Pupils in the clouds: Implementation of Google Apps for Education

Authors

  • Maria Lindh
  • Jan Nolin
  • Karen Nowe Hedvall

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v21i4.6185

Keywords:

Google Apps for Education, affordance, tunnel-vision affordance, cloud computing, tethered appliances

Abstract

The study focuses on the implications of affordances identified in Google Apps for Education (GAFE), by strategic staff within a Swedish school organisation, with responsibility for schools in around 30 municipalities. A complex picture emerged, where GAFE was perceived both as a neutral, well-functioning tool and as a means of educating in partly new ways. Furthermore, the study shows that GAFE, despite its characteristic of being a non-generative appliance, still can be used in creative ways. The implementation of cloud technology, such as GAFE, endorses a tunnel-vision affordance that downgrades more nuanced perceptions of the different technological, economical, and ethical aspects of the technology. Studying GAFE, different tensions of power emerge: Google vs. the school, IT professionals vs. teachers, management vs. teachers, teachers vs. pupils, Google vs. pupils.

Author Biographies

Maria Lindh

Ph.D. student at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science at the University of Boras, Sweden

Jan Nolin

professor at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, at the University of Boras

Karen Nowe Hedvall

Senior Lecturer at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science at the University of Boras, Sweden

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Published

2016-03-20

How to Cite

Lindh, M., Nolin, J., & Hedvall, K. N. (2016). Pupils in the clouds: Implementation of Google Apps for Education. First Monday, 21(4). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v21i4.6185