The Economic, Social, and Political Dimensions of Platform Studies in Education

Abstract

Over the last several decades, we have witnessed the potential for educational technology, or edtech, to bring digital learning and media to learners around the globe and to support students in learning, activism, and identity development. Alongside these innovations, scholars have examined the pitfalls and injustices of various educational technologies, including the racism built into school surveillance technology, the tendency to pursue technological solutions to education's social and political problems, and the inequalities of virtual schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, scholars of edtech have turned their attention to studying digital platforms, or infrastructures that enable multiple interactions between data, software code and a range of heterogenous actors.