Socio-Technical Plan Discussion

Define

            A socio-technical plan or system is one that encompasses how the advent of new technology will influence and affect our society.  ComputingCases.org focuses on the ethical concerns brought on by new technology (ComputingCases.org, 2020).  These systems include hardware (computer monitors), software (Windows OS), people (police officers), data (criminal files), and laws and regulations (are any of these data protected from view by others?)  Socio-technical plans will change with time.  They are living things in that sense and will mimic the society they are trying to become a part of.  These trajectories are from changes that are made by those in social power.  Since this power is the force that can bring about change with this trajectory, it is important that the ethical value and motivations of these changes are kept in check (ComputingCases.org, 2020).  There is nothing worse than an idea that started out as hopeful and good, becoming one of the most harmful and nefarious.

Describe

            The socio-technical plan that I read involved integrating laptops into an elementary school in Brazil.  While many were all for the introduction to laptops, others were not interested.  Teachers were not looking forward to learning a new technology nor having another peripheral to monitor during class.  This plan relied heavily on the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization to provide the laptops for this plan (Hayashi, 2003).  The impact the laptops had on education was what was going to be evaluated.  Education was seen as having three levels: “informal” (consisting of deliberate learning outside of a structured environment), “formal” (structured classroom), and “nonformal” (learning was not necessarily the intention.)

Critically evaluate the sociotechnical plan presented in this paper

            This plan’s hardware and software was the laptops for the children and the software that came installed onto the laptops.  While the OLPC program wanted one per child, there were some instances where children needed to share these assets.  The physical surroundings were the schools, students’ homes, and the way these students traveled between school and home.  Some students used the bus, while others needed to walk across some high-risk areas with their laptops.  There was an actual fear of being robbed because of carrying a laptop (Hayashi, 2003).

            The people that played a big, almost obvious part were the students and teachers.  Parents played a lesser part but were able to assist with their children’s learning and able to join in the joy and pride that comes from completing assignments on the laptop.  Another role that teachers played was that of I.T. professionals.  They were relied on heavily to assist with any issues the laptops displayed.  As the program progressed, peers who were able to get a handle on using the laptop better, became the help other students needed.

            Due to its portability and the students’ ability to learn how to use the laptop and see how well it can be adapted, there were many learning opportunities thanks to the laptop.  These opportunities helped bridge the gap between “informal”, “formal”, and “nonformal” learning.

 

References

ComputingCases.org. (2020). Why a Socio-Technical System? Retrieved from Computing Cases: http://computingcases.org/general_tools/sia/socio_tech_system.html

Copeland, W. (2020, July 14). 11 Best Cheap Laptops for Kids: Your Buying Guide. Retrieved from Heavy.com: https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Best-Cheap-Laptops-for-Kids-2020.jpg?quality=65&strip=all

Hayashi, E. S. (2003). Affectability in educational technologies: A socio-technical perspective for design. . Retrieved from Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 16(1), 57–68.: http://eurydice.nied.unicamp.br/portais/ecoweb/nied/ecoweb/publicacoes/artigos-em-revistas/affectibility-in-educational-technologies-a-socio-technical-perspective-for-design.1.pdf

Jary, S. (2020, November 18). How much screen time is healthy for children? Retrieved from Tech Advisor: https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/digital-home/how-much-screen-time-for-kids-3520917/