratic influence to ensure an ecotechnical environment is developed and sustained. He explains that without being technologically literate, humans are incapable of maintaining a world that will have the capacity to harmonize with technology to create an environmentally friendly planet that we all can enjoy. While technology is often viewed as the harsh, unyielding machines of the industrial age, Hughes states that technology can be molded and developed with a moral spirit while increasing the quality of life that we often enjoy as a result of these innovations.

Discuss Hughes' view of the "ecotechnical environment" as a modern representation of the "return to the Garden" ideals that he expounded on in the early chapters.

In his description of the ecotechnical environment, Hughes brings forth an image that doesn’t necessarily draw a parallel with the “second creation” or “return to Eden” that he had previously written about, however it does provide an ideal that this ecotechnical environment can bring about an organic quality to everything that is impacted by technology. This shift in technological values is what Hughes believes will bring the world, and namely, America, back to the balance with our environment that we once appreciated prior to the mass industrialization and lack of restraint with the production of many of our vital systems.

This ecotechnical environment is not brought about by a religious or theological movement or ideology, but by recognition of the need for “green space” by those who largely impact our culture with technology, such as architects, engineers, and artists. As much as Hughes builds some of his philosophies on religion and morality, and as much as it is mentioned in his book, it is apparently obvious in this final chapter where a modern return to Eden is an underlying theme. One can only stipulate that Hughes brings these theological ideas into view throughout the book in order to build a sense of “technological morality and values,” that has been in decline since early in the Twentieth Century with technology enthusiasts such as the Beards and others excitingly adopting technologies as quickly as they were mass produced and sold.

What values do we place on the technology of Education?

Granted, compared to many others in our discussions of technology in education, I have only been present for a few of the innovations that have been mentioned, so I feel that my experience in educational technology is somewhat concentrated in the modern arena, so I will speak to that primarily.

After reading and engaging in discussions with colleagues and peers, it would seem that technology in education has always been an important aspect of our instructional methods. Sometimes to enhance or enrich, and in other cases, technology is what is being taught. However revered technology in education may be, there is always a sense of reluctance and skepticism from many in the field about the value that educational technology “tools” can bring to the classroom, and rightly so. The major forms of media such as newspaper, radio, technology, and now computers have at different eras, become customary of the typical classroom landscape. However, these are only the delivery pieces that educators use to bring lessons and concepts to life for students and make relevant for later recall and implementation. The technology part of this really is only the method, not the concept. Therefore, as we examine technology that impacts us outside of education, and evaluate it for its benefits and costs, educators should be using that same philosophy inside the classroom. Why is this technology important, and whom does it serve best?

Certainly there is a countless amount of revenue to be made by companies serving the educational field, and they would be the first to tout the invaluable benefits of their products to students. However, in my own experience, not enough value has been placed on how these tools can be incorporated into everyday classroom use. It is much like that spectacular George Forman Grill you purchased only to realize that you rarely each hamburgers, and have stashed it in the basement after no one would purchase it at your garage sale. Sure, it’s nice a few times, but was it worth your money when your same old method of frying burgers was much more convenient? As an Information Management Instructor, I have found that we have adopted and attempted to utilize many pieces of “new” educational technology, but have rarely made them a part of our regular instructional habits because they were developed by programmers who had never instructed a group of students before, and were not at all practical after the initial adoption. This is just another example of how consumerism has affected the educational field through our methods of adoption.

In many ways, education has been a force to content with when breaking the barriers to the field, however it seems that technology has always found a way to infiltrate and expand in the educational field. Some will argue that this has had a negative impact on education and only served as a classroom distraction, and in some cases that is true. But, in closer examination one may find that in those cases where technology has not served the purpose to further educate students, the instructor may have been the road block that prevented the learning process by modeling a strong distaste for technology, and been the purveyor of the technology as a classroom distraction. Granted, this is a minimal issue compared with the mountainous problems that face education today, but it is possible that at some point, these instructors can be trained to value and incorporate technology into their idea of education in a meaningful way.