Learning in the 'platform society': disassembling an educational data assemblage

Citation

Williamson B (2017) Learning in the 'platform society': disassembling an educational data assemblage. Research in Education, 98 (1), pp. 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034523717723389

Abstract
Schools are increasingly involved in diverse forms of student data collection. This article provides a sociotechnical survey of a data assemblage used in education. ClassDojo is a commercial platform for tracking students’ behaviour data in classrooms and a social media network for connecting teachers, students and parents. The hybridization of for-profit platforms with a key public institution of society raises significant issues. ClassDojo is designed to influence how school leaders and teachers make decisions, how schools connect with parents, and how teachers act to change students’ behaviour. Conceptualized as a ‘public sphere platform’ ClassDojo is reshaping discourses, practices and subjectivities in schools. In particular, ClassDojo provides evidence of how the business model and political economy governing social media—‘platform capitalism’—is being inserted into public education. It is prototypical of education in an emerging ‘platform society,’ and of how student and teacher subjectivities are being reshaped by the presumptions and worldviews encoded in digital platforms.

Keywords
behaviour change; data assemblage; ClassDojo; platform capitalism; platform society; subjectivity

Journal
Research in Education: Volume 98, Issue 1