The digitalised spaces and

cultures of schooling HEA conference Innovating ITE, Birmingham 11th July 2014

Sara Bragg Education Research Centre University of Brighton

We need to

talk about

digital

cultures,

but not just

about …

… also

about the

many,

varied ways

digital

cultures,

are making

themselves

felt in

schools…

Talking about digital

cultures…

• Should teachers accept friend requests from

students on Facebook?

• Should senior managers look at applicants’

social media profiles when appointing teaching

staff?

• Does CCTV in corridors and school grounds

make them safer?

• Does CCTV in classrooms make them safer?

Promoting reflection on the ‘digitalised

cultures and spaces of schooling’

Aims

• To bridge cultures of research and practice and

generate genuine “research middlework” (Thomson

2013) by bringing together researchers, lecturers

and student teachers

• …. specifically around an under-explored but cross-

sector/subject/curriculum issue

• …. where ‘research’ perspectives differ markedly

from practitioner-oriented ones, but where student

teachers bring a wealth of diverse experiences.

Outcomes

• Making similar ‘thinking spaces’ part of our ‘offer’ to

NQTs from Sept 2014 (inspired also by P4T)

• Composite vignettes/ materials based on

discussions (also Face2Face research project)

Activity

• Read the vignette in front of you

• Highlight any words / phrases / sentences

that stand out

• Annotate it with your responses:

• Further questions that arise / ideas and

solutions / alternative scenarios / other

instances that should be included

• This sounds familiar / I’ve never heard of

this

• Emotional reactions, good or bad

• How well might the vignettes help promote

reflection on the ‘digitalised spaces and

cultures of schooling’?

Sara Bragg Education Research Centre University of Brighton s.bragg@brighton.ac.uk

References

• boyd, d. (2014). It's Complicated: The Social Lives of

Networked Teens. New Haven and London: Yale

University Press

• Hope, A. (2014). ‘Schoolchildren, Governmentality and

National E-safety Policy Discourse’. Discourse:

Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education.

• Loveless, A., & Williamson, B. (2013). Learning

identities in a digital age: rethinking creativity,

education and technology. London: Routledge.

• Shove, E., Pantzar, M., & Watson, M. (2012). The

dynamics of social practice: Everyday life and how it

changes. London: Sage.