Digital technology is expected to change education systems, and discussions around the nature of this change have started to m ove beyond technocentrism or unfounded optimism, to focus on the nuances of integrating digital technology into the education system. Many application s and studies of digital media in education, however, either augment and re inforce text-based practices or replicate them on digital platforms.
Theoretical perspectives from cognitive science, psychology and anthropolo gical studies suggest that our minds are so intertwined with media in our c ognition that the term ‘intra-action’ helps better express their co-constit uted nature. Text has also been fundamental in shaping our conceptual and b ureaucratic structures. The textual medium is thus foundational to our lear ning systems, both cognitively and institutionally.
The introduction of digital media is, therefore, not merely a matter of substituting one med ium of communication with another. New features in digital media are fundam entally altering our relationships with each other and with knowledge syste ms. Simultaneous consideration of how various bodies in the educational ‘as semblage’ – learning spaces, administrative bureaucracies, and conceptual s ystems – might be affected, will help policymakers, practitioners and resea rchers guide the complex reassembling of the educational network, from its text-based foundations to more digitally rooted institutions
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