The pressures of the information and digital culture exhibit innovation, but also a hegemonic power, and act in reciprocity with the global economy. Theoretical concepts and practical actions need to be revisited, to build equity in virtual communication. A sociological-cultural focus of communication mediated by technology, cannot occur without…

In this article, Larry Cuban discusses his ideas about the topic of this Special Issue of E-learning and Digital Media "Networked Realms and Hoped-For Futures: A Trans-Generational Dialogue" with one of its co-editors, Petar Jandric. The conversation explores the historical relationships between education and information and…

The ongoing development of mobile devices like cell phones, iPods, PDAs, and so on is seen by an increasing number of educationalists as a chance to focus on a new kind of learning. This mobile learning, as it is called, should enable students to learn while on the move. Rather than giving a genealogy of the use of mobile equipment in education,…

This article critiques the report of President Obama's taskforce on educational technology, "Transforming American Education". It calls into question the claims of the authors that the proposed policy is "revolutionary", and then offers a point-by-point comparison between the report's recommendations and those derived from a perspective taking…

Given the escalating role of media and new media in our everyday lives, there is an urgent need for courses in Critical Media Literacy, at all levels of schooling. The empowering nature of these kinds of courses is demonstrated through a discussion of a Critical Media Literacy course taught at UCLA. (Contains 1 note.)

This article discusses some of the approaches implemented as socio-educational public policies--which have failed--aimed at strengthening social inclusion to encourage a substantive conviviality, an alternative to the existing one, which is included under the new comprehensive framework of Social Studies of Science and Technology in their…

Schooled in an earlier time, educators are laboring to find meaningful purchase in new media environments, unable to match the fluency and sophistication of their "digital native" students. Yet is Marc Prensky's portrayal of teachers as "digital immigrants" really an accurate rendering of the today's situation? Drawing on phenomenological and…

In support of the conclusions and recommendations in the National Education Technology Plan (NETP), this article makes explicit the connections between the economic rationale used in the plan and the educational transformations it recommends. The article reviews macroeconomic research, microeconomic research, labor market and workforce studies,…

In this article the authors accept as a given the National Education Technology Plan's vision of a transformed education system powered by technology such that learners receive personalized and engaging learning experiences, and where assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity are redefined. The article analyzes this vision of a…