Tag Archives: higher education
Pandemic privatization and digitalization in higher education
Ben Williamson and Anna Hogan The state of emergency in higher education systems around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic has opened up the sector to an expanding range of education technologies, commercial companies, and private sector ambitions. In our … Continue reading
Higher education platforms and cloud infrastructures in the ‘dataist state’
Ben Williamson Prepared for the Centre for Global Higher Education research seminar Student learning in the midst of the pandemic: the case of the UK, 10 November 2020 Privately-owned digital platforms have become integral to societies and public life, and … Continue reading
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Tagged cloud computing, higher education, infrastructures, platforms
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Digital data and the post-pandemic university
Ben Williamson Prepared for the QAA Scotland Enhancement Themes 2020 conference on 3 November 2020 Digital data technologies are at the centre of many current controversies. From Airbnb driving up over-tourism and property prices, to Twitter taking measures to reduce … Continue reading
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Tagged artificial intelligence, covid19, data, edtech, educational technology, higher education
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Datafication and automation in higher education during and after the Covid-19 crisis
Ben Williamson Notes for a talk at the online webinar ‘Going Online During and After the Pandemic’ on 6 May 2020. Thanks to Mariya Ivancheva and Brian Garvey for the invitation. Over the last five years or so, data analytics … Continue reading
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
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Tagged algorithmic governance, algorithms, ed-tech, educational technology, higher education, software, Turnitin, universities
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The app store for higher education
Ben Williamson A government competition aims to make choosing a degree as easy as swiping a smartphone. Image by Garry Knight App stores are among the most significant aspects of contemporary cultures. Commercial environments where consumers choose digital products, they … Continue reading
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Tagged apps, data, Department for education, government, higher education, marketization, Office for Students, universities
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The mutating metric machinery of higher education
Ben Williamson Higher education increasingly depends on complex data systems to process and visualize performance metrics. Image by Dennis van Zuijlekom Contemporary culture is increasingly defined by metrics. Measures of quantitative assessment, evaluation, performance, and comparison infuse public services, commercial … Continue reading
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Tagged data, data analytics, data visualization, higher education, measurement, metrics
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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
The Office for Students as the data scientist of the higher education sector
Ben Williamson Data play a huge role in British higher education. The new regulator for the sector, the Office for Students, will escalate data collection and use in HE in years to come. Improving student information and data to ‘help … Continue reading
Globalizing education standards with ISO 21001
Ben Williamson Standards are everywhere but largely invisible. They define the production of things, from the size of a brick or the dimensions of a credit card to the programming languages used to code software, and act as rules for … Continue reading
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Tagged education policy, governance, higher education, standardization, standards
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code acts in education 