Education and technology: New learning environments from a transformative perspective

Abstract

The process of digitization that is increasingly entering all aspects of our lives (personal, academic, professional and social) requires education to undergo a profound transformation, and communication and learning processes to be reformulated. Networks and the ability to access information and knowledge anytime and anywhere are enabling all spaces to become potential learning environments. To acquire the evidence we need, we must therefore investigate the real changes that are taking place as a result of digitization. This kind of research should enable us to transform educational activity in a broad sense. In this context and with these objectives in mind, the first International Forum on Education and Technology (FIET) was designed and developed. At the Forum, experts and researchers from 16 countries from around the world worked together for a period of nine months to define the future lines of action for the Education and Technology binomial. These lines of action were divided into the following four categories: institutions and learning environments, citizens, teachers, and public policy. The final category, which encompasses all the previous three, is one that needs to be investigated and innovated in order to produce changes and improvements in the education system.