Mediating Technologies in Standardized Normalities: Stories from Education of Blind and Visually Impaired Children. A Techno-Anthropological study of Technology, Perception, Inclusive Education and Standardization in a Majority's World
Author
Hougaard, Ida Bruun
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-06-04
Pages
70
Abstract
Denne undersøgelse udforsker teknologisk mediation – hvordan teknologier former menneskelig praksis og individuel perception. Den bygger på etnografisk feltarbejde ved et arrangement for blinde og svagsynede børn samt interviews med undervisere. Jeg undersøger beretninger om teknologier, der bruges til at støtte læsning og skrivning i forskellige undervisningsmiljøer, og viser, hvordan de samme værktøjer får forskellige roller afhængigt af kulturelt definerede normer. Derudover diskuterer jeg, hvordan teknologier mere bredt kan skubbe praksisser i retning af standardisering. Dette sættes i relation til bevægelsen mod inkluderende undervisning i Danmark og i udlandet, i en verden der ofte standardiseres efter flertallet. Jeg drøfter, hvad jeg anser for gavnligt i inkluderende undervisning, design af teknologier til minoritetsgrupper, og hvorfor opmærksomhed på individuel oplevelse og teknologisk mediation er afgørende, når man forsker i menneskelig praksis.
This study explores technological mediation—that is, how technologies shape human practices and individual perception. It draws on ethnographic fieldwork at an event for blind and visually impaired children and interviews with educators. I examine accounts of technologies used to support literacy (reading and writing) in different educational settings, showing how the same tools take on different roles depending on culturally defined norms. I further discuss how technologies more broadly mediate practices toward standardization. These points are debated in relation to the movement toward inclusive education in Denmark and abroad, in a world often standardized around the majority. I discuss what I regard as beneficial within inclusive education, the design of technologies for minority groups, and why attention to individual perception and technological mediation is essential when researching human practices.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Documents