Education Technology Society

Mar 07 2025 27 ep. 17 mins 21
Education Technology Society Podcast artwork

Casting a critical eye over the world of digital education, education futures and EdTech.

 

Join Neil Selwyn as he talks to experts from around the world committed to new ways of thinking about digital technology and education

  Technology  Education  Science
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The cruel optimism of EdTech

Mar 07 2025 23 mins  
Platforms are now an almost ubiquitous feature of schools. We talk with Lucas Cone (University of Copenhagen) about his work around teachers’ everyday engagements with platforms – in particular the benefits of using affect theory to make sense of teachers’ affiliations and relationships with these clearly problematic technologies. Accompanying reference >>> Lucas Con

What is ‘critical’ in critical studies of edtech?

Feb 08 2025 15 mins  
There is growing interest in critical studies of education and technology. But what does it mean to be ‘critical’ of edtech, and how can this work genuinely make a difference in the world? Felicitas Macgilchrist (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) talks about the need to look beyond claims of transformation and novelty, drawing attention to marginalised forms of edtech,

What do ed-tech policymakers want from academic research?

Jan 28 2025 14 mins  
Academics are increasingly looking to make an impact on policymakers, but critical ed-tech research often seems to fall on deaf ears. In this episode Dr. Cristóbal Cobo – currently a senior ed-tech specialist at a major international organization – talks about the types of evidence that get most attention in policy circles, and some approaches that might help critical research

Reading in the digital age

Jan 11 2025 15 mins  
Digital books are now a common part of education, but concerns are growing around the problems of students reading on-screen. Marte Blikstad-Balas (University of Oslo) discusses the latest research around what it means to read on-screen as opposed to reading from ‘proper’ books, and why government bans on digital devices are not the best response. Accompanying reference >>

Australia thinks that it can ban young people from using social media … we have questions!

Dec 09 2024 17 mins  
The Australian government has just announced that it will ban all young people under the age of 16 from using social media. Dr. Clare Southerton explains the background to this ‘ban’ and what it might mean for students and schools. Recommended reading >>> Lisa Given (2024). Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 just became law. How it will work remains a mys

‘Nudging’ students to do the right thing

Dec 03 2024 20 mins  
Digital technologies are now a key means of ‘nudging’ students (and teachers) to make better decisions. Mathias Decuypere (PHZH) talks about the coming together of behavioural economics thinking and digital education, and how critical ed-tech scholars should be looking for alternate ways of working with this concept of the ‘edunudge’. Accompanying reference >>> Mat

The challenges of studying in the ‘platformised’ university

Nov 23 2024 19 mins  
University life is now increasingly mediated by digital platforms. Joe Noteboom’s research looks at the everyday realities of studying through platforms, and how students’ dependence on these technologies can lead to a number of problems and vulnerabilities. Accompanying reference >>> Joe Noteboom (2024): The student as user: mapping student experiences of platformisat

Raising a generation of techno-skeptical students

Oct 28 2024 19 mins  
Dan Krutka (University of North Texas) is on a mission to support students, teachers and parents to think critically and make informed decisions about the digital tech in their lives. Dan talks about the idea of the ‘Technoskepticism Iceberg’ as a framework to identify the technical, psychosocial and political dimensions of technology. Accompanying reference >>> Pleasa

Students ‘cheating’ with Generative AI

Oct 05 2024 16 mins  
Two years on from the initial panic around Chat GPT and student cheating we catch with Phill Dawson from Deakin’s ‘Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning’. Phill reflects on what universities have got wrong in their responses to GenAI, and why this might be a good time to entirely rethink the notion of student assessment altogether. Accompanying reference >

What’s the problem with Google Classroom?

Sep 12 2024 18 mins  
We talk with Sonia Livingstone (Digital Futures for Children, LSE) about the ways in which EdTech and data protection policies often fail to protect children’s rights at school. In particular we look at Google Classroom as an example of how policymakers, regulators and governments need to intervene more forcibly in the EdTech marketplace. Accompanying reference >>> Livin