Tag Archives: educational technology
Automating mistrust
Ben Williamson Turnitin can now analyse students’ individual writing styles to tackle ‘contract cheating’. Image by Xavi The acquisition of plagiarism detection company Turnitin for US$1.75 billion, due to be completed later this year, demonstrates how higher education has become … Continue reading
The tech elite is making a power-grab for public education
Ben Williamson Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are linking public education into their growing networks of activity and influence. Image by Steve Jurvetson In the same week that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced a major move into education provision, the FBI issued a … Continue reading
Edu-business as usual—market-making in higher education
Ben Williamson The Nido Spitalfields Tower, the world’s tallest student accommodation, sits on the boundary of the financial district of London. Image by UggBoyUggGirl The global education business Pearson has established itself as a major player in higher education around the world. With … Continue reading
ClassDojo app takes mindfulness to scale in public education
Ben Williamson A globally popular educational app used by millions of teachers and schoolchildren worldwide has begun to deliver mindfulness meditation training into classrooms. Based on a mobile app that teachers can carry in their pockets, ClassDojo is embedding positive psychology … Continue reading
Brain data, neurotechnology and education
Ben Williamson Image by Neil Conway The brain sciences are playing an increasingly powerful role in the development of the digital technologies that may augment everyday life in future years. ‘Neurotechnology’ is a broad field of brain-centred technical R&D. It includes … Continue reading
Imaginaries and materialities of education data science
Image: The .edu Ocunet, by Tim Beckhardt Ben Williamson This is a talk I presented at the Nordic Educational Research Association conference at Aalborg University, Copenhagen, on 23 March 2017. Education is currently being reimagined for the future. In 2016, the online … Continue reading
Psychological surveillance and psycho-informatics in the classroom
Ben Williamson Psychology has long played a role in education by providing the expert knowledge and survey instruments required to monitor students’ attitudes, dispositions and habits of mind. Today, though, psychology is coming to play an increasingly prevalent role in … Continue reading