How do humans and technology interact with each other? This question keeps coming up in discussions among continuing education professionals. In this article, we put an end to “Pedagogy before Technology” and show why penguins make a great example for digitalization.
Pedagogy before Technology?
What would you answer to the following question: “Should pedagogy come before technology?” This very question is addressed by the educator Axel Krommer in an article from the Route Planner for Digital Education. However, not everyone interprets the question the same way. Axel Krommer therefore presents three interpretations of the “Pedagogy before Technology” question:
Technology should serve humanity, not the other way around.
First implement the pedagogical aspects, then the technology.
Ignore technology when pursuing pedagogical goals.
Let's take a closer look at these three interpretations of the question.
Regarding the first: Krommer rightly calls this interpretation “trivial” – because who seriously believes otherwise? I don’t need to shout “Pedagogy before Technology!” when there isn’t anyone claiming otherwise.
Regarding the second: I agree with Axel Krommer that this assumption is incorrect because everything is technically related, and technology and pedagogy cannot be easily separated: Even if you are “only” writing with a pen on paper, you are using a specific technique.
Regarding the third: Now it gets trickier! Because even we at blink.it have always emphasized that when setting goals, technology or the format should first be disregarded. We still stand by that: Don’t plan “a seminar on leadership,” but plan to “foster leadership in a specific quality.”
However, Axel Krommer highlights an important core point:
The true value of digital media does not lie in achieving old goals faster, but in uncovering completely new dimensions of goals for the first time.
This means that you cannot completely disregard technology in goal formulation because you always think of it intuitively. This thought is an absolute enrichment for all continuing education professionals: You cannot easily separate technology and pedagogy – even if you think you are doing so! This is also illustrated by the following example from the world of penguins.
The Penguin Metaphor for Digitalization
What do penguins have to do with digital media? I could write a lot about this, but the following video provides a wonderfully simple answer:
Jöran Muuss-Merholz explains in the video why digital media are not just a tool. Just as Axel Krommer shows, humans and media cannot easily be separated.
If a penguin, which has only lived on land so far, were to set a goal, it would automatically only set goals that are possible on land. It would not think of flying, because it cannot do that in its “green medium” (on land). In the water, it is literally in a different element: Here it can suddenly “fly” and move completely differently, achieving entirely different goals.
Similarly, we humans are facing new (digital) media: We try to find out what works well and often unconsciously apply standards that we know from our old media.
Conclusion: How Humans and Media are Related
Let’s summarize the essential statements:
No one seriously believes that people should serve technology.
In the goal-setting of educational measures, you cannot completely disregard the choice of media. Rather, consider it consciously, instead of unconsciously limiting yourself.
Digital media is more than just a tool.
Humans and technology or pedagogy and media are interdependent.
This very development is the “digitalization” that everyone keeps talking about: But it’s not about new media completely replacing the old ones. It’s not about having to fear technology. It’s not about machines taking our lives away. Digitalization means being allowed to explore new media and thus rethinking learning as such completely.
What does this insight mean for our actions? The answer is: Experiment! Let’s dive into the new media world and gather experiences. Let’s recognize that digitalization does not flatten our “old world” but enriches it. Let’s expand the horizon of our goals and think digital media from the very beginning.
