Education Technology Society

Faith Boninger talks about how digital technologies are increasingly implicated in the commercialism of education.  We talk about Faith’s involvement in the long-running NEPC reports on virtual high schools, the NEPC’s fight against personalised learning systems, and why tech companies have an insatiable urge to ‘fix’ education.  Accompanying link >> The National Education Policy Centre at  the University of Colorado

Recent reports of facial recognition technology being developed for use in US classrooms has attracted widespread criticism. We talk to Charles Logan (Northwestern University) about the problems that facial recognition poses for students and educators. >>> Accompanying reference:   Inside Higher Education (2024). Facial Recognition Heads to Class. Will Students Benefit?   Feb 27th.

Michael Geiss (Zurich University of Teacher Education) talks about a new edited book looking at how computers came into European schools from the 1960s to 1990s. We talk about the importance of ‘pioneer’ teachers in paving the way for EdTech markets to develop, why critical scholars need to ‘follow the money’ while also paying more attention to national political structures, and why the EdTech agendas of international organisations like OECD shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Accompanying reference >>  Carmen Flury and Michael Geiss  (2023).  How computers entered the classroom, 1960-2000: historical perspectives. Degruyter  (free to download)

Jack Webster (University of Auckland) talks about the need to update how schools teach the topic of ‘Digital Citizenship’, and how post-digital thinking might revitalise this often-overlooked aspect of digital education. Accompanying reference >>  Jack Webster (2024).  Updating Digital Citizenship Education for a Postdigital Society. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-023-00305-3 

Katerina Sperling (Linköping University) talks about her ongoing research into the realities of AI use in Swedish primary classrooms.   Accompanying reference >>   Katarina Sperling, Linnéa Stenliden, Jörgen Nissen, Fredrik Heintz (2022).  Still w(AI)ting for the automation of teaching: An exploration of machine learning in Swedish primary education using Actor-Network Theory.  European Journal of Education, 57(4):584-600  https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12526

Claire Murray (University of South Australia) talks about research looking at the claims made by EdTech companies and investors about the ‘digital disruption’ of universities.She talks about how the EdTech sector is limited by its focus on the economic value of higher education and promises of enhanced efficiency, acceleration and scalability.In contrast to promises of micro-credentials and nano-degrees, Claire’s work suggests that elite institutions, students and families continue to value the social and cultural capital that comes from the traditional mode of four year degrees and face-to-face tuition. So, unlike ride-sharing, TV viewing and music listening, might higher education markets be structurally distinctive … and potentially resistant to disruptive innovationAccompanying reference >>   ‘Universities and Unicorns’ project website

In August 2023, the Swedish education minister Lotta Edholm surprised many people by announcing her government’s intention to reverse the country’s previous bold commitment to the digitisation of schools. With more details now emerging of an official commitment to textbooks, hand-writing and other ‘analogue’ methods, we catch up Prof. Anna-Lena Godhe (Jönköping University) to find out what is really going on … and whether this is the beginning of an international political backlash against digital technology in the classroom. Additional reading >>  The Guardian (Sept 2023).  Switching off: Sweden says back-to-basics schooling works on paper

In this episode, Dr. Lulu Shi (University of Oxford) talks about the her new research around the economic and political agendas of tech firms and policymakers driving the digitalisation of education in the UK. Lulu’s work is already raising interesting findings. Amongst other things, we talk about the influence of effective altruism on UK government thinking around tech, and the ambitions of firms such as Duolingo to profit from testing and accreditation.Accompanying material >>   More information on Lulu’s research and career to date

Wayne Holmes (UCL) has been working around AI and education *long* before it became fashionable! In this episode, Wayne looks back over the recent hype around Chat GPT and generative AI and offers some suggestions of where the field of AI and education might be heading next. We also get up to speed on how international organisations such as UNESCO, OECD, the EU and Council of Europe are beginning to push distinct agendas around AI and education.Accompanying reference >>   Wayne Holmes & Ilkka Tuomi (2022). State of the art and practice in AI in education. European Journal of Education, 57:542–570  DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12533

Reports of ‘what China is doing’ are a key part of the hype around AI and education in Western countries.But how is AI actually being developed in China, and how can we make sense of the complex politics, history and culture of Chinese education?In this episode we hear from Jeremy Knox (University of Oxford) about his recent book ‘AI and education in China’. Accompanying reference >>  Jeremy Knox (2023).  AI and Education in China: Imagining the Future, Excavating the Past. Routledge  https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003375135