Ben Williamson is a lecturer in education at the University of Stirling. His research examines the interweaving of politics, governing, and digital technologies in education. He studies “network governance” in education policy, and is leading a funded project exploring how computer code interacts with educational institutions, pedagogic practices, and governing processes.
Ben Williamson
Articles
June 26, 2014
New Centers of Data Visualization in Education
Contemporary educational systems, spaces and practices are increasingly represented through digitally-mediated visualizations. Is the increased visibility made possible by visualization practices and technologies also influencing and shaping perceptions of education, and contributing...
Category: EdtechMay 26, 2014
Calculating the Child Through Technologies of the ‘Quantified Self’
The concept of the ‘quantified self’ has become the focus of global interest. Less acknowledged is the emergence of a range of technological devices and apps designed specifically for children to track,...
Category: EdtechJanuary 20, 2014
The End of Theory in Digital Social Research?
Computer code, software and algorithms have sunk deep into the “technological unconscious” of our contemporary “lifeworld.” How might this affect academic research in the social sciences and the formation of the professional...
Category: EdtechNovember 14, 2013
Programming Power? Does Learning to Code Empower Kids?
The idea that young people should learn to code has become a global educational aspiration in the last few years. What kinds of questions should digital media and learning researchers ask about...
Category: Digital LearningAugust 2, 2013
How we think about digital media is paralleled by how we think about learner identities. What kinds of learning identities are being promoted for an anticipated future in an increasingly softwarised society?About...
Category: Digital CitizenshipJuly 1, 2013
Digital media are increasingly shaping how we produce, transmit and receive knowledge, but do we often pause to think about the techniques which now mediate how we think and know about education...
Category: Educational PracticeFebruary 4, 2013
Code Acts: How Computer Code Configures Learning
Computer code is rapidly becoming a mature part of contemporary collective life. Commonly understood as the instructions that act on software and computing machines, code itself is now however becoming a significant...
Category: Digital LearningNovember 19, 2012
Learning and the Emerging Science of Behavior Change, aka ‘Nudging’
The language of learning today is full of references to “softness” and “openness.” Software, soft skills, soft performance, and the softening up of school knowledge go hand-in-hand with open source, open access...
Categories: Educational Practice, EquityOctober 15, 2012
Coded Curriculum: The New Architectures of Learning
How should we understand the part played by code in digital media and learning? We are accustomed to arguments that digital media are affecting our existing practices of reading, looking, seeing and...
Category: Digital LearningAugust 27, 2012
What makes an “expert”? What makes for “expert knowledge” in the digital age? In today's culture of digital media, new forms of expertise and knowledge seem to be increasingly available, with the...
Category: Educational Practice