Education Technology Society
Education Technology Society casts a critical eye over digital education, education futures, and EdTech. Host Neil Selwyn talks with experts from around the world who are committed to new ways of thinking about digital technology and education. The show examines the social, political, and educational implications of technology in schools and beyond.
Episodes
The vulnerabilities of the digitised school
The past few years have seen growing pushback against the presence of digital technology in schools. Sara Mörtsell (Lund University) talks about her research around the vulnerabilities and fragilities of digital technology use in Swedish schools. Recommended reading >>> Kaun, A., Arnelid, M., Falk, P., Enlund, D., Johnson, E., Mörtsell, S., Sundin, O. & Stiernstedt, F. (2026). Dig
Is Estonia leading the world with school AI?
Estonia’s ‘AI Leap’ initiative is being praised as a world-leading attempt to integrate AI into schools. Emanuele Bardone (University of Tartu) talks about how the Estonian government has been able to take this approach … and why their efforts might not be easy to replicate in other countries. Recommended reading >>> Bardone, E. & Forsler, I. (2026). The Estonian AI leap: navigating
Audrey Watters talks about her book ‘Teaching Machines’ (repeat from 2020)
Audrey Watters is a legendary critical voice in the world of education and technology.We rewind back to 2020 when Audrey caught up with Neil Selwyn to discuss the release of her (now much-praised) book with MIT Press – ‘Teaching Machines: The History of Personalised Learning’.Recommended reading >>> Audrey Watters (2021). Teaching Machines: The History of Personalised Learning. MIT Press
Learning analytics – what do students think?
Learning analytics dashboards and metrics are an increasing presence in higher education. We talk to Hannes Hautz (University of Innsbruck) about his research on students’ mixed reactions to learning analytics, and how we can ensure more equitable and reflective use of student data. Recommended reading >>> Hautz, H. & Lipp, S. (2026). Algorithmic governmentality and student subjectivi
Do schools need to be more careful when using social media?
Schools now make extensive use of social media for communication and self-promotion. We talk to Tiffani Apps (University of Wollongong) about the data justice implications of school social media feeds, and how rights-based approaches can help schools engage with platforms in less harmful ways. Recommended reading >>> Apps, T., Beckman, K., Pawlicka, N. & Kidson, P. (2025). The natu
Does GenAI spell the death of the essay?
GenAI is changing the way that schools and universities think about student assessment. We talk to Thomas Corbin (Deakin University) about the future of the written essay in the era of AI, and how we need to rediscover the original spirit of essays as exploratory engagements with thinking. Recommended reading >>> Corbin, T., Walton, J., Bannister, P. & Deranty, J. (2026). On the essay
Digitally empowered students?
How can students and teachers be supported to get the most out of living with digital tech? Prof. Louise Mifsud (Oslo Met) is leading a new project supporting students’ critical digital literacy. We talk about the need to foster students’ ‘digital empowerment’, and the challenge of carrying out digital literacy projects in school systems facing growing calls to get screens out of classrooms. Accom
Ed-tech as climate criminal?
The environmental harms associated with our tech use are becoming increasingly apparent ... so how should the ed-tech community be responding? Colm O’Neill (South East Technological University) talks about the need to rethink ed-tech in light of its environmental costs, and introduces the intriguing alternative of ‘perma-computing’. Accompanying reference >>> O’Neill, C. (2026). EdTech a
Ed-tech in times of Trump
Education and technology in the US is currently mired in the volatile politics of the second Trump administration. Dr. Morgan Anderson (University of Northern Iowa) reflects on the state of EdTech in the US in 2026, and highlights emerging issues that need our urgent attention. Accompanying reference >>> Anderson, M. (2022). Public education in the digital age: neoliberalism, EdTech, and
An ed-tech tragedy … looking back on the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant turning-point in the history of ed-tech. Mark West (UNESCO) argues that we should look back on COVID remote schooling as an ‘Ed-Tech tragedy’, and use our pandemic experiences to develop radically different visions of digital education. Accompanying reference >>> West, M. (2025). An Ed-Tech tragedy? Educational technologies and school closures in th
The ethics of AI in education
There is growing talk about ‘AI ethics’ in education. We talk to Michał Wieczorek (University College Dublin) about how to think about tech ethics in a philosophically-grounded manner, and how much of the current push for AI in education is ethically questionable. Accompanying reference >>> Wieczorek, M., Hosseini, M., & Gordijn, B. (2025). Unpacking the ethics of using AI in primary
Agentic AI and education
Carlo Perrotta (University of Oxford) was researching GenAI in education long before it hit the headlines. We talk about the latest hype around ‘Agentic AI’ and whether this is genuinely a game-changer or simply a desperate attempt to sustain the GenAI hype bubble. Accompanying reference >>> Perrotta, C. (2024). Plug-and-play education: Knowledge and learning in the age of platforms and
Are we seeing a digital backlash in education?
Efforts are growing in many countries to get devices out of classrooms and push for a general ‘de-digitisation’ of education. Ingrid Forsler (Södertörn University) talks about recent developments in Sweden and how we can make sense of this growing turn against digital education. Accompanying reference >>> Forlser, I. et al. (2025). Hijacking the digital backlash in education. Postdi
Better AI in education … is regulation the answer?
We talk with legal expert Liane Colonna (Stockholm University) about the EU ‘AI Act’ and what it means for the use of AI in education. To what extent can we rely on regulation to enforce safer and more beneficial forms of AI use in education? Accompanying reference >>> Colonna, L. (2025). Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED): Towards More Effective Regulation. European Journal of
What values should be driving the EdTech of the future?
Professor Arathi Sriprakash (University of Oxford) wants us to reimagine edtech along radically different lines. What might digital education look like if it was based around principles of reparation, sovereignty, care and democratisation? Accompanying reference >>> Sriprakash, A., Williamson, B., Facer, K., Pykett, J. & Valladares Celis, C. (2025) Sociodigital futures of education
Why using GenAI in education is ‘pedagogically irresponsible’
Philosopher Gene Flenady (Monash University) has strong reservations about the current push for GenAI into university teaching and learning. If we accept that ChatGPT is an ‘irresponsible bullshitter’ then why is it being welcomed into universities … and what can we do about it? Accompanying reference >>> Flenady, G. & Sparrow, R. (2025). Cut the bullshit: why GenAI systems are neith
Fostering autonomy in the platformised classroom
Niels Kerssens (Utrecht University) joins us to talk about the concept of 'platformisation' that came out of Utecht led by Jose Van Dijck in the 2010s and how this is now coming to bear on the classrooms and schools of 2025. We also talk about Niels’ new concept of ‘digital autonomy innovators’ and the growing demand for more collaborative and non-corporate forms of ed-tech.Accompanying
Should teachers use AI to write emails to parents?
AI tools are now being sold with the promise of doing all sorts of routine tasks for teachers.We talk to Brad Robinson (Texas State University) about one such tool – MagicSchool AI – and the growing temptation for teachers to let GenAI do their work for them.Accompanying reference >>> Robinson, B. & Leander, K. (2025). ‘I hope this email finds you well’: how synthetic affect circulat
Techno-solutionism in education
Why does education keep falling for techno-solutionism, despite the fact that technology does not seem to drastically improve education? Ezechiel Thibaud (The Education University of Hong Kong) guides us through the underpinning causes of techno-solutionism in education and stresses the need to better acknowledge the disappointments of digital education. Accompanying reference >>> Thibau
Schools, datafication and the rise of EdTech ‘intermediaries’
Schools are increasingly reliant on data infrastructures and platforms – leading to the growing significance of various ‘intermediary actors’ now playing key roles in the governance of digital education. Sigrid Hartong (Helmut-Schmidt-University Hamburg) joins us to talk about this fast changing aspect of ed-tech. Accompanying reference >>> Hartong, S., Geiss, M. & Röhl, T. (2024).
Digital disinformation in the age of AI … what can schools do?
The growth of deliberately misleading and false information is one of the big concerns of the 2020s. Professor Olof Sundin (Lund University) has been researching students’ (dis)information literacy since the early 2000s. He joins us to talk about the latest developments in this area – particularly the trend of now using AI to both produce *and* retrieve information. Accompanying reference >>
AI and the digital future(s) of universities
Where are universities going with digitisation and AI, and how does this fit with the views of staff and students? Dr. Magda Pischetola (University of Copenhagen) talks about her recent research into university policymaking around GenAI, and a survey of university teachers’ desired digital futures. Accompanying reference >>> Driessens, O. & Pischetola, M. (2024). Danish university p
Korea is pushing AI into schools … where might this end up?
Last year the Korean government announced its substantial commitment to AI and schools, launching an ‘AI Digital Textbook’ policy that promises to establish AI-driven customised learning across the education system. We are joined by Dr. Jina Ro (Sungkyunkwan University) to make sense of Korea’s recent ed-tech turn, and the wider motivations for investing so heavily in the promise of AI transformin
Getting Google out of Danish schools?
2022 saw a flurry of reports that the Danish Data Protection Agency was ordering schools to stop using Google products over the tech firm’s misuse of students’ personal data. We talk to Emilie Mørch Groth (Aarhus University) to see what has happened since, what this controversy tells us about the digital dependency of the modern welfare state, and the complexities of pushing back against Big Tech
The digital transformation of higher education … for better and for worse
On the face of it, digital technologies are now integral to university teaching and learning. But to what extent have things actually changed … and are these changes wholly positive? Cathrine Tømte (University of Agder) talks about the impacts of digitisation on Norwegian universities, and why teachers and students should perhaps be joining forces to push for radically different technologies. Acc
The cruel optimism of EdTech
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 Cone (2024) Subscribing
What is ‘critical’ in critical studies of edtech?
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, and the power of rag
What do ed-tech policymakers want from academic research?
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 researchers get their message
Reading in the digital age
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 >>> Jensen, R., Roe,
Australia thinks that it can ban young people from using social media … we have questions!
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 mystery. The Conversation,
‘Nudging’ students to do the right thing
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 >>> Mathias Decuypere & Sig
The challenges of studying in the ‘platformised’ university
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 platformisation in higher educa
Raising a generation of techno-skeptical students
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 >>> Pleasants, J., Krutka, D.,
Students ‘cheating’ with Generative AI
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 >>> Bearman, M., T
What’s the problem with Google Classroom?
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 >>> Livingstone, S., Potho
‘Digital natives’ … the concept that refuses to die
Pekka Mertala (University of Oulu) talks about a new exhaustive analysis of nearly 1900 articles that charts the evolving use of the ‘digital native’ concept in academic literature. We talk about the history of the idea of ‘digital natives’, why the persistence of the idea is damaging, and how we need to actively campaign against its future use.** this is the final episode of Season One of ETS ...
Emotion AI in education
Nathalie DiBerardino (Western University) discusses the growing take-up of emotion AI in schools – tech that claims to detect student attention, concentration, and even interest levels. What are the harms of relying on such tech in classrooms, and how might educators and students push back? Accompanying reference >>> DiBerardino, N. & Stark, L. (2023). (Anti)-Intentional Harms: The
Banning mobile phones from schools
Jack Reed (University of Exeter) talks about the recent UK government push to ban mobile phones from schools in England. He fills us in on the motivations of UK politicians, why phone bans need to seen as a human rights issue, and the benefits of taking a postdigital approach to thinking about technology and education.Accompanying reference >>> Reed, J. & Dunn, C. (2024). Postdigit
Digital technologies in early childhood education
Antti Paakkari (Tampere University) talks about his research on digital technologies in Finnish early childhood centres – from digital portfolios to activity trackers. We discuss how these technologies are changing the dynamics between children, educators and parents, and leading to increased assessment of children despite the expectation that early childhood centres are assessment-free. Accompany
Digital technologies and the commercialism of education
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
Is there a place for facial recognition technology in education?
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.
The history of educational computing in Europe
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 age
Is it time to rethink how we teach Digital Citizenship?
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
AI technology in primary classrooms - a Swedish perspective
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 Jour
Why the digital disruption of higher education might be a long time coming …
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-d
The de-digitization of Swedish schools?
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 real
The political and economic agendas behind EdTech
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
AI and education – making sense of the hype
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
AI and education in China
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
Audrey Watters’ ‘Second Breakfast’
Until recently, Audrey Watters was one of the most prominent and prolific critics of digital technology and education – dubbed ‘ed-tech's Cassandra'.Then in 2021, she published a book, quit Twitter, and wound up her highly influential ‘Hack Education’ blog.In this episode, we catch up with Audrey about her new ‘Second Breakfast’ project, and her pivot to writing about fitness technologi
Digitisation of education … what are critical scholars writing about in 2023?
Ben Williamson joins us for a sneak preview of the mammoth 2024 World Yearbook of Education with eighteen new chapters themed around “Digitalization of Education in the Era of Algorithms, Automation and Artificial Intelligence.”Accompanying reference >> Ben Williamson, Janja Komljenovic, Kalervo Gulson (eds) (2024) World Yearbook of Education 2024: Digitalisation of Education in the Era o
Season 1 - Trailer
Advance warning of ‘Education Technology Society’ … a new podcast about digital education and education futures.This is a place to catch up with the latest ideas, arguments and work coming out of the critical studies of education and technology.We will be releasing episodes from Sept 2023, so FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to this show from the podcast platform of your choice.See you very soon!
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