(Re)imagining the futures of lifelong learning: Some sociotechnical tensions

The following document is part of a collection of papers that build on the UIL report Embracing a Culture of Lifelong Learning.

Neil Selwyn’s paper highlights the need to move beyond expectations of digital transformation and technological ‘solutionism’ when thinking about the futures of lifelong learning, and instead engage with the ‘messy’ realities of education and technology. In particular, the paper identifies four sociotechnical ‘tensions’: (1) of environmental sustainability (2) between the commercial and the commons, (3) between inclusivity and exclusivity, and (4) between personalisation and collectivism. It argues that these tensions can play a generative role in how we set about (re)imagining the futures of lifelong learning.

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