What are the key tensions in educational technology (Edtech)?
Summary
This video outlines the key challenges and tensions that have arisen in the higher education sector as it increasingly operates using digital technology, and how these can be used to direct future improvements of digital processes in higher education.
Researcher Profile
Dr Janja Komljenovic, Principal Investigator
Janja Komljenovic is a Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University in the UK. Her research focuses on the political economy of higher education. She is particularly interested in digital markets in higher education, new forms of value in digital education and the EdTech industry, and assetization as a new form of governance. Her approach sits at the intersection of economic sociology, science and technology studies, and higher education research. Janja is published internationally on higher education policy, markets, and educational technology.
Professor Kean Birch, Co-Investigator
Kean Birch is a Professor at York University, Canada. He is particularly interested in understanding technoscientific capitalism and draws on a range of perspectives from science & technology studies, economic geography, and economic sociology to study it. More specifically, his research focuses on the restructuring and transformation of the economy & financial knowledges, technoscience & technoscientific innovation, and the relationship between markets & natural environments. Currently, he is researching how different things (e.g. knowledge, personality, loyalty, etc.) are turned into 'assets' & how economic rents are then captured from those assets - basically, in processes of assetisation and rentiership.
Professor Sam Sellar, Co-Investigator
Sam Sellar is Dean of Research (Education Futures) and Professor of Education Policy at the University of South Australia. Sam’s research focuses on education policy, large-scale assessments and the datafication of education. Sam also works closely with teacher organisations around the world to understand the impact of digitalisation on teacher professional autonomy. His most recent book is titled Algorithms of education: How datafication and artificial intelligence shape policy (University of Minnesota Press), co-authored with Kalervo N. Gulson and P. Taylor Webb.