Comments on: Posthuman Pedagogy

By: Grace Elliott

Grace Elliott — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:27:15 +0000

Hi Daniel,
I hadn’t heard of autopoiesis either and need more than one reading for it to sink in. I found the virtual hallucination example interesting (I’m only now being able to access links). I agree with you, that we can relate better to something we experience. There is so much potential…. maybe then I’ll be able to think like an octopus and you can think like skynet.

By: Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:46:00 +0000

Thanks for the tip about Autopoiesis, I hadn’t heard of it before. Fascinating stuff, I look forward to digging deeper. Your question about an AR scenario made me pause… I’d been thinking of AR for use in teaching very traditional topics and in very practical terms, much like Streetmusuem:Londinium or Ania’s BMW example; but really it can be so much more than that. I’m reminded of the, by now famous, Virtual Hallucinations example in second life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s33Y5nI5Wbc

Imagine how much more effective this would be if experienced through AR? The incredible potential of AR is that it brings the unreal into the real world, rather than with VR where we move from the real world into the unreal. The benefit here of course is that we experience something we can relate far more easily to.

By: Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:35:24 +0000

Hi Grace,
I took a look online for The Intergalactic Omniglot, and you are right! It’s practically a prototype for computer assisted learning. Very prescient! Cheers.

By: Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:33:11 +0000

Thanks for the link Ania,
That’s a perfect example! Imagine when this becomes mainstream and we can fix a leaky pipe using the same method! Suddenly everyone is an expert in everything.

By: Grace Elliott

Grace Elliott — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:37:32 +0000

Hi Daniel,

Augmented Reality sounds so exciting. Being able to bring things to life, so to speak, is invaluable for use in education. For some reason after reading your blog I made a connection with a book my daughters enjoyed when they were younger. It was called The Intergalactic Omniglot. This was a device that allowed the user to understand any language in the world and outerspace. I always thought that was such a great idea. I enjoyed your blog and found it so informative.

By: Jeremy Keith Knox

Jeremy Keith Knox — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:41:39 +0000

I think there is some great potential for augmented reality systems in education, particularly projects which involve mobile devices. With reference to your initial point about the nature of shared reality, I like the way that AR appears to problematise the distinctions between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’, and seems to emphasise the idea that individual perception is a kind of ‘meta data’ that alters the observable. I wonder, if you could design an educational augmented reality scenario, what kind of thing do you think you might come up with?

You may be aware that some of the posthuman literature, particularly Katherine Hayles and Cary Wolfe, discuss autopoiesis, via the systems theory of Maturana and Varela, in relation to posthumanism. Essentially, autopoiesis defines a closed system which perceives the external world as a kind of metaphor; an ‘actual’ from a wider horizon of possibility, a particular pattern from noise. So, wherever there is an ‘actual’, there is simultaneously a broader potential, and these two coexist. Autopoiesis might be a way you can further explore the posthuman dimensions of AR.

By: Ania Rolińska

Ania Rolińska — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:32:22 +0000

I was blown away by the way BMW is experimenting with AR to assist their staff in highly technical work. A video to watch http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/service/augmented_reality_introduction_1.html
Great choice of the task, Daniel!

By: Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:42:38 +0000

Thanks Austin,
Yes AR is really maturing as a usable consumer technology now! And I definitely agree that the layer of meta data can only grow and become more important over time. We are really on the verge of something amazing happening in this space… it’s going to be exciting to watch the developments.

By: Austin Tate

Austin Tate — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:46:08 +0000

Daniel, I think Augmented Reality is a great choice to illustrate the posthuman pedagogy possibilities. AR augments the human sensors and reach, so we can argue it gives additional facilities beyond the unaided human,. And the examples you quote like the Londinium app show some of the education potential. The provision of meta data about places, objects and people around you through AR I think will be a big thing. And as you say it will be accessible to a lot of people via simple devices they may already carry like a mobile phone.