Education Technology Society
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- 29 Oct 2026
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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
Épisodes 53
'Screen time' ... the unhelpful concept that won’t go away!
Despite being thoroughly debunked by academics, anxieties around the harmful effects of ‘screen time’ continue to be an inescapable part of debates around children and digital technology. We talk to Dr. Kate …
Notes de l’épisode
Despite being thoroughly debunked by academics, anxieties around the harmful effects of ‘screen time’ continue to be an inescapable part of debates around children and digital technology.
We talk to Dr. Kate Mannell (Deakin University) about her new book ‘Screen time and the impossibility of modern parenting’.
Recommended reading >>> Mannell, K. (2026). Screen time and the impossibility of modern parenting. Routledge
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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). Digital vulnerabilities, Media, Culture & Society, 01634437261446790
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 uncertainty through the production of education futures, Learning, Media and Technology, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2026.2720813
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 subjectivities: a critical examination of learning analytics in higher education. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-17.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 nature of connection: parents’ experiences with school social media. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-16.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 in a time of GenAI. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 58(3):198-210
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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.
Accompanying reference >>> Oslo Met ‘Empowered’ project
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 as climate criminal: Considering the excesses of the ITC sector, and Higher Education’s complicity. Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 the future of our schools. Routledge
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 the time of COVID-19. Routledge
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 and secondary education: a systematic literature review. AI and Ethics, 1-19.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 artificial intelligence. Routledge.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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. Postdigital Science & Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-025-00601-9
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 Risk Regulation, doi:10.1017/err.2025.10039
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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: reparations, sovereignty, care, and democratisation, Oxford Review of Education, 51:4, 561-578
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 neither collaborators nor tutors. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-10.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 reference >>> Kerssens, N. & van Es, K. (2025). Fostering autonomy in the digital classroom. in Governing the digital society. (pp. 227-244). Amsterdam University Press.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 circulates through MagicSchool AI. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-13
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 >>> Thibaud, E. (2025). Reflections on techno-solutionism in education: Manifestations and causes. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1-12.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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). Intermediaries and the digital transformation of schooling: an introduction. Research in Education 120(1):3-13
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 >>> Haider, J. & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of media and information literacy: The crisis of information. Routledge
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 policies on generative AI: Problems, assumptions and sustainability blind spots. MedieKultur: 40(76):31-52.
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 transforming traditional schooling.
Accompanying reference >>> Jina Ro (2025): Enforcing unwarranted optimism: critical frame analysis on educational digitalisation policies in South Korea, Learning, Media and Technology,doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2025.2462940
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 corporations.
Accompanying reference >>> Morgan Meaker (2022). A Danish city built Google into its schools—then banned it. Wired, 23rd September, https://www.wired.com/story/denmark-google-schools-data/
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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.
Accompanying reference >>> Rómulo Pinheiro, Cathrine Tømte, Linda Barman, Lise Degn & Lars Geschwind (2023) Digital Transformations in Nordic Higher Education. Springer [open access]
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 school: digital platforms, affective attachments, and cruel optimism in a Danish public primary school, Critical Studies in Education, 65(3):294-311, DOI: 10.1080/17508487.2023.2269425
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 rageful hope.
Accompanying reference >>> Macgilchrist, F. (2021). What is ‘critical’ in critical studies of edtech? Learning, Media and Technology 46(3):243–249 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2021.1958843
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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 messages through.
Accompanying reference >>> Cristóbal Cobo (2019). "I Accept The Terms And Conditions: Uses And Abuses Of Digital Technologies” [PDF book]
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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, A. & Blikstad-Balas, M. (2024). The smell of paper or the shine of a screen? Students’ reading comprehension, text processing, and attitudes when reading on paper and screen. Computers & Education, 219, 105107.
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