Introduction

Thinking about how we should use technology in education is thinking about how we want to shape the future of education and, indeed, how we want to shape future humans. Theory is needed to illuminate the issues at stake, but there is only a very limited amount of existing theory specific to educational technology. Moreover, when theory is referred to this is almost invariably education theory without any influence from the theory of technology. This first chapter explains why we think a new ‘dialogic’ theory of educational technology is required and introduces the main themes of the book. We argue that the ‘voice’ of technology should feature prominently in any theory of educational technology. Two case studies are offered to illustrate that the ways in which we frame educational technology makes a difference to how we design for education with technology. The chapter ends with an outline of the argument of the whole book.