Minding our language: why education and technology is full of bullshit … and what...

Minding our language: why education and technology is full of bullshit … and what might be done about it

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Neil Selwyn has a new article in Learning, Media & Technology challenging the language used to describe education and technology. In an era of ‘game changers’, ‘disruption’ and ‘transformation’, educators are urged to be more mindful of the words that are used to describe technology use in education, and the ways in which they are used. As Selwyn concludes:

“Altering what is said (and how it is being said) is likely to be one of the most straightforward but significant means of improving the integrity and overall impact of this field … Let us set about talking more frequently and forcibly about education and technology in ways that foreground issues such as democracy, public values, the common good, morals and ethics. Let us challenge the tired buzz-words and taglines that distort discussions of education and technology. Let us be more confident in calling out lazy generalizations and out-right bullshit. Above all, let us collectively ‘mind our language’ when it comes to talking about education and technology”.

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