Digital technology in education
Keeping pace with innovation

Research Intelligence issue 145

Just as practitioners are struggling to keep up with the onslaught of new technologies entering the education space, researchers are similarly challenged by the increasing complexity and ubiquity of those tools, used both as objects of study and as mediums of research.

Technology is changing the way that educators and education researchers work, yet its complexity and opacity make it difficult to know how to protect what is good in current educational practices and to change what isn’t working. While some tools may increase the reach and ease of our work, other practices present troubling questions about personal privacy and consent.

This special issue, guest edited by Laura R. Larke, explores these new terrains. Its contributors address pressing questions concerning the ethics and morality of how we use these tools, their impact on working conditions and social inequalities, and above all the need for us to recognise the need for growth and change in our research and practice.

Elsewhere in this issue we introduce BERA’s new College of Reviewers; Kathryn Hibbert explores the tension between idealistic rhetoric and institutional inertia in Canada’s education system; early career researchers respond to a recent masterclass from Yang Hu on academic writing and publishing; BERA Conference and Events Committee chair Mhairi Beaton reflects on an unusual and increasingly digital year of BERA events, and looks to a busy one ahead.