ERIC Number: EJ1452497
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1743-9884
EISSN: EISSN-1743-9892
The Epistemic Machinery of Educational Platforms
Hemy Ramiel; Eran Fisher
Learning, Media and Technology, v49 n4 p623-638 2024
This paper adds an algorithmic epistemology perspective to previous works that examine the datafication of subjective social and emotional characteristics, perceptions, and behaviours. The paper employs a comparative epistemological approach to explore two behavioural educational platforms: RedCritter Teacher and Panorama Education. We unpack these platforms' epistemic arrays of data extraction, interfaces, justifications, and representations and the knowledge arrangements they aim to constitute in schools. Borrowing Knorr-Cetina's notion of 'epistemic machineries,' which entails the material and discursive apparatuses of knowledge production in specific 'epistemic cultures,' we analyse the platforms' empirical apparatuses, ontological assumptions, and referential constructions. This exploration unearths two different digital epistemes: a gamified, engagement-based recognition system; and a bureaucratic-scientific framework that aims to produce actionable data for educators and schools. We explore the ramifications of these different human-machine entanglements and question how these bring to bare on pertaining to school life, such as human agency, knowledge practices, and educational decision-making.
Descriptors: Epistemology, Social Emotional Learning, Data, Higher Education, College Students, Educational Indicators, School Statistics, Learning Management Systems, Educational Practices, Data Collection, Data Processing, Gamification, Learner Engagement, Visual Aids, Constructivism (Learning), Comparative Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A