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Of MOOCs and Luddites: teaching and the limits of technology
It seems like everyone is talking about MOOCs. According to proponents, massive open online courses will revolutionize higher education and turn traditional academics into the hand weavers (and potential Luddites) of the twenty-first century. But can the efficient delivery of talking heads to far larger audiences than permitted by even the largest lecture halls, all without the geographical constraints of physical buildings, really replace today’s in-person classrooms?
July 2013 / 4 min.
David Noble on “The Religion of Technology”
In The Religion of Technology: The Divinity of Man and the Spirit of Invention, David Noble investigates the Western relationship between religion and technology.
April 2012 / 6 min.
Is everything old new again? Learning from the history of technology
Peter Decherney, Nathan Ensmenger, and Christopher S. Yoo recently published an article, Are Those Who Ignore History Doomed to Repeat it?, on Tim Wu’s book, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires.
March 2012 / 3 min.
Protecting vested interests in the face of new technology: the case of the Charles River Bridge
In the case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 36 U.S. 420 (1837), Justice Roger Taney – most known for his opinion in Dred Scott – decided against the owners and investors in the original bridge over the Charles River in Massachusetts. That bridge had been built by a company granted a charter in 1785 for the […]
February 2012 / 3 min.
On “The Role of Technology in Human Affairs”
In The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, Yochai Benkler discusses his vision of the role of technology in historical change. He rejects an overly deterministic vision of technology (which he connects with Lewis Mumford and Marshall McLuhan), but also rejects a view of technology as immaterial to a society’s direction.
November 2011 / 2 min.
Will legal software replace lawyers?
Software won’t replace lawyers, but it will reduce the demand for certain routine legal services and raise the complexity of litigation. Those without the software will be at a disadvantage. It will also cut into the work of paralegals. But not lawyers.
September 2011 / 2 min.
Access to federal court records gets less free
I had always hoped that PACER-which I hear runs a surplus anyway-would trend downward in price as the cost of delivering electronic access decreases. Instead comes the news that the price will rise by 25%, from 8 to 10 cents per page.
September 2011 / 2 min.
Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus… oh my!
So now we’ve got three-well, more like four-big players in the social networking space: Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn. Add to that a few other common options-the backyard fence, email, telephone, and carrier pigeon-and the choices of where to share the details on your latest (technology) crush appear insurmountably complex.
July 2011 / 5 min.
The tech transfer process: buffering science from commercialism
Technology transfer offices at universities are key players in the process of putting technology to work. They facilitate the sometimes difficult translation of academic discoveries into private, saleable technology. The offices also serve as a buffer between the demands of private enterprise and the Mertonian ideals of the academic “ivory tower,” and the technology transfer process reflects this.
May 2011 / 3 min.
“Open transfer” agreements: mediating industry and universities
Madey v. Duke exposed one conflict when industry and universities work in overlapping areas. The 2002 federal court decision highlighted a problem at the intersection of university and industry goals.
May 2011 / 3 min.