Jul 19, 2021
Audrey Watters' new book, Teaching Machines, tells the story of how
two academics, Sidney Pressey in the 1920s and B.F. Skinner in the
1950s, attempted to develop and market mechanical devices for
learning. John talks to Audrey about the book and explores the
reasons why both of these pioneers of pre-computer learning
technology, ultimately, failed.
In the book Audrey Watters, who describes herself as 'an education
writer, an independent scholar, a serial dropout, a rabble-rouser,
and ed-tech's Cassandra', also draws comparisons with today's
technologists, and sees the pervasive influence of B.F. Skinner at
work in their attempts to use personalization as a means of
control.
00:00 - Intro
03:06 - B. F. Skinner and his teaching machine
08:30 - Sidney Pressey’s teaching machine, 1920s
18:38 - Did B.F. Skinner really raise his daughter in a
box
21:50 - Why has personalization of education not happened?
28:06 - What technologists get wrong about education
39:03 - What has been her personal journey in learning?
The Book: Teaching Machines: The History of Personalized
Learning https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/teaching-machines
Follow Audrey
Twitter: @audreywatters
Website: http://audreywatters.com/
Contact John Helmer
Twitter: @johnhelmer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/
Website: http://johnhelmerconsulting.com/
Download the new white paper from Learning Pool written by
John Helmer & Ben Betts – Suite Dreams: The Past, Present and
Future of Learning Systems
https://learningpool.com/suite-dreams/