Knowledge Centre blogs

Whether it be global tech businesses being grilled by the Public Accounts Committee; the launch of 4G networks or the adverts vying for pre-Christmas attention, digital technologies: computers, mobile phones, the internet, have been in the public eye quite a lot recently. 

Bran Ferren (somewhat) famously said that technology is ‘stuff that doesn’t work yet’ – we don’t think of biros or belts as ‘technologies’ (that is purposefully designed and made tools), because they’re woven into everyday life and work as we’d expect.  But how about ‘digital technologies’ – when will they stop being ‘technologies’ and start, simply, being the internet, apps or micro-processors?  The answer, is when they become more trivial, when we recognise the implicit value in them and understand how they are constructed and work. 

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In this brief series, Terry Waller talks with four leading researchers to gain some personal perspectives on the role of technology in the education of vulnerable young people.  The interviews aimed to provide an insight into existing practice, research gaps and potential future areas of investigation, highlighting the challenges and opportunities provided by the internet.

This second article presents the views of Jean Johnson, Chief Executive of the Inclusion Trust.

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As part of the Digital Makers programme that we’re developing with Nesta, Mozilla and a range of other partners, I was able to share some of the challenges that this programme is navigating and looking to address at an event at Ravensbourne College on Friday 25^th May.

Tom Keynon, from Nesta did a great job in providing some of the practical activities within the programme and set the broad context for the work [I will add a link to his presentation when available).  I followed to set out some of the challenges underpinning that. I’ve numbered the following paragraphs in case you want to click through the slidedeck that I shared.

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