Tag Archives: silicon valley

The tech elite is making a power-grab for public education

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Ben Williamson

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amazon, ed-tech, educational technology, power, public education, schools, silicon valley | 1 Comment

ClassDojo app takes mindfulness to scale in public education

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Ben Williamson

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged classdojo, educational technology, government, psychology, schools, silicon valley, venture capital | 8 Comments

Educating Silicon Valley

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Ben Williamson

Ben Williamson Image credit: Steve Jurvetson A reality TV show in the UK has documented what school life is like in different geographical parts of the country. Starting in 2011 with Educating Essex, the format has since included Educating Yorkshire, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged analytics, data, digital making, silicon valley, venture capital | 2 Comments

Decoding ClassDojo

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Ben Williamson

Ben Williamson The globally popular classroom behaviour management app ClassDojo is being extended into a tool to support children’s ‘character development’ and ‘growth mindsets.’ ClassDojo illustrates how new educational technologies are simultaneously the product of venture capital investment and new … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged behaviour management, classdojo, educational technology, gamification, growth mindsets, neuroscience, silicon valley | 14 Comments

Education and the big data imaginary

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Ben Williamson

Ben Williamson Big data and ‘smarter’ software systems are beginning to impact on education, particularly within the schools sector. In a paper prepared for the Big Data–Social Data conference at the University of Warwick, I have sought to trace the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged algorithms, analytics, big data, data, data visualization, learning analytics, learning to code, silicon valley, sociotechnical imaginaries | 1 Comment

Smarter, crowdsourced, super startup schools

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Ben Williamson

Ben Williamson Disruptive innovation. Bleeding edge. Scalable solutions. The Uber for X. Silicon Valley is routinely ridiculed for the language of technology entrepreneurship and startup culture it has dispersed. Yet the Silicon Valley lexicon is fast becoming part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged code, crowdsourcing, data, schools, silicon valley, startup | 1 Comment