Education

Th e values of aggregative democracy have dominated much of civic education as its values refl ect the realities of the American political system. We argue that deliberative democratic theory better addresses the moral and epistemological demands of democracy when compared to aggregative democracy. It better attends to protecting citizens' autonomy to participate in civic life and is able to accommodate the diverse experiences and viewpoints of the American public. We conclude by examining how deliberative democracy provides a new lens on civic education practices. It calls for attention to be given to the process of the exchange of reasons among students and also allows students to critically examine the current democratic process to determine in what ways it is or is not living up to deliberative democratic ideals.

The use of deliberation with English Language Learners presents possibilities to both improve language learning, but also expand the potential for civics education for all students. In particular, this response examines the issue of power to extend Liggett's (2014) arguments for using deliberative democracy with English Language Learners and provides practical suggestions on how to address issues of power and improve civic education. democracy & education, vol 23, no-1 article response 2

Entrapment in Cyberspace: A Renewed Call for Reasonable Suspicion Jarrod S. Hanson f DRoach, as the man identified himself, began a ... Justice Roberts's concurring opinion in Sorrells set forth the objective test.42 The objective test emerges from his differing view about the ...

This chapter provides a brief summary of the technical and social hurdles that define the so-called 'digital divide' and it considers the celebrated 'One Laptop Per Child' project as one response to the problem of digital poverty. The chapter reviews the design of the XO laptop with particular interest on the ethical territory that is traversed in the implementation of a low-cost computer intended for millions of children in underdeveloped nations. The chapter reviews how XO designers negotiated between ethics and feasibility as they confronted numerous problems including infrastructure, power consumption, hazardous materials, free vs. proprietary software, security, and the cost of labor. Apart from technical considerations, this review of the XO evaluates the notion of cultural hegemony and how the imposition of such technology as an educational tool might be balanced by considerations of local control and user agency.

This paper addresses some of the major shifts in thinking about the nature of publishing and in basic beliefs regarding the peer review process in scholarly communication. Changes in the notion of ownership in the an age of technology are considered. Differences between the referee system with print publications and electronic text are outlined and the shift from the conception of peer review from a summary process to an emergent process is illustrated, noting the public availability of online articles that are in the process of being reviewed and are subject to revision. The "plasticity" of electronic text opens the way for interactivity as a means for quality control, an approach which views text as an organic, dynamic phenomenon capable of adapting and changing within the context from which it was conceived. The paper concludes with a description of a model of an electronic journal that encompasses both an open studio and a showcase gallery environment for textual artifacts, a model which offers the flexibility needed to implement open, interactive peer review, promising speed and diversity of opinion. (AEF)

The Internet promises dramatic changes in the way we learn and teach, the way we interact as a society. The changes of a coming epoch are already taking shape. In higher education, most students have access to Internet resources. But many who have access have shown reluctance to make use of those resources. An attempt to understand this reluctance has led to an analysis using James Gibson's model of affordances. This paper contrasts the Internet with other fundamental educational infrastructures throughout history. It offers an analysis of literacy, printing and electronic publishing in terms of human affordances along with the constraints associated with each medium. Affordances and Constraints of the Internet The history of Education cannot be told apart from its technology. From orality to literacy, from manuscripts to the printed page, from text to hypertext, the prevailing technologies supporting education have defined its very nature. Stopping short of technological determinism, we acknowledge the chicken-and-egg relationship betweem technology, education, and society. The possibilities which education brings to society depend upon the affordances of the undergirding technology. We use the term affordance to describe a potential for action, the perceived capacity of an object to enable the asserfive will of the actor. The term was coined by psychologist James Gibson (1977) to describe the action possibilities posed by objects in the real world. There are many objects in our environment. Some we ignore, some we adapt to, and some we appropriate for our assertive will. It is the objects in this last category which fall under the the definition of affordances. Certain objects afford opportunities for action. An affordance is a value-rich ecological object that is understood by direct perception. Perception informs the individual of affordances. Action transforms affordances into effectivities which extend human capabilities (Allen and Otto, 1995). Our own bodies are affordances. The eyes afford perception, the ears listening, the hands manipulation, the tongue and vocal cords afford utterances (Jonassen, Campbell and Davidson, 1994). Natural affordances emerge into effectivities through use in conscious activity. The hand of an infant, though attached, is a separate object,. The infant is amused by it, studies it, tastes it, touches other things with it. Soon the infant learns to use the hand to manipulate other objects. In the process, the hand gradually tramforms its object-ness to subject-ness. The child becomes less conscious of the hand as she uses it as an extension of her own intentioned will. The affordance becomes an effectivity.

Dynamic Learning Communities (DLCs) offer an alternative approach to the traditional Instructional Design (ID) format for learning. This paper outlines the concept of a dynamic learning community as an alternative to teacher-controlled or pre-designed instructional systems. DLCs are groups of people, who form a learning community generally characterized by distributed control, commitment to generation and sharing of new knowledge, flexible and negotiated learning activities, autonomous community members, high levels of interaction, and a shared goal or project. A number of features emerge in DLCs. Positive features include: the capacity to a6apt and evolve, creativity and innovation, the crossing of traditional boundaries, the appreciation of diversity and multiple perspectives and member input in diagnosing and addressing groups' learning needs. Short-term inefficiencies and lack of predictability can be serious drawbacks, however. Three scenarios are observed where DLCs are beginning to take root: workplace learning, academic culture, and Internet discussion groups. In observing these groups, seven steps common to the CLC process are identified: (1) articulate the learning need; (2) seek help in a group format; (3) engage in help consultation; (4) assess learning; (5) share the solution with the group; (6) archive for future reference; (7) repeat this process to support learning. Traditional instructional design and DLCs can both lead to learning. (Contains 17 references.) (SWC)