Demands for knowledge have increased in the 21st century,
prompting the adoption of transformations in the system to help change
the way people live. The book
The author uses the better part of chapter two to introduce various important terms that are considered critical to addressing the connection between education reforms and knowledge transformation. Knowledge, knowledge transformation, and knowledge form are the main terms defined in this chapter. Ideally, the author notes that people are conversant with what knowledge is but know little about knowledge transformation and knowledge form. Knowledge form is equated to the standpoint or view of knowledge that different people have. For instance, some people have the view that “knowledge is power,” while others believe that “knowledge is objective.” The bottom line is that these concepts deepen on each other; they interact and promote each other. They also serve as conditions for each other while endorsing advancements, developments, and the success of human society. Knowledge transformation has been influential on social transformation, as people’s way of life and social identity are determined by the knowledge they possess. The careers that people practice are grounded in the knowledge and education they have on the field, which determines the social class they belong to in terms of the social problems they are likely to encounter. The author has asked several questions to understand education reforms and their relationship with knowledge transformation. Some of the questions include, but are not limited to, “What new demands for knowledge should be embraced by the new development of society and the individual? It must reflect anew on such questions: What kind of knowledge has more educational values? How do I obtain the knowledge as such for the sake of educational significance? What roles should teachers and students play in the activities of such knowledge, and on what epistemological basis? What kind of new teaching mode, particularly the mode of teaching assessment, should be developed in accordance with the new demands for knowledge?” (28).
The book mentions the major forms of human knowledge that are believed to have existed since humans came into existence. The first knowledge form that humans experienced was the primitive knowledge form. However, it is difficult to determine how it was acquired as there is no evidence and their knowledge is “mythical” and not “experiential.” The second is the ancient knowledge form, which the authors state is "metaphysical,” and it ushered in the modern knowledge form that is common in western countries. The author faults the previous scholars for not studying the stages of the progression of human knowledge but instead focusing on its enlargement by amount. This fact results in the overlapping of current and previous knowledge, creating the impression that the progression of knowledge has been constant or less important to understand. Based on these facts, this chapter tries to illustrate the stages of the progression of human knowledge throughout human civilization. The author presents the history of human knowledge forms and categorizes them in four main stages spanning from ancient times to today: primitive knowledge form, modern knowledge form, ancient knowledge form, and postmodern knowledge form. The chapter analyzes the features and power of these four forms in order to bring to light the process human knowledge has undergone since its inception.
The author also talks about the connection between the changes in the features of postmodern knowledge and education reforms, as the previous shortcomings influence the future. The major purposes of education are to control and influence individuals and society’s development. Although education influences individuals’ development, the content and direction of development are regulated by economic, social, cultural, and political factors (Kehdinga and Rahming 2017). On the other hand, society’s development relies on the qualities of particular individuals and specifications. The book does not consider qualities of knowledge as specific knowledge like folk knowledge, historical knowledge, or mythical knowledge but as general features of all kinds of knowledge regarded as the features shared by all forms of knowledge surpassing the distinctions amongst their specific spheres, disseminating modes, stating modes, and so on. According to the author, a period or individual perspective of the features of knowledge contributes to their main perspective of knowledge. In this case, the alteration of knowledge results in a change in the views on knowledge in a specific period or an individual influencing their entire intellectual life, spanning from their statement, defense, production, control of knowledge, and judgment.
The change in knowledge-increasing modes and education reform differs among different eras. According to the authors, in the modern era, individuals have a common belief about how knowledge increases. This is evident when the author states that some of the beliefs among modern-era individuals are that “knowledge increase is promoted by some intellectuals or scientists in each sphere,” “knowledge increase is the result of people’s constant observations and experiments.” “Knowledge increase is the result of the work of the intellectuals and scientists in each sphere, and there is not a smooth avenue to science” (147). The author discusses the philosophical stands on the knowledge increase, with Locke disagreeing with the traditional ideas about knowledge and methods of acquiring it. Locke states that the external world is the source of knowledge, and people should preserve ideas emanating from the outside world. The ideas are proposed to be preserved in the mind. The author proposes changes that should be adopted to promote the change of the knowledge-increasing mode and education reforms. One of the changes is to help students understand the importance of acquiring fundamental knowledge and methods as well as emphasize the development of their critical, cooperative, and comprehensive awareness about the knowledge they are acquiring. The other change proposed is in the curriculum, which should be precise, comprehensive, and artistic. The change will help students learn everything included in the curriculum and grasp all the information presented therein. The author also proposes changes to the teaching style, where reflective and cooperative teaching should be adopted. These teaching techniques help teachers determine whether the lesson was understood, and students communicate with their educators through questions and answers. Such teaching techniques ensure knowledge is effectively grasped. The research by Gillies (2015) agrees that there is a need for teaching strategies to be changed, citing palliative coping strategies as ineffective.
The book is significant for different groups as it contains information that can be used to make changes in various sectors. First, the book can be read by educators as it informs them about the changes they should adapt to ensure students are educated in a way that they become knowledgeable. For instance, it informs them about changes in curriculum structure and content, as well as teaching strategies. Educators can also use the information presented in the book to determine the changes that have taken place in knowledge acquisition and education and the way they should adopt them. The book is also significant to society as it shows them the way their cultural and social aspects can be influenced by educational reforms, where they can encounter both positive and negative implications. Society can also understand how knowledge transformation and education reforms have contributed to the grouping of social classes among different individuals. Most importantly, the book is a good academic source that can be used by scholars studying the same topic, as it has offered detailed explanations about different aspects. It will help scholars grasp information on the historical perspective of knowledge transformation and education from the primitive era to the pre- and post-modern eras.
School of Marxism, Changchun Sci-Tech University.
Email: 15981076094@163.com
This work was supported by the 2023 Jilin Province Higher Education Research Project, A Study on the Effectiveness of Ideological and Political Education for Private College Students from the Perspective of "Great Ideological and Political Education", Project number: JGJX2023D842.
The idealist philosopher Henri - Frédéric Amiel (1821 – 1881) maintained – and he was not wrong – that intelligence is useful for everything, but sufficient for nothing.
In the 21st century, however, with the arrival of the Information Society and Artificial Intelligence -AI-, it may be necessary to reconsider this reflection, since there is no aspect that the latter does not cover, although it may not always be truly effective, given its current limitations.
The arrival of this technology represents a profound revolution in every sense, being of special relevance in the pedagogical sector, where it threatens to shake the fundamental pillars of the educational system, not only by autonomously generating content that must be critically reviewed, but also by allowing itself the luxury of calling into question the very figure of the teacher, whose work is already beginning to be questioned by some experts and authoritative voices in the field.
In this sense, the analysis of the work that is the subject of this
review,
Thus, the first three chapters, aimed at the reader´s initial contact
with the concept, technical specifications and basic forms of practical
use of chatbots, in particular ChatGPT, do nothing but familiarize us,
in a very accessible way, with notions such as
However, the greatest appeal of the text lies in its final chapters, especially the fourth and sixth, which cover, to begin with, the moral implications and risks arising from the didactic use of this type of resources in university classrooms, more specifically: misinformation based on hoaxes or the existence of a large amount of AI-generated material that does not show its authorship and also does not include solid reference sources that allow its veracity to be effectively contrasted. In this way, it seems quite evident that the adoption of these instruments in higher education can indeed be an opportunity, but it is highly conditioned by the different educational, cultural and institutional contexts that we can currently find in our society, and that is something that cannot be ignored.
It is worth highlighting, for example, the importance of ethics in
relation to policies and strategies for generating ideas, something that
both teachers and students must assume in order to guarantee academic
and scientific honesty and integrity. And it is also necessary that
large
Despite this reality, the authors clearly advocate experimenting with the educational possibilities of chatbots with responsibility, open - mindedness towards uncertainty, and avoiding supervising students. The answer lies in providing information in an effective and controlled way, but with useful learnings that promote the construction of meaningful, contextualized and complex knowledge. That is the first step towards a much more promising future…
The book "Childhood and the Digital Transformation of Education: Diverse Perspectives" examines certain approaches and relevant questions in order to present a series of reflections and suggestions that facilitate the formulation of an appropriate understanding regarding the meaning and importance of digital educational resources in educational work. The purpose of the book is to analyze these concerns and offer reflections and proposals that help to understand the sense and significance of digital technologies in educational practice.
The importance of this book is emphasized for researchers, pre-service teachers, and families wishing to delve deeper into the topic, as well as for those seeking practical examples of how to effectively utilize digital educational resources in classrooms.
The work follows a discourse and structure typical of a research paper and is organized into two main sections: "Food for Thought," which provides reflections on early childhood education in the digital age, and "Hands-on Practice," which presents examples of valuable practices related to the appropriate use of resources in the early childhood education stage.
In the first part of the book, "Food for Thought: Early Childhood Education in the Maze of the Digital Society," a profound and reflective look is provided on the relationship between digital technologies, childhood, and early childhood education. The significant increase in the presence of these technologies in both the school and home environments is highlighted, as well as the adoption of educational policies to regulate their use. Furthermore, the growth in the sale of digital resources and educational discourses addressing upbringing in a consumerist culture is noted.
The book highlights the lack of understanding regarding the importance of digital competence in early childhood education, both among families and educators. Despite children being immersed in the digital age, the responsibility falls on adults to mitigate the risks. For this reason, within the educational realm, there is an emphasis on the need for more reflective and critical training for teachers, as well as the implementation of educational projects that explicitly consider the use of technologies. Likewise, various opinions regarding the use of digital technologies in childhood are mentioned, ranging from advocating for their inclusion in early childhood education classrooms to rejecting their use before the primary education stage.
The second part of the book, "Hands-on Practice: Experiences of Digital Education in Childhood," is particularly interesting as it proposes, across ten chapters, strategies aimed at the optimal utilization of resources in early childhood education. All of these strategies constitute a fundamental pillar in the development of educational environments that strive for effectiveness and richness in student formation. They are strategies that make it possible to optimize the use of tangible and intangible resources, such as didactic materials, pedagogical tools, and educational technologies, with the purpose of fostering meaningful learning.
Among the proposals, it is worth mentioning the incorporation of educational robotics from a programming perspective for learning, which represents a liberating approach in education, going beyond mere traditional literacy. This approach enables students to understand and actively participate in the digital world in a critical and responsible manner.
Furthermore, it provides concrete examples of how to apply other innovative approaches in educational practice. These include the use of online training courses aimed at both teachers and families, the employment of video games for educational purposes, and the analysis of television series with pedagogical content. These practical examples illustrate how the mentioned resources can be effectively integrated into the educational environment to enhance the learning and development of early childhood education.
Therefore, reading the book "Childhood and the Digital Transformation of Education: Diverse Perspectives" is an essential requirement for individuals committed to the integration and efficient application of technologies in the educational sphere. Given the increasing relevance of digital tools in the teaching and learning process, this book not only constitutes recommended reading but also an indispensable resource for those aspiring to understand the complexities, implications, and potential benefits of this digital transformation in the educational context.