The civics of technology

Dec 10 2022 • 1 hr

We are joined by Dan Krutka and Marie Heath from Civics of Technology who tell us more about the project, its origin, where they are now and their future plans and ideas. The Civics of Technology (CoT) project aims to empower students and educators to critically inquire into the effects of technologies on their individual and collective lives. The team conducts research, develops curriculum, and offers professional development and through that seek to advance democratic, ethical, and just uses of technology in schools and society.

While humans have wrestled with their relationships with technology for centuries, the rapidly changing technological landscape of facial recognition, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and other pervasive technologies requires citizens who can address associated social problems. The CoT team of primarily social studies and educational technology educators and researchers seeks to develop approaches, curricula, and research to help students grow as citizens in a highly technologized world.

CoT, therefore, seeks to revive an older idea, largely lost to school curriculum dialogues, for technology education that challenges students to critically inquire into the collateral, disproportionate, and unexpected effects of technology on our lives. Across their projects, they work to advance the civics of technology in schools and society that struggles for just democracy. Some important links