Is Technology Good for Education - (Digital Futures) by Neil Selwyn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Digital technologies are a key feature of contemporary education. Schools, colleges and universities operate along high-tech lines, while alternate forms of online education have emerged to challenge the dominance of traditional institutions. According to many experts, the rapid digitization of education over the past ten years has undoubtedly been a 'good thing'.

Is Technology Good For Education? offers a critical counterpoint to this received wisdom, challenging some of the central ways in which digital technology is presumed to be positively affecting education. Instead Neil Selwyn considers what is being lost as digital technologies become ever more integral to education provision and engagement. Crucially, he questions the values, agendas and interests that stand to gain most from the rise of digital education.

This concise, up-to-the-minute analysis concludes by considering alternate approaches that might be capable of rescuing and perhaps revitalizing the ideals of public education, while not denying the possibilities of digital technology altogether.

Review Quotes

"With all the hype about education technologies and their potential for 'disruption', it's vital to scrutinize what these technologies promise and what they can and cannot do. Selwyn's book offers a much-needed critical analysis of education technology, moving beyond the overly simplified positions that ed-tech is good or ed-tech is bad or ed-tech is even inevitable.'
Audrey Watters, Education Writer and author of the blog Hack Education

"Neil Selwyn is one of the most informed and incisive writers on technology in education today. This short, accessible book provides a powerful antidote to the inflated cyber-hype that is spun by educationalists, politicians and technology marketers alike."
David Buckingham, Loughborough University

"Many policy-makers, educators and providers have assumed technology is good for education. In this incisive and provocative book, Selwyn insists they think again - not because technology is inherently problematic, but because our society is, designing and deploying technology to serve some interests more than others."
Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and Political Science

"The book opens up �new� ways of thinking and conceptualising digital education. All those in education, whether they are �technophiles� or �technophobic�, must read this book."
Educational Futures

About the Author

Neil Selwyn is Professor at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne.