According to wikipedia, pedagogy is the art or science of teaching. [Link]
In a recent conversation with an associate it came to my attention that that the courses I have been teaching in the Center for Faculty Development and Support (CFDS) at San Jose State University on emerging technology have been categorized along with other tech skills courses, like how to use Microsoft Word, Excel and Filemaker Pro. My courses are courses on Emerging Technology, things like: Weblogs, RSS, Wikis and Podcasting. In the CFDS skills courses are considered secondary to pedagogy courses. One professor wrote on my evaluation for my course on wikis, "what does this have to do with pedagogy?"
It is at times like this that I feel like I am hitting my head against a wall. I had a whole part of my presentation on uses of wikis in education and he still didn't get it!
Dear professor, read Cluetrain, read Joe Trippi, read Scoble, read and listen to the Gillmors. This is not about technology, this is because of technology. Making this about technology is like making libraries about printing presses.
This is about political science, this is about journalism, this is about pedagogy and this is about everything else that is potentially changed by the whole new wave of global communications and virtual omnipresence that is afforded by the emergent Internet and enabling devices, services, software, infrastructure and protocols. So, perhaps we need to drop "technology" from our conversations about emerging technology and couple it to things that are more relevant, more important and so much bigger than just mere technology. This is a societal change, a change in the way people relate and communicate with each other and that, dear professor, is very much about pedagogy!
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