Abstract
In a recent speech by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education in the United Kingdom, he noted:
One of the greatest changes can be seen in the lives of children and young people, who are at ease with the world of technology and who communicate, socialise and participate online effortlessly … children are increasingly embracing technology at a younger age … yet the classrooms of today don’t reflect these changes. Indeed, many of our classrooms would be very recognisable to someone from a century ago. While there has been significant investment in technology in education, it has certainly not transformed the way that education is delivered.
This chapter takes up this challenge to technology and seeks to contribute to debates on geographies of informal education. It does so by exploring the potential of digital technologies to create collaborations between formal and informal educational practices rich with the potential to transform the way that education is delivered. Notably, it looks at one example of digital technology in practice, the development and piloting of the Always Learning Gateway (ALG) by Pearson Education working in a collaborative partnership with five UK secondary schools. In doing so it explores the emergence, development and disruptive potential offered by digital technologies to create a hybrid of formal and informal educational practices.
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© 2014 Kate Edwards
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Edwards, K. (2014). Education, Technology and the Disruptive Innovations Challenging the Formal/Informal Education Divide. In: Mills, S., Kraftl, P. (eds) Informal Education, Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137027733_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137027733_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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