The “Dystopian Visions” course was inspired by a class I took while earning my master’s degree in instructional technology at Virginia Tech (I was an English teacher at the time). I needed to take an elective, and I preferred to do it online if possible (mind you, online courses were relatively new in the summer of 1998, so this was a bit of an experiment for me). I learned that the English department was offering an online course in Cyberpunk fiction, so I jumped at the chance. I know we read Gibson’s The Neuromancer and Stephenson’s Snow Crash, but beyond that I don’t remember much about the class except that I enjoyed the readings.
For some time now, I’ve wanted to “get back to my roots” (as an English major). This past fall (2023), knowing that our department didn’t have many electives available in Summer 2024, I began to think about what I might do that would be enjoyable for me and our students. My first idea as a course specifically about dystopian literature and educational technologies. When I pitched the idea to my department chairperson, she recommended that I try to include “artificial intelligence” more specifically in the title (as we have a new certificate in AI & education in the College of Ed.). I agreed to this idea even though I am as new to generative A.I. in its various iterations as most people are. Furthermore, I realized that “dystopian literature” was far too limiting given that some many other types of visions (film, streaming shows, etc.) exist. Thus – the genesis of “Dystopian Visions, AI, and Education.”
As I noted, I do not claim to be an expert in AI and, like anyone with an interest in it, I’m constantly learning. Additionally, despite having been an English major and teacher, I’m not an expert in dystopian fiction – either written or media – but I know that I LOVE the genre. And even though I’ve been a professional educator since 1994, an “ed tech” professional for almost 25 years, and a professor of Ed Tech since 2008, I’m not sure that I’m an expert in education either … there are so many dimensions of this field. The good news is that I believe any course is an opportunity for the instructor and the students to learn together, and I also believe it’s not the professor’s task – especially in graduate education – to be the center of knowledge. I think my main task is to provide create some interesting activities and questions, to listen to perspectives, and to offer encouragement and challenges along the way.
Finally, I have to admit to some biases. Although I’ve been in the field of ed tech for a long time, and although I understand the value of various technologies for some purposes, I am not a “flag waiver.” In fact, I find myself quite skeptical about any claims about ed tech because in very many cases, the science is poor, and the data are suspect. This is not to say that the usefulness of anything needs to come down to what empirical studies say – because in some cases the anecdotal evidence among teachers “in the trenches” is enough if they believe certain tools are “making a difference” (however they define it). I don’t believe those insights rise to the level of an organization making systems decisions for (or against) technologies, but typically that never happens … it’s rather more common to find administrators who’ve been convinced by the narrative of vendor. A great many of the promises made about any technology (such as A.I.) with respect to how it gets implemented in an educational context tend to be hyperbolic and completely ignore a long history of expensive failures, the tendency to widen the “digital divide,” a demonstrable record of dismissing the experience of teachers, no end to assumptions about learners, and so on. With respect to A.I. specifically, my bias at this time is that I see a dark future ahead – hence the reason this course is about dystopian visions and not utopian ones.