Office of Educational Technology Still Up in the Air The topic of a new director for the Office of Educational Technology provided the least amount of discussion. Shelton refused comment on who that person might be, when a name might be released, or even where the position would be placed in the organization. Beginning with the first Director, Linda Roberts under Secretary Richard Riley in the Clinton administration and continuing through John Bailey, Susan Patrick, and Tim Magner under President Bush, this position has always reported directly to the secretary. Rumor in Washington is that the position will report to the assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, Shelton, and not the secretary.
Bill Graziadei, Ph.D. (aka Dr. G) on 29 Oct 08The pace of technological change has challenged historical notions of what counts as knowledge. Dave Cormier describes an alternative to the traditional notion of knowledge. In place of the expert-centered pedagogical planning and publishing cycle, Cormier suggests a rhizomatic model of learning. In the rhizomatic model, knowledge is negotiated, and the learning experience is a social as well as a personal knowledge creation process with mutable goals and constantly negotiated premises. The rhizome metaphor, which represents a critical leap in coping with the loss of a canon against which to compare, judge, and value knowledge, may be particularly apt as a model for disciplines on the bleeding edge where the canon is fluid and knowledge is a moving target.
