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The current social and educational challenges force us to rethink the role of educational institutions and digital technologies in the 21st century, which requires a deeper understanding of learning activities in schools. In this article we analyze bottom-up initiatives for educational transformation implemented in public lower secondary schools from Norway, Chile and Spain that involved 230 students and 14 teachers. Three ethnographic case studies were carried out, using individual interviews, focus groups, participant observations and document analysis in six schools. The main goal was to deeply understand how bottom-up school initiatives, with a comprehensive use of digital technologies, are contributing to generate connected practices and to involve teachers, learners and communities in the discussion about what kind of society they want in their future. The results of the analysis indicate that fostering a transformative agency in secondary schools has the potential of engaging students in the exploration of contemporary social issues and that digital connectedness can contribute to connect schools with youth life trajectories and communities. This study on transformative agency and digital connectedness reveals a new path for educational transformation that may interest everybody who, in one way or another, are involved in education systems all around the world.

This article focuses on educational technology as applied in the context of programs and institutions that offer completely distance education courses. All education in the 21st century is digital education in that the use of networking, text and image creation and editing and search and retrieval of information punctuates the life of almost every teacher and student. However, the context of distance education -- where all the interactions are mediated, creates a unique and heightened context of digitalization. This paper focuses on two questions: (1) What aspects have not been completely satisfactory in the transit and transformation that education has undergone, from its more traditional, campus-based conception, towards its new configuration marked by the continuous use of digital technologies and environments? (2) What are the future challenges that distance education must deal with to support sustainability of this teaching model? From a theoretical and interpretative analysis, based on the review of relevant articles and documents on distance education, some critical dimensions (limitations, shortcomings and future challenges) the use of digital technologies in distance education is identified and subsequently analyzed. These dimensions evidence how the initial (sometimes excessive) promises of digital technologies in distance education has not (yet) been fully reflected in reality.

Making universal access to education compatible with different paths of learning is one of the great challenges of the last century. Technology has provided solutions to access information, for communication and collaborative work. Blockchain emerges as a technology that can be useful for the development of an evaluation model of individualized learning itineraries in mass university subjects. In this line, the Edublocs project has been designed and executed, an initiative where these itineraries have been designed, incorporating elements of peer learning, team-teaching, PLEs, microlearning, technology-enhanced assessment... The objective of the Edublocs project is to design and implement a system of recording the results of activities through Blockchain that allow the student to follow a personal itinerary, and the teacher-tutor of the subject to carry out a formative evaluation and an accrediting appraisal of their work. The project is well underway in the evaluation of the implementation process. The experience with some elements of the design and the experimental execution in a formal university context during the present academic course, has allowed us to obtain important indications on the viability and relevance of the use of Blockchain in education. These, together with the explanation and justification of explaining the context of its applicability, will be laid out in the broad development of the article.

Not surprisingly, the number of online universities continues to expand--especially in COVID-19 times. These institutions all offer "online education" with diverse institutional, technological, and pedagogical processes. However, a fundamental element has to do with the experience of the students, and how they adapt to the educational model of the online university in which they are studying. In this article, we present the main results of the case-study developed in one of the most historical and relevant virtual universities in an international context. We have explored and analysed the process of adaptation to the educational model by the student body, and their perceptions of their interactions with the pedagogical, institutional, and technological elements designed to support their learning. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used to gather and analyse the data. From 1715 students who participated in the survey and the perceptions of 30 students individually interviewed, the results show positive evaluations regarding the integration and adoption of technological competencies, and also, that the online education generally serves as a responsive model to the emergent needs of the learner. However, the results also show that students have important concerns regarding the pedagogical and institutional support provided.

The current process of digitisation of education is marked by the presence of digital platforms of large technology corporations or Big Tech in a growing number of schools. This process of platformisation is generating multiple challenges for the Public Administration and for global education systems. In this process of platformisation, this research explored and analysed the perceptions of parents and students regarding the use of digital platforms in public schools. A mixed methodological design was used for this purpose. In the quantitative part, data was collected from 2,330 Catalan families (Spain) with children studying in public primary or secondary schools. In the qualitative part, eight focus groups were carried out with students from six schools. The results showed that the main concerns of students and families revolve around three main issues: 1) the management of the data that companies can collect from the use of their digital platforms, 2) the educational aspects related to the use of digital platforms at school and, 3) the potential costs associated with the use of these platforms. The paper concludes that there is a need for greater involvement of the Public Administration in ensuring safer use of these digital resources in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Information and Communication Technology has created waves of excitement about its power to fix educational problems and improve learning results, prompting a succession of policy efforts to integrate digital technology into education. Educators, schools and corporations are increasingly driving these initiatives. This article makes the argument that a narrow vision of digital technology, which both ignores the complexity of education and wastes valuable public resources, is becoming an obstacle to significant improvement and transformation in education. Utilising our research and experience in the field of educational technology, this paper problematises the common elision of 'technology' and 'digital technology'. From this basis, we then critically reflect on various common approaches to introducing digital technology in education under the guise of promoting equality and digital inclusion. These include national government-led programmes, more recent trends for local school-led initiatives, and the role of non-formal education initiatives led by corporations/foundations. Amidst the varying surface-level 'failure' and/or 'success' of these approaches, we point to limited underpinning 'information and knowledge society' logics in framing the application of digital technology to education. As such we conclude by considering the educational challenges for future Ed-Tech initiatives.

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Myths are universal narratives linked to objects, shaping social and personal identities. Technologies generate modern myths, influencing choices and impacting our lives. The present study focuses on EdTech myths. From a qualitative methodological approach based on codesign, five relevant EdTech myths are identified. Subsequently, the analysis was carried out from (1) a hermeneutic approach, based on the authors' experience in the field of EdTech, and (2) a review and contrast of relevant scientific literature. The results explain, firstly, why these myths arise and persist in EdTech; secondly, the study can help to demystify them. In general, EdTech myths impoverish digital technology-mediated education because they consider it from an extensively reductionist perspective, especially from EdTech capitalism. This is why we need to pay more attention to EdTech myths, to set up an educational agenda leading to action categories and the critical transformation of the education–technology relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to the abundant generic research on technologies and education, few studies focus on the scope of whether the technologies used meet the expectations set forth in international reports and to what extent technology contributes to transforming educational practice. Our objective was to identify and analyze the characteristics of educational practices that are being developed in higher education and to assess the value that technology brings to educational practice. We conducted a systematic review of academic papers published in scientific journals: a corpus of 1,207 articles from six journals included in indexed databases (JCR and SJR), selected using Google Scholar Metrics. According to the various records screened, the study we present is based on 49 articles, published between 2018 and 2019. We conclude that beyond their reproducible, enriching, or transformative nature, most of the articles analyzed address the improvement of students' performance, engagement, or self-perception, in which they positively value the experience of learning mediated by digital technology, although they do not have an impact on the transformative value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple educational contexts experienced a sudden and accelerated digital transformation. However, this is not a new phenomenon. For years, public and private initiatives have been designed and tested in Spain. In this regard, the role and use of cell phones in the classroom has been a key and, at the same time, controversial aspect. In Barcelona (Catalonia), for example, recent educational policies have promoted the pedagogical use of cell phones. Within this framework, this article analyses whether these initiatives to promote the use of mobile phones are effectively transferred and implemented in the classroom. Using qualitative research, based on co-design, case studies and content analysis, we examined the reality of three educational centres in Barcelona. In these three contexts, field observations, interviews with management teams and ICT coordinators, and discussion groups with teachers were conducted. The information generated was grouped into five main categories of analysis. As a result, it was observed that the mobile phone has been losing prominence in the classroom. Schools tend to prohibit the use of cell phones and prefer computers to give priority to the control of technological tools in order to use the Internet safely. Mobile phones, in this sense, are only used at certain times when there is a pedagogical objective, although there is still a need for more pedagogical and digital training for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Foro de Educación is the property of Foro de Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The phenomenon of migration has become more acute in Europe in recent years. This unprecedented situation has led to multiple challenges in the host countries in terms of managing the social integration process of migrants. The situation has particularly affected minors, with the consequent impact on local education systems. Within this context, the MICREATE project — Migrant Children and Communities in a Transforming Europe (HORIZON 2020–822664) — emerged, whose main objective is to identify and meet the specific needs of children and young migrants related to integration into the host societies via school. The research is being conducted using a mixed methodology with a child-centred approach in order to avoid the assumptions with which adults tend to think about integration. In this way, we seek to create a space that enables them to express their interests and experiences. This project, which will last three years, is expected to enable us to rethink integration policies and strategies by generating new knowledge and promoting new solutions for education institutions and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today it is not easy to think in the society without the impact (and influence) of digital technologies. The relevance of digital devices and associated indicators are used as proxies to measure the development of societies today. In that context, both top-down and/or bottom-up technology in education initiatives seek to promote different forms of incorporating digital technologies in educational contexts. There are many successful experiences around the world to implement digital technologies in school contexts. However, it is critical to analyze the mismatch between the expectations and the reality but also to enquire how to provide better evidence and analysis to deepen and expand the knowledge in the field of education and technology from the Top-Down and Bottom-Up initiatives. Keeping that in mind, an international call for papers was launched that finally 14 contributions from 12 countries were included in this special issue. The articles shed light about two important aspects: (1) how good technical solutions cannot ignore the context in which these digital technologies are being used or adopted. (2) how the access to technologies can simply amplify the existing inequalities within a society (as well as between different societies) if additional (in most cases non-technical) components are not being carefully considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Páginas de la Educación is the property of Universidad Catolica del Uruguay Damaso Antonio Larranaga and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Arundo donax L. (giant reed) is a perennial rhizomatous grass and has been identified as an important non-food biomass crop with capacity for cultivation in marginal and degraded lands where water scarcity conditions frequently occur due to climate change. This review analyzes the effect of water stress on photosynthetic capacity and biomass production in multiple giant reed ecotypes grown in different regions around the world. Furthermore, this review will attempt to explain the reason for the high photosynthetic capacity of giant reed even under changing environmental conditions as well as indicate other morphological reasons that could contribute to maintaining this high photosynthetic rate. Finally, future research in favor of selecting ecotypes with drought tolerance is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The squatting movement is a social movement that seeks to use unoccupied land or temporarily or permanently abandoned buildings as farmland, housing, meeting places, or centers for social and cultural purposes. Its main motivation is to denounce and at the same time respond to the economic difficulties that activists believe exist to realize the right to housing. Much of what we know about this movement comes from the informational and journalistic literature generated by actors that are close or even belong to the movement. However, there is also a significant diversity of knowledge and scientific evidence on the squatters' movement that is being produced by academia and that is worth knowing and grouping together. With the aim of defining and understanding how the squatters' movement is constituted and organized, and how it acts, this research analyzes what the scientific literature affirms about it. Through qualitative research based on the systematic literature review (SLR) method, information was sought in the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. The initial universe of 262 articles was finally reduced to a sample of 32 articles. These have been analyzed by means of a categorized classification content analysis. The results obtained allow us to establish the state of the art on the squatting movement, placing special emphasis on its dynamics of resistance, its process of political subjectivation and its mechanisms of action and self-management. The study suggests that the movement is understood based on collective actions with a political role of resistance to neoliberalism and the inequalities it generates, and of response to the basic and social needs of the communities through self-management., Systematic Review Registration: [doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7179670], identifier [7179670]., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ballesteros-Quilez, Rivera-Vargas and Jacovkis.)