Posted on June 9, 2023 by Brook Crum
JUNE 9, 2023 — A new study by UTSA researchers provides a cautionary tale for educators, students and consumers about how major technology companies promote their educational products and services.
College of Education and Human Development Associate Professor Vittorio Marone and doctoral student Bruna Damiana Heinsfeld examined the strategies technology companies use in shaping the role of technology in education.
The researchers analyzed the educational homepages of tech industry titans Google and Microsoft, exposing hidden tactics and dynamics that could potentially impact educational systems across the globe. Their findings were recently published in Computers & Education Open .
“Major players like Google and Microsoft have a big influence on how technology is perceived, and that perception can influence the purchase of technology and the expectations about its role in education,” said Marone, Learning, Design and Technology program chair in the Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Department. “Therefore, it is important to consider how these companies describe technology and how they present their products and services. By understanding how they do that, we can all become more informed consumers and make better decisions about technology.”
— Brook Crum
