Dialogic Education and Technology Expanding the Space of Learning [Paperback]

This book empowers people to go beyond themselves into new spheres of learning, thinking and creativity. Drawing on recent work in communications theory as well as psychology, computer science and philosophy, it reveals some key characteristics of learning dialogues. It also demonstrates ways in which computers and networks can deepen, enrich and expand such dialogues. The books central argument is that this dialogic perspective in education and the latest developments in information and communications technology make ideal partners.

Dialogic Education and Technology is about using new technology to draw people into the kind of dialogues which take them beyond themselves into learning, thinking and creativity. The program of research reported in this book reveals key characteristics of learning dialogues and demonstrates ways in which computers and networks can deepen, enrich and expand such dialogues. A dialogic perspective is developed drawing upon recent work in communications theory, psychology, computer science and philosophy. This perspective foregrounds the creative space opened up by authentic dialogues. Whereas studies of computer-supported collaborative learning have tended to see dialogue as a means to the end of knowledge construction the dialogic perspective taken by this book sees dialogue as an end in itself - in fact moving learners into the space of dialogue is described as the core aim of education. The central argument of the book is that there is a convergence between this dialogic perspective in education and the affordances of new information and communications technology. A genuinely dialogic perspective is relatively new to the field of educational technology and there is a considerable amount of interest in this topic amongst researchers who wish to see what extra insights, if any, a dialogical approach can offer them.

This is an exciting book that synthesizes, clarifies anlƒ