Chatting Technoskepticism with Neil Selwyn on Meet the Education Researcher

By Marie K. Heath

In 2014, my professor, Dr. Sarah Lohnes-Watulak, introduced me to the ideas of Dr. Neil Selwyn through his 2011 book, Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates. His work introduced me to the ideas of critical educational technology, challenging my thinking and scholarship to interrogate the ways that technology is intrinsically linked with society and education. This started me on the path which wound its way through the work of other critical technology scholars, influencing my own scholarly trajectory and my work on the Civics of Technology Project.

In early summer, Neil connected with me to see if I might be interested in an interview for the podcast Meet the Education Researcher. No pressure! He assured me. Of course I wanted to chat… and of course I also put pressure on myself (hi! I’m not the only person like this, right?) The podcast had recently released the Chris Gilliard (@hypervisible) episode, and earlier episodes feature conversations with other critical education and technology thought leaders including Audrey Watters, Felicitas Macgilchrist, Ben Williamson, and Antero Garcia -- all scholars whose work has informed the Civics of Technology project. So yes, I felt nervous and excited to share about my own work in technoskepticism and critical ed tech.

The episode just released last Sunday. In it, Neil and I chat about whether being pro-justice means a person must be anti-technology. We talk about the practical applications of technoskepticism in schools and with students, and what that looks like in action. We also note the work of Black feminist scholars like Drs. Timnit Gebru, Safiya Noble, and Ruha Benjamin in the broader technology field and consider reasons this powerful scholarship seems to remain mostly absent from educational technology scholarship. (I’m particularly intrigued by Neil’s comment that he has some ideas, but that’s probably a topic for a whole other podcast. I’d love to hear him — or anyone else! — produce a podcast on why the field is slow to take up this work.) Finally, we chat briefly about the Civics of Technology project and how this space aims to provide resources and scholarship for teaching the effects of technology on society.

The episode is about 17 minutes long, and I hope that you’ll give it a listen! Please let me know what you’d like to hear more about, what questions still need considering, and any suggestions to ease nerves when being interviewed! 

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