Page 19 - Education in a Digital World

6 Developing a Global Perspective

technology that are used around the world. Instead, educational uses of digital
technology encompass the use of internet-connected computing devices such
as laptop and tablet computers and ‘smart phones’, as well as the institutional uses of
these technologies in the form of virtual learning environments, electronic smartboards
and so on. These technological devices are used throughout educational systems to
support a diversity of forms of educational provision from kindergartens to work-based
training. Within the institutional contexts of school, college and university – for
example – much effort is put into the use of classroom and campus-based technologies
alongside the increasing use of ‘blended’ forms of online and offline provision of
teaching as well as fully ‘virtual’ provision. Indeed, ‘virtual schooling’ is now a
growing feature of school systems in North America and Europe. Virtual education
is also a key element of the diversified provision of transnational ‘offshore’ higher
education, where higher education institutions are providing international online
education, partner-supported transnational programmes and even international
branch campuses (see McBurnie and Ziguras 2010).
In all these forms, digital technologies are associated with potentially far-reaching
shifts in the organisation and governance of educational provision. Commentators
now talk about ‘school 2.0’ and the ‘edgeless university’– reflecting the increasing
fluidity and fragmentation of educational places and spaces. Conversely, in many
regions of the world, digital technologies are being used to support large-scale forms
of ‘mega schooling’ (Daniel 2010) – massively expanding access to education to
populations who would otherwise be denied. There are, for example, a growing
number of ‘open’ schools and universities where teachers and students are separated
physically but educated collectively – from the Indonesia Open Junior Secondary
School to the Open University of Japan. Latchem and Jung (2010) list thirty-three
such ‘mega-universities’ in Asia alone, spanning from Israel to Macau. The scale of
these reconfigurations of educational provision is considerable. The Turkish Anadolu
University, for example, doubled in size between 1996 to 2006 and now caters for
over 1 million students. Digital technology also lies at the heart of virtual consortia
of traditional universities (such as the Korean Open Cyber University) and online
brokers of courses from other institutions (such as the Syrian Virtual University).
Also of significance here, is the technology-supported growth of private provision
of education. Indeed, many of the initiatives described above include – at least in
part – the involvement of an array of commercial interests. From the 1990s
onwards, there has been notable growth in multi-billion dollar global educational
media providers such as Pearson, Thomson, McGraw-Hill and the Apollo Group.
Digital technology is therefore being used to support a diverse array of educational
forms that are associated in turn with a diverse array of educational outcomes.
Of course, technology can be used to pursue forms of educational provision
other than these centrally driven or commercially provided forms. For some groups
of educators, digital technology is welcomed as a means of offering opportunities to
move beyond the institutionalised provision of education altogether – allowing
groups and communities of individuals to learn amongst themselves. This is