Chair: Julie Hengstler
The Centre for Education & CyberHumanity became a research group in November of 2014 under the auspices of Dean Harry Janzen and the Faculty of Education, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada. The original proposal for the Centre was written by Professors Julia Hengstler and (Dr.) Gail Krivel-Zacks with editing and support from Professor (Dr.) Rachel Moll.
Mission Statement
- The Centre for Education & CyberHumanity1 is a research group dedicated to investigating prosocial2 knowledge, skills, attitudes, perceptions, experience and self-efficacy with regard to the integration of technology into society and the ways in which the education system can support the development of these attributes.
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CyberHumanity is a term developed by J. Hengstler to describe a society where technology is closely interwoven into every day experience. It is a compound word created from “cyber” (referring to the culture of technology) and ‘humanity’ which simultaneously invokes “people” as well as humaneness, civility, ethics and understanding. As such, the term is used to describe a society where people are able to live with and use technology in prosocial ways to support continued human growth and development—a goal that the activities of the research group will help to realize.
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Prosocial is a psychological term “relating to or denoting behaviour which is positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship” (Prosocial, 2014).