Abstract
The education studies of the Spanish universities are not alien to technological innovations, but their approach to them tends to be basically instrumental. Neuroscience’s contributions about the functioning of the minds that interact with these technologies give new perspectives to the academic world; perspectives that are necessary for optimizing teaching-learning processes. This article analyses the recent scientific production on ICT and innovation in Spanish higher education, as well as the Spanish university teaching guides of education degree subjects about technologies. This critical analysis is organized around three paradoxes related to information, rationality and critical sense. Comparing the analysis results with the discoveries of neuroscience during the last decades reveals limits and contradictions in those areas that tend to be considered strongest in the technology-education relationship. We draw conclusions for revising the parameters for the approach to ICT in university education.
Highlights
The objective of this article is to discuss from a critical perspective the instrumental approach that prevails in the academic field of educational technology in Spanish universities
We speak of paradoxes because, comparing the academic approach to technologies in Spanish universities with neuroscience findings on the human mind, we discover that behind the most powerful and relevant academic concepts hide shortcomings that prevent more effective and more integrative education
We propose the following specific objectives: SO1: Determine the attention given to the areas of information and entertainment in the Spanish university approach to educational technology
Summary
The objective of this article is to discuss from a critical perspective the instrumental approach that prevails in the academic field of educational technology in Spanish universities. The critical analysis is based on neuroscience findings on the functioning of the minds that interact with technologies. The definition of educational technology — or edtech — is ambiguous, but there is a consensus that it constitutes a field of study related to the use of technology to improve the quality of learning (AECT Definition and Terminology Committee, 2008). Academic attention generally focuses on use and appropriation, omitting more complex interactions between the users’ minds and the technologies, especially in relation to emotions and tastes. Most universities around the world allocate large budgets to purchasing and maintaining technology and the virtualization of their services and management processes.
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