Digital Technologies in Education: New Tools for New Times?

Abstract

The prominence of digital technologies has been increasing steadily since the 2000s in many areas of society. A number of new internet tools have emerged, which can be said to differ substantially from the forms and the initial concept of the World Wide Web as it emerged into mainstream technology use in the 1990s. These new digital technologies appear to be especially connective and social in nature. As Flaythornthwaite and Andrews argue (2011, p. 94) “what is new about current technologies is that they bring into institutions and organizations a suite of practices that originate in open, web-based interaction.” Within educational communities the use of digital technologies in the classroom has been largely received with enthusiasm as it is seen to present educators with numerous opportunities for teaching, learning, and collaborating.