Edtech has an evidence problem
Ben Williamson,
Code Acts in Education,
Apr 19, 2024
Though this is mostly an exercise in taxonomy, and though it is also badly titled, this post on what Carlos Ortegon, Matthias Decuypere, and Ben Williamson call 'edtech brokers' is an interesting glimpse into an infrequently-discussed branch of the field. Edtech brokers position themselves between educational institutions and the (usually commercial) vendors and services that support them. The authors identify three types of edtech brokers: ambassadors, which act as representatives for specific brands; service engines, that function as search portals offering such things as 'what works' indices; and data brokers, that manage data flows between institutions and vendors. They mediate edtech in three ways: by supporting infrastructure building and standards development, by producing evidence of 'impact' and 'efficacy', and by 'professionally shaping' via development and training programs. I think both taxonomies could be extended with a little thought. See the full paper, Mediating educational technologies (17 page PDF).
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