Casting a critical eye over the world of digital education, education futures and EdTech. Join Neil Selwyn as he talks to experts from around the world committed to new ways of thinking about digital technology and education
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Emerging issues and the latest ideas from across the world of education research. Hear from a range of academics about their current research in schools, universities and beyond. Hosted by Neil Selwyn from Monash University, Australia.
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Interviews with Mathematicians about their New Books Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/mathematics
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Schools, datafication and the rise of EdTech ‘intermediaries’
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20:17Schools are increasingly reliant on data infrastructures and platforms – leading to the growing significance of various ‘intermediary actors’ now playing key roles in the governance of digital education. Sigrid Hartong (Helmut-Schmidt-University Hamburg) joins us to talk about this fast changing aspect of ed-tech. Accompanying reference >>> Hartong…
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Digital disinformation in the age of AI … what can schools do?
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18:34The growth of deliberately misleading and false information is one of the big concerns of the 2020s. Professor Olof Sundin (Lund University) has been researching students’ (dis)information literacy since the early 2000s. He joins us to talk about the latest developments in this area – particularly the trend of now using AI to both produce *and* ret…
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AI and the digital future(s) of universities
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17:42Where are universities going with digitisation and AI, and how does this fit with the views of staff and students? Dr. Magda Pischetola (University of Copenhagen) talks about her recent research into university policymaking around GenAI, and a survey of university teachers’ desired digital futures. Accompanying reference >>> Driessens, O. & Pischet…
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Korea is pushing AI into schools … where might this end up?
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22:00Last year the Korean government announced its substantial commitment to AI and schools, launching an ‘AI Digital Textbook’ policy that promises to establish AI-driven customised learning across the education system. We are joined by Dr. Jina Ro (Sungkyunkwan University) to make sense of Korea’s recent ed-tech turn, and the wider motivations for inv…
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Scientists Cooperate while Humanists Ruminate (EF, JP)
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41:46Back in 2021, John and Elizabeth sat down with Brandeis string theorist Albion Lawrence to discuss cooperation versus solitary study across disciplines. They sink their teeth into the question, “Why do scientists seem to do collaboration and teamwork better than other kinds of scholars and academics?” The conversation ranges from the merits of coll…
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2022 saw a flurry of reports that the Danish Data Protection Agency was ordering schools to stop using Google products over the tech firm’s misuse of students’ personal data. We talk to Emilie Mørch Groth (Aarhus University) to see what has happened since, what this controversy tells us about the digital dependency of the modern welfare state, and …
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The digital transformation of higher education … for better and for worse
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15:55On the face of it, digital technologies are now integral to university teaching and learning. But to what extent have things actually changed … and are these changes wholly positive? Cathrine Tømte (University of Agder) talks about the impacts of digitisation on Norwegian universities, and why teachers and students should perhaps be joining forces …
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Grace Lindsay, "Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
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51:54Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain (Bloomsbury, 2021) provides a multifaceted and approachable introduction to theoretical neuroscience. It discusses some major topics of the field, including both the milestones from their history and the currently open questions. It's accessible …
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Platforms are now an almost ubiquitous feature of schools. We talk with Lucas Cone (University of Copenhagen) about his work around teachers’ everyday engagements with platforms – in particular the benefits of using affect theory to make sense of teachers’ affiliations and relationships with these clearly problematic technologies. Accompanying refe…
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What is ‘critical’ in critical studies of edtech?
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15:15There is growing interest in critical studies of education and technology. But what does it mean to be ‘critical’ of edtech, and how can this work genuinely make a difference in the world? Felicitas Macgilchrist (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) talks about the need to look beyond claims of transformation and novelty, drawing attention to …
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What do ed-tech policymakers want from academic research?
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14:27Academics are increasingly looking to make an impact on policymakers, but critical ed-tech research often seems to fall on deaf ears. In this episode Dr. Cristóbal Cobo – currently a senior ed-tech specialist at a major international organization – talks about the types of evidence that get most attention in policy circles, and some approaches that…
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Karenleigh A. Overmann, "The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East" (Gorgias Press, 2024)
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10:50What are numbers, and where do they come from? Based on her groundbreaking study of material devices used for counting in the Ancient Near East, Karenleigh Overmann proposes a novel answer to these timeless questions. Tune in as we talk with Karenleigh Overmann about her book, The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Anc…
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Digital books are now a common part of education, but concerns are growing around the problems of students reading on-screen. Marte Blikstad-Balas (University of Oslo) discusses the latest research around what it means to read on-screen as opposed to reading from ‘proper’ books, and why government bans on digital devices are not the best response. …
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Luci Pangrazio and Neil Selwyn, "Critical Data Literacies: Rethinking Data and Everyday Life" (MIT Press, 2023)
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40:00Data has become a defining issue of current times. Our everyday lives are shaped by the data that is produced about us (and by us) through digital technologies. In Critical Data Literacies: Rethinking Data and Everyday Life (MIT Press, 2023), Luci Pangrazio and Neil Selwyn introduce readers to the central concepts, ideas, and arguments required to …
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Australia thinks that it can ban young people from using social media … we have questions!
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17:28The Australian government has just announced that it will ban all young people under the age of 16 from using social media. Dr. Clare Southerton explains the background to this ‘ban’ and what it might mean for students and schools. Recommended reading >>> Lisa Given (2024). Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 just became law. How it will…
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Digital technologies are now a key means of ‘nudging’ students (and teachers) to make better decisions. Mathias Decuypere (PHZH) talks about the coming together of behavioural economics thinking and digital education, and how critical ed-tech scholars should be looking for alternate ways of working with this concept of the ‘edunudge’. Accompanying …
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Assessment and feedback in higher education (Phillip Dawson)
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18:20We talk to Phill Dawson (Deakin University) about how to make sense of some of the latest trends around authentic assessment, self-assessment and ‘ungrading’. We also talk about what makes good feedback, and how students and teachers can benefit from developing ‘feedback literacy’.By Meet The Education Researcher
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The challenges of studying in the ‘platformised’ university
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19:27University life is now increasingly mediated by digital platforms. Joe Noteboom’s research looks at the everyday realities of studying through platforms, and how students’ dependence on these technologies can lead to a number of problems and vulnerabilities. Accompanying reference >>> Joe Noteboom (2024): The student as user: mapping student experi…
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Raising a generation of techno-skeptical students
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19:18Dan Krutka (University of North Texas) is on a mission to support students, teachers and parents to think critically and make informed decisions about the digital tech in their lives. Dan talks about the idea of the ‘Technoskepticism Iceberg’ as a framework to identify the technical, psychosocial and political dimensions of technology. Accompanying…
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International student mobilities (Rachel Brooks)
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17:25Students choosing to study overseas has long been an important part of higher education, but is becoming increasingly politically contentious. Professor Rachel Brooks (University of Oxford) talks about her research around student mobilities in UK higher education – highlighting the complex institutional politics and personal experiences of studying…
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Two years on from the initial panic around Chat GPT and student cheating we catch with Phill Dawson from Deakin’s ‘Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning’. Phill reflects on what universities have got wrong in their responses to GenAI, and why this might be a good time to entirely rethink the notion of student assessment altogether.…
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What’s the problem with Google Classroom?
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18:59We talk with Sonia Livingstone (Digital Futures for Children, LSE) about the ways in which EdTech and data protection policies often fail to protect children’s rights at school. In particular we look at Google Classroom as an example of how policymakers, regulators and governments need to intervene more forcibly in the EdTech marketplace. Accompany…
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Michael Gavin, "Literary Mathematics: Quantitative Theory for Textual Studies" (Stanford UP, 2022)
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54:53Across the humanities and social sciences, scholars increasingly use quantitative methods to study textual data. Considered together, this research represents an extraordinary event in the long history of textuality. More or less all at once, the corpus has emerged as a major genre of cultural and scientific knowledge. In Literary Mathematics: Quan…
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Al Posamentier and Christian Speitzer, “The Mathematics of Everyday Life” (Prometheus Books, 2018)
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54:18Today I talked to Al Posamentier about his books (co-authored with Christian Speitzer) The Mathematics of Everyday Life (Prometheus Books, 2018). We all are told – practically from the moment we enter school – that mathematics is important because it permeates practically all aspects of our lives. But, for the most part, we don’t really notice it e…
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School uniforms and ‘appropriate appearance’ policies (Kayla Mildren)
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19:56Many Australian schools have extensive rules around what students are expected to wear and what they should look like. Kayla Mildren (Griffith University) talks about her work on the sociology of school uniform policies – especially schools' attempts to regulate students’ hair and hairstyles.By Meet The Education Researcher
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Brian Clegg, "Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe" (MIT Press, 2021)
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52:08Our universe might appear chaotic, but deep down it's simply a myriad of rules working independently to create patterns of action, force, and consequence. In Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe (MIT Press, 2021), Brian Clegg explores the phenomena that make up the very fabric of our world by examining ten essential sequenced systems. From diagra…
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A journal editor’s view on getting published (Sam Sellar)
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12:36Getting published in academic journals can be a major source of stress for education researchers. We talk to Sam Sellar (lead editor of Discourse) about how best to navigate the article writing and submission process, dealing with peer reviews, and seeing journals as a space for ongoing conversations and community-building.…
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Teacher recruitment and the problem of ‘hard-to-staff’ schools (Jo Lampert)
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15:23We hear regular reports of a ‘crisis’ in teacher recruitment and what has been characterised as an exodus of educators leaving the profession. Professor Jo Lampert (Monash University) talks about her research around teacher workforce issues, and a new study examining the realities of working in ‘hard-to-staff’ schools.…
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David J. Hand, "Dark Data: Why What You Don't Know Matters" (Princeton UP, 2020)
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1:18:03There is no shortage of books on the growing impact of data collection and analysis on our societies, our cultures, and our everyday lives. David Hand's new book Dark Data: Why What You Don't Know Matters (Princeton University Press, 2020) is unique in this genre for its focus on those data that aren't collected or don't get analyzed. More than an …
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Ann Johnson and Johannes Lenhard, "Cultures of Prediction: How Engineering and Science Evolve with Mathematical Tools" (MIT Press, 2024)
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1:01:58A probing examination of the dynamic history of predictive methods and values in science and engineering that helps us better understand today's cultures of prediction. The ability to make reliable predictions based on robust and replicable methods is a defining feature of the scientific endeavor, allowing engineers to determine whether a building …
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Paulina Rowinska, "Mapmatics: How We Navigate the World Through Numbers" (Pan Macmillan, 2024)
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56:44How does a delivery driver distribute hundreds of packages in a single working day? Why does remote Alaska have such a large airport? Where should we look for elusive serial killers? The answers lie in the crucial connection between maps and maths. In Mapmatics: How We Navigate the World Through Numbers (Pan Macmillan, 2024), Dr Paulina Rowinska em…
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Precision Education Governance (Kristiina Brunila)
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19:56Prof. Kristiina Brunila (University of Helsinki) talks about the rise of ‘Precision Education Governance’ – the current push to reform education systems through markets, digital technologies, standardised measurements, behavioural sciences and the precise shaping of human conduct.By Meet The Education Researcher
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‘Digital natives’ … the concept that refuses to die
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18:15Pekka Mertala (University of Oulu) talks about a new exhaustive analysis of nearly 1900 articles that charts the evolving use of the ‘digital native’ concept in academic literature. We talk about the history of the idea of ‘digital natives’, why the persistence of the idea is damaging, and how we need to actively campaign against its future use. **…
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David S. Richeson, "Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity" (Princeton UP, 2019)
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54:24David S. Richeson's book Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity (Princeton University Press, 2019) is the fascinating story of the 2000 year quest to solve four of the most perplexing problems of antiquity: squaring the circle, duplicating the cube, trisecting the angle, and constructing regular …
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Nathalie DiBerardino (Western University) discusses the growing take-up of emotion AI in schools – tech that claims to detect student attention, concentration, and even interest levels. What are the harms of relying on such tech in classrooms, and how might educators and students push back? Accompanying reference >>> DiBerardino, N. & Stark, L. (20…
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Thomas A. Garrity, "All the Math You Missed (But Need to Know for Graduate School)" (Cambridge UP, 2021)
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50:35Graduate students in many programs besides mathematics will need to be familiar with the methods and results of a variety of mathematical topics. Just as importantly, these students will need to develop a level of mathematical maturity—how to think in broad strokes about the subject, how to study it, and even how to communicate their work. The gap …
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Mental health education and social-emotional learning (Neil Humphrey)
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19:17Mental health is now recognised as an important part of schooling. Neil Humphrey (University of Manchester) talks about recent efforts to establish compulsory mental health education across English schools, and the benefits of supporting students’ social and emotional learning.By Meet The Education Researcher
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Jack Reed (University of Exeter) talks about the recent UK government push to ban mobile phones from schools in England. He fills us in on the motivations of UK politicians, why phone bans need to seen as a human rights issue, and the benefits of taking a postdigital approach to thinking about technology and education. Accompanying reference >>> Re…
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Digital technologies in early childhood education
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19:24Antti Paakkari (Tampere University) talks about his research on digital technologies in Finnish early childhood centres – from digital portfolios to activity trackers. We discuss how these technologies are changing the dynamics between children, educators and parents, and leading to increased assessment of children despite the expectation that earl…
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Kevin Lambert, "Symbols and Things: Material Mathematics in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries" (U Pittsburgh Press, 2021)
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1:20:03The stereotype of the solitary mathematician is widespread, but practicing users and producers of mathematics know well that our work depends heavily on our historical and contemporary fellow travelers. Yet we may not appreciate how our work also extends beyond us into our physical and societal environments. Kevin Lambert takes what might be a firs…
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The coming crisis in education research … and what we might do about it (Sally Power)
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18:36Academic research is becoming increasingly peripheral to education policy-makers and practitioners. Prof. Sally Power (Cardiff University) talks about the current shortcomings of our work, and how education research might be reinvigorated through a new ‘politics of method’.By Meet The Education Researcher
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Digital technologies and the commercialism of education
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15:06Faith Boninger talks about how digital technologies are increasingly implicated in the commercialism of education. We talk about Faith’s involvement in the long-running NEPC reports on virtual high schools, the NEPC’s fight against personalised learning systems, and why tech companies have an insatiable urge to ‘fix’ education. Accompanying link >>…
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Academics’ use of social media and generative AI (Mark Carrigan)
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26:21Why did Twitter so quickly fall apart as a place for scholarship? Where are academics now going for their social media buzz? How can you use Chat GPT as a genuinely useful interlocutor? Mark Carrigan (University of Manchester) joins us to talk about two of his latest books – ‘Social Media For Academics’ (2nd edition) and the forthcoming ‘Generative…
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Is there a place for facial recognition technology in education?
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19:18Recent reports of facial recognition technology being developed for use in US classrooms has attracted widespread criticism. We talk to Charles Logan (Northwestern University) about the problems that facial recognition poses for students and educators. >>> Accompanying reference: Inside Higher Education (2024). Facial Recognition Heads to Class. Wi…
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The history of educational computing in Europe
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21:36Michael Geiss (Zurich University of Teacher Education) talks about a new edited book looking at how computers came into European schools from the 1960s to 1990s. We talk about the importance of ‘pioneer’ teachers in paving the way for EdTech markets to develop, why critical scholars need to ‘follow the money’ while also paying more attention to nat…
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Educational leadership, gender and race (Pontso Moorosi)
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19:07A/Prof Pontso Moorosi (University of Warwick) joins us to talk about her research on leadership preparation in South African schools, and the varying experiences of Black women school principals around the world.By Meet The Education Researcher
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Is it time to rethink how we teach Digital Citizenship?
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16:12Jack Webster (University of Auckland) talks about the need to update how schools teach the topic of ‘Digital Citizenship’, and how post-digital thinking might revitalise this often-overlooked aspect of digital education. Accompanying reference >> Jack Webster (2024). Updating Digital Citizenship Education for a Postdigital Society. New Zealand Jour…
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Ismar Volić, "Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation" (Princeton UP, 2024)
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39:40What's the best way to determine what most voters want when multiple candidates are running? What's the fairest way to allocate legislative seats to different constituencies? What's the least distorted way to draw voting districts? Not the way we do things now. Democracy is mathematical to its very foundations. Yet most of the methods in use are a …
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Sustainability and climate change education (Lizzie Rushton)
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18:38How can schools tackle issues of sustainability and climate change? Prof. Lizzie Rushton (University of Stirling) talks about her research around environmental education in England and Scotland. We discuss the current state of UK sustainability education, teachers' and young people’s views on how environmental issues should be taught, and the benef…
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AI technology in primary classrooms - a Swedish perspective
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17:15Katerina Sperling (Linköping University) talks about her ongoing research into the realities of AI use in Swedish primary classrooms. Accompanying reference >> Katarina Sperling, Linnéa Stenliden, Jörgen Nissen, Fredrik Heintz (2022). Still w(AI)ting for the automation of teaching: An exploration of machine learning in Swedish primary education usi…
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