Books

TEACHING MACHINES: THE HISTORY OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING (2021)

Teaching Machines chronicles the twentieth century history of education technology and (as the title suggests) of teaching machines – specifically, the long-running desire to build machines that will automate and thus improve the efficiency of the education process. It’s a history that is deeply intertwined with the development of the field of educational psychology and the drive to standardize (and counterintuitively, individualize) the American education system. It’s a history intertwined with Americans’ obsession with gadgets and a political commitment – particularly after the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik – to make schools more focused on science and technical education. But importantly, it’s a history that predates the computer by several decades, even though there are so many echoes among the demands for ed-reform from today’s tech billionaires – Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, most famously. (Publisher: MIT Press)

For more information, visit the book website.

THE MONSTERS OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY 4 (2017)

And again, in 2017, I spent a lot of time traveling and speaking about ed-tech. Nobody has listened and now, under President Trump, it sure feels like doom is a little bit closer. The Monsters of Education Technology, Part 4 is a collection of a dozen of my talks on robots, surveillance, Skinner, personalization, and more.

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THE CURSE OF THE MONSTERS OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY (2016)

Yet again, I spend much of 2016 on the road, traveling and speaking about education technology and warning everyone of impending doom. But did you listen? No. You elected Donald Trump. Congrats, everyone. The Curse of the Monsters of Education Technology is a collection of seven of my talks on topics ranging from pigeons to predicting the future.

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THE REVENGE OF THE MONSTERS OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY (2015)

Once again, I spent much of 2015 on the road, traveling and speaking extensively about education technology’s histories, ideologies, and mythologies. The Revenge of the Monsters of Education Technology is a collection of eleven of those talks on topics ranging from the algorithmic future of education to the Silicon Valley's technological imperialism.

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CLAIM YOUR DOMAIN (2015)

Too often, education technologies are developed that position students as objects of education, a reflection no doubt of how traditional educational practices also view students. Education technologies do things to students, rather than foster student agency. If we are to challenge what "school" should look like, we must also challenge what "ed-tech" does as well. What sorts of technologies can and should we build to give students more control? What sorts of technologies can offer students the power to "own" their learning -- their data, their content, their digital profiles, and their domain? (Publisher: Solution Tree)

For more information, visit the book website.

THE MONSTERS OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY (2014)

I spent much of 2014 on the road, traveling and speaking extensively about education technology’s histories, ideologies, and mythologies. The Monsters of Education Technology is a collection of fourteen of those talks on topics ranging from teaching machines to convivial tools, from ed-tech mansplaining to information justice.

For more information, visit the book website.