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Hello My Blog and Friends,

It has been ages since my last blog. If you do not remember me, my name is David L. San Jose and I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Education specializing in the use of technology in education.

I have some good news to report - My concise paper regarding Phase 1 of my study was accepted to the ascilite 2014 conference in Dunedin, New Zealand. The acilite 2014 conference is focusing on Critical Perspectives on Education Technology. Very fitting for my topic (I think) and I am extremely excited to be accepted. I will be attending my first conference this year and I will be more than happy to report my experiences. Please see below for my notification of acceptance and a quick screen shot of the paper I submitted. Actual paper will be posted during the ascilite 2014 proceedings.


My thoughts about technology

As you all know, I am a big believer of using technology with a purpose. Technologies are tools we create and unlike what Marshall McLuhan ("We shape our tools and then our tools shape us") once said these tools does not shape us. It does not shape or determine our identity, our relationships and our culture. Sometimes a reminder of this allows us to understand that we have the power to create who we are and the tools we use to create our surroundings. Remember to always "know thyself".

Technology and Education

A technology system cannot just be a useful tool. Students and educators must be satisfied in their use and likewise deliver positive learning and teaching outcomes when utilizing a system. The functionality of the system cannot be overly complex and lead learners astray  from creating productive work (Ssemugabi &de Villiers, 2010).  In essence, technology has to become invisible to users so that the attention is on achieving the intended learning purpose of the software and not the technology system (Hattie, Brown, Ward, Irving, & Keegan, 2006). Otherwise, intended goals of improved learning and teaching may be subverted by the interaction of human abilities and attitudes with the technological characteristics. 

The use of technology once again must lead us to our intended learning needs and goals. We pick and choose which technology to use and we use these technologies to help enhance our learning and ultimately, make learning fun and easy. It is time to learn, unlearn and relearn. 

Please note - Don't forget to click on the hyperlinks for more information.

Thank you and MABUHAY!
David 

The Programme Committee has reviewed your revised paper Does Technology Matter? Students’ and Teacher’s Experiences of Electronic Portfolio (E-Portfolio) Systems in Teacher Education. and accepted it as a Concise Paper for presentation at ascilite 2014.