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            EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY AND

            INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
















            Introduction

            While the past two chapters may have warned against an excessively global level of
            analysis, this chapter will consider the international and transnational contexts of
            educational technology. In particular, this involves focusing attention on organisations
            and bodies whose actions and activities span beyond national boundaries. Key here,
            then, are the activities of multinational corporations – i.e. commercial enterprises
            that manage production and/or deliver services in more than one country. It is also
            important to consider the activities of supranational authorities – i.e. non-profit
            centralised authorities that are delegated power by various national governments to
            act on their behalf and in their interests. As the chapter will go on to discuss, a
            number of these organisations can be said to influence educational technology
            provision and practice around the world. Although the actions of these international
            organisations may not always be especially visible, they are nevertheless a crucial
            part of the educational technology landscape.
              In considering the activities of these organisations, the chapter addresses the
            globalist assumption that the nature and form of educational technology is defined
            increasingly at international – rather than local or national – levels. As we shall see
            throughout this chapter, many seemingly localised examples of educational tech-
            nology provision and practice have their roots in the extensive ‘partnerships’ that
            exist between international non-governmental bodies and private capital. We shall
            also see how the educational technology agendas of local institutions and agencies
            may be influenced by the activities and agendas of supranational state apparatus,
            international political regimes, multilateral organisations and economic blocks.
            In considering the influence of these international actors on the nature and form
            of educational technology around the world, a number of important questions are
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