{"title":"Digital technology as a trigger for learning: promises and realities","authors":"Juana M. Sancho -Gil","doi":"10.1344/der.2020.37.195-207","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In the last fitty years, the remarkable development of digital technology, that has permeated practically all social, economic and cultural, political and technological realms is producing several phenomena that have a direct impact in education. In this paper, I discuss first, the fact that more and more we refer to digital technology as just ‘technology”, as if the rest of the many organizational, symbolic, artefactual and biotechnological developments were something “natural”. Second, I refer to the rise and spread of technological solutionism in education and a growing discourse that sees every new digital technology as the arrival of the Promised Land, as the panacea to solve the problems of education. I go on analysing the collateral effects of this discourse in the educational practice, with an especial reference to persuasive technologies and Big Data. The article concludes with the request and the need for researchers, practitioners and education policy makers to avoid the temptation to solve a deeply \"wicked\" problem such as education with simple solutions.","PeriodicalId":44576,"journal":{"name":"Digital Education Review","volume":"1 1","pages":"195-207"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2020-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Digital Education Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2020.37.195-207","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
In the last fitty years, the remarkable development of digital technology, that has permeated practically all social, economic and cultural, political and technological realms is producing several phenomena that have a direct impact in education. In this paper, I discuss first, the fact that more and more we refer to digital technology as just ‘technology”, as if the rest of the many organizational, symbolic, artefactual and biotechnological developments were something “natural”. Second, I refer to the rise and spread of technological solutionism in education and a growing discourse that sees every new digital technology as the arrival of the Promised Land, as the panacea to solve the problems of education. I go on analysing the collateral effects of this discourse in the educational practice, with an especial reference to persuasive technologies and Big Data. The article concludes with the request and the need for researchers, practitioners and education policy makers to avoid the temptation to solve a deeply "wicked" problem such as education with simple solutions.
期刊介绍:
Digital Education Review (DER) is a scientific, open and peer review journal designed as a space for dialogue and reflection about the impact of ICT on education and new emergent forms of teaching and learning in digital environments. It is published half-yearly (June & December) and it includes articles in English or Spanish. ICT plays an important role in education, raising discussions and important new challenges. Analyze the impact of ICT, new forms of literacy and virtual teaching and learning are the main goals of Digital Education Review. The publication is open to all those investigators who wish to propose articles on this subject. Articles admitted include empirical investigations as well as reviews and theoretical reflections. The journal publishes different kinds of articles: Peer Review Articles: articles that have passed the blind review carried out by a group of experts Reviews: short articles about books, software or websides and PhD Guest and Invited Articles: articles approved by the Editorial Board of the journal. DER publishes issues related with its focus and scope and also monographic issues, centered on a specific subject. Both of them are subjected to a peer review process. Finally, this journal is published by the Digital Education Observatory (OED) and Virtual Teaching and Learning Research Group (GREAV) at the Universitat de Barcelona.