Today I’ve had an article published in BERA’s Research Intelligence, as part of a special issue on digital technology in education, guest edited by Dr Laura R. Larke. My article, entitled “COVID-19 as a catalyst for rethinking digital education: A view from Wales” builds upon my recent work on curriculum reform in Wales, linking to the wider challenges and opportunities presented by the onslaught of new technologies entering the education space (for both learners and practitioners).
Technology is changing the way that educators and education researchers work, yet its complexity and opacity make it difficult to know how to protect what is good in current educational practices and to change what isn’t working. While some tools may increase the reach and ease of our work, other practices present troubling questions about personal privacy and consent. Researchers are similarly challenged by the increasing complexity and ubiquity of those tools, used both as objects of study and as mediums of research. This special issue explores these new terrains; alongside my article, the other (excellent) contributors address pressing questions concerning the ethics and morality of how we use these tools, their impact on working conditions and social inequalities, and above all the need for us to recognise the need for growth and change in our research and practice.
List of contributions for this special issue:
- Editorial: “Digital technology in education: Keep pace with innovation” by Laura R. Larke (MIT)
- “COVID-19 as a catalyst for rethinking digital education: A view from Wales” by Tom Crick (Swansea University)
- “Tackling digital exclusion: The role of supportive informal education settings” by Tracey Denton-Calabrese and Ashmita Randhawa (University of Oxford)
- “Digital labour meets the classroom” by Neil Selwyn (Monash University)
- “Researching the use of digital technology in education” by Peter Twining (University of Newcastle, Australia)
- “New digital laboratories of AI-driven learning science, analytics and engineering” by Ben Williamson (University of Edinburgh)
- “AI and lifelong learning” by Rebecca Eynon (University of Oxford)
You can read this special issue of Research Intelligence (Winter 2020/21, Issue 145) online, or access my article via my institutional repository.
(also see: Publications)
Digital, Data & Policy 
The special issue has well articulated some of the issues impacting education during last year. The role of IT and the platforms for virtual meetings have had major influence in this journey. There is need for another issue to address many others of no less importance. And security of tools employed to safeguard privacy and sensitivity of dialogues and engagements that take place over network prone to hacking.