Mark Warschauer
Encyclopedia
Mark Warschauer is a Professor in the Department of Education and the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, director of UCI's Ph.D. in Education program, and founding director of UCI's Digital Learning Lab. He is the author or editor of eight books and more than 100 scholarly papers on topics related to technology use for language and literacy development, education, and social inclusion
. He is also known for forgetting his infant son in his car, resulting in the child' death.
Warschauer was among the first scholars to recognize the potential of new online technologies for fostering increased learning opportunities for second language
learners. His several books on the topic, including Internet for English Teaching, Virtual Connections, Telecollaboration in Foreign Language Learning, and Network-Based Language Teaching, attracted the attention of second and foreign language
teachers and researchers around the world. In these books, Warschauer critiqued previous views of computer-assisted language learning
, which often emphasized tutorials of grammar and vocabulary, and instead articulated a vision of global citizenship
and agency through online communication and research.
Warschauer expanded this vision with his book Electronic Literacy: Language, Culture, and Power in Online Education. This book focused on two themes that became prominent in his career: the particular skills and competency involved in becoming literate in the digital age, and the impact of this digital literacy
on overcoming the marginalization of culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
Warschauer’s book Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide, and his numerous articles on the same topic, including one in Scientific American
, critiqued the traditional view of the digital divide as focused narrowly on hardware and software, and instead illustrated how social relation
s, human capital
, culture and language were all critical for shaping people’s access to and use of new information and communication technologies
. The book was based on Warschauer’s research on technology, education, and social development projects in Egypt
, Brazil
, China
, India
, and the U.S.
Warschauer’s most recent area of research focuses on laptop
s in education. His book, Laptops and Literacy: Learning in the Wireless Classroom analyzes how students learn to read, write, think, conduct research, and produce media in the laptop classroom. Though mostly a positive account, it includes enough negative examples to illustrate a point central to all of Warschauer’s work, that of technology as intellectual and social amplifier. In this case, laptops were demonstrated to help good schools become better, but only exacerbated problems in troubled schools.
, where he published several of his early books and also organized two seminal international symposia on technology and language learning
. While at the University of Hawaii, Warschauer also founded and edited Language Learning & Technology, one of the first peer-reviewed
academic journal
s published on the World Wide Web.
Following Hawaii, Warschauer took a position as director of educational technology
on a large language education
US aid project in Egypt. Warschauer’s work in Egypt, which he wrote about extensively, also served as a basis for his publications on the digital divide.
Since 2001, Warschauer has been a professor in the Department of Education and the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine
, where he also contributes to the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations and the Ada Byron Research Center for Diversity in Computing and Information Technology. Warschauer is the founding director of the PhD in Education program at UC Irvine, one of the few graduate programs
in the U.S. that includes a specialization in Language, Literacy, and Technology.
, cultural studies
, communication, sociology, and information studies. He has been a keynote speaker
at conferences in education and applied linguistics
throughout the world.
. Only 10 months old, "Mikey" had died of heat stroke
. Warschauer told police he had intended to take Mikey to a day care center
before going to his office, but had simply forgotten the boy was with him. Two months later prosecutors announced that they would not pursue criminal charges against Mark Warschauer, ruling the boy's death accidental. Following the tragic event, Warschauer became active in groups educating parents about children's safety in and around cars. He and his wife went on to have three subsequent children.
Social exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
. He is also known for forgetting his infant son in his car, resulting in the child' death.
Intellectual contribution
Warschauer’s contributions fall in four areas:- technology and language learning,
- technology and literacy,
- the digital divideDigital divideThe Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
, and - laptops in education.
Warschauer was among the first scholars to recognize the potential of new online technologies for fostering increased learning opportunities for second language
Second language
A second language or L2 is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas ....
learners. His several books on the topic, including Internet for English Teaching, Virtual Connections, Telecollaboration in Foreign Language Learning, and Network-Based Language Teaching, attracted the attention of second and foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
teachers and researchers around the world. In these books, Warschauer critiqued previous views of computer-assisted language learning
Computer-assisted language learning
Computer-assisted language learning is succinctly defined in a seminal work by Levy as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning"...
, which often emphasized tutorials of grammar and vocabulary, and instead articulated a vision of global citizenship
Global citizenship
Global citizenship applies the whole world to bring world peace and the concept of citizenship to a global level and is strongly connected with the concepts of globalization and cosmopolitanism. World citizenship is a term which can be distinguished from global citizenship, although some may merge...
and agency through online communication and research.
Warschauer expanded this vision with his book Electronic Literacy: Language, Culture, and Power in Online Education. This book focused on two themes that became prominent in his career: the particular skills and competency involved in becoming literate in the digital age, and the impact of this digital literacy
Digital literacy
Digital literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Further, digital literacy involves a consciousness of the...
on overcoming the marginalization of culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
Warschauer’s book Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide, and his numerous articles on the same topic, including one in Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, critiqued the traditional view of the digital divide as focused narrowly on hardware and software, and instead illustrated how social relation
Social relation
In social science, a social relation or social interaction refers to a relationship between two , three or more individuals . Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of the social structure. To this extent social relations are always the basic object of analysis for social...
s, human capital
Human capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
, culture and language were all critical for shaping people’s access to and use of new information and communication technologies
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. The book was based on Warschauer’s research on technology, education, and social development projects in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and the U.S.
Warschauer’s most recent area of research focuses on laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s in education. His book, Laptops and Literacy: Learning in the Wireless Classroom analyzes how students learn to read, write, think, conduct research, and produce media in the laptop classroom. Though mostly a positive account, it includes enough negative examples to illustrate a point central to all of Warschauer’s work, that of technology as intellectual and social amplifier. In this case, laptops were demonstrated to help good schools become better, but only exacerbated problems in troubled schools.
Background
Warschauer served as a faculty researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of HawaiiUniversity of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, where he published several of his early books and also organized two seminal international symposia on technology and language learning
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...
. While at the University of Hawaii, Warschauer also founded and edited Language Learning & Technology, one of the first peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s published on the World Wide Web.
Following Hawaii, Warschauer took a position as director of educational technology
Educational technology
Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and...
on a large language education
Language education
Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
US aid project in Egypt. Warschauer’s work in Egypt, which he wrote about extensively, also served as a basis for his publications on the digital divide.
Since 2001, Warschauer has been a professor in the Department of Education and the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, where he also contributes to the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations and the Ada Byron Research Center for Diversity in Computing and Information Technology. Warschauer is the founding director of the PhD in Education program at UC Irvine, one of the few graduate programs
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
in the U.S. that includes a specialization in Language, Literacy, and Technology.
Recognition
Warschauer was the recipient in 1998 of the Educational Testing Service/TOEFL Policy Council Award for outstanding international contribution in the field of technology and language learning. His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese and have been critically acclaimed in fields as diverse as education, media studiesMedia studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
, cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
, communication, sociology, and information studies. He has been a keynote speaker
Keynote
A keynote in literature, music, or public speaking establishes the principal underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address...
at conferences in education and applied linguistics
Applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems...
throughout the world.
Loss of his son
On August 8, 2003, the body of Mark Warschauer's first son Michael was discovered in the backseat of Warschauer's car in the UC Irvine parking lotParking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
. Only 10 months old, "Mikey" had died of heat stroke
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate...
. Warschauer told police he had intended to take Mikey to a day care center
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
before going to his office, but had simply forgotten the boy was with him. Two months later prosecutors announced that they would not pursue criminal charges against Mark Warschauer, ruling the boy's death accidental. Following the tragic event, Warschauer became active in groups educating parents about children's safety in and around cars. He and his wife went on to have three subsequent children.
Authored and co-authored books
- Warschauer, M. (2006). Laptops and literacy. New York: Teachers College Press.
- Warschauer, M. (2003). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Warschauer, M. (1999). Electronic literacies: Language, culture, and power in online education. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Warschauer, M. (1995). E-mail for English teaching: Bringing the Internet and computer learning networks into the language classroom. Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
: TESOL Publications. - Warschauer, M, Shetzer, H. & Meloni, C. (2000). Internet for English Teaching. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Publications.
Edited and co-edited books
- Warschauer, M., & Kern, R. (Eds.). (2000). Network-based language teaching: Concepts and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Applied Linguistics Series.
- Warschauer, M. (Ed.) (1996) Telecollaboration in foreign language learning. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center.
- Warschauer, M. (Ed.) (1995).Virtual connections: Online activities and projects for networking language learners. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center