What if the greatest barrier to change in education is not technology or funding, but the way we imagine what education is?

Institutions are never neutral. They carry histories, values, and priorities that shape what is possible in teaching and learning. When we accept these frameworks as fixed, even our innovations can end up reinforcing their limits.

In my latest blog post, I explore how educators can act as moral agents of reinstitution, helping to rewrite the structures and values that underpin education: e-learning-rules.com/blog/0045…

What changes could you make in your own context that challenge the default system rather than adapt to it?

#eLearning #DigitalPedagogy #EducationalTechnology #OnlineLearning #HigherEducation #Pedagogy

Surreal sci-fi painting of silhouetted figures amid glowing architectural forms and a radiant cosmic figure, symbolising moral agency and imaginative reinstitution in education.

Are platform-based evaluations really neutral? Or do they conceal embedded assumptions about what counts as valuable, measurable, or meaningful in education?

In this post, I explore how digital platforms often flatten pedagogical nuance by presenting value-laden processes as objective. I argue for strong evaluation - evaluation that is grounded in explicit ethical, pedagogical, and social commitments.

Read the full post:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0044…

#EdTech #DigitalPedagogy #eLearning #CriticalEdTech #PlatformStudies #HigherEd #Assessment #educationaltechnology

Retro-futuristic painting of a woman studying data panels with human silhouettes and bar charts against a cosmic nebula background, evoking critical reflection on educational platforms.

Much of edtech is designed for immediacy. Speed, convenience, and disruption dominate the narrative. But learning is not instantaneous. It is slow, situated, and shaped by time and tradition.

In this post, I explore how digital learning environments might better respect the temporal and institutional dimensions of education. What might it mean to design technologies that support slowness, memory, and pedagogical depth?

Read the full post:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0038…

More at:
e-learning-rules.com/

#elearning #edtech #digitalpedagogy #criticalpedagogy #highereducation #blogpost

A surreal, retro-futuristic painting shows an elderly man deep in thought beside a glowing hourglass. Behind him, vintage monitors display graphs, and a figure walks a radiant path toward Earth in space.

Too often, critique in digital education is dismissed as negativity or resistance. But what if critique could be something more constructive? What if it was a way of creating rather than simply opposing?

In my latest blog post, I argue that we need to move beyond solutionism and reclaim critique as a generative force. Drawing on Feenberg and Illich, I explore how political pedagogy and design grounded in educational values can open new spaces for imagining what learning could be.

Read the full post here:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0037…

#eLearning #CriticalPedagogy #EducationalTechnology #DigitalEducation #PoliticalPedagogy #LearningDesign #CritiqueAsCreation

A retro-futuristic digital painting of a surreal educational landscape with organic and mechanical structures blending into a dreamlike environment, inspired by 1970s sci-fi aesthetics.

Educational institutions are not static structures. They are created and sustained by the social imaginaries that shape them. In my latest blog post, I explore how educational technologies are not neutral tools, but active participants in reproducing these institutional logics.

If we want to reimagine education, we also need to rethink the role technology plays in shaping what education is and could become.

Read the full post:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0036…

#edtech #criticalpedagogy #digitallearning #elearning #highereducation #sociologyofeducation

A retro-futuristic scene showing abstract educational technology structures merging with surreal landscapes, symbolising the intersection of institutional design and imaginative possibility.

Too often, digital platforms silently shape our teaching practices. From VLE templates to AI-based assessment systems, technology influences pedagogy more than we realise.

This post argues for reversing that logic. Pedagogy must lead the design and use of digital tools, not follow it.

This is the first in a new blog series exploring how educators can reclaim agency in a platform-driven environment.

Read the full post:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0028…

#DigitalPedagogy #CriticalPedagogy #OnlineLearning #EdTech #InstructionalDesign #PedagogyFirst #LMS #VLE #AIinEducation

What happens when the tools we use to teach quietly shape what and how we are able to teach?

In this blog post, I explore how platformed learning environments like Canvas constrain pedagogical possibilities—and how educators can resist the logic of the interface to reclaim space for critical, purposeful teaching.

Read the full post:
e-learning-rules.com/blog/0022…

#CriticalPedagogy #EdTech #DigitalEducation #OnlineLearning #CanvasLMS #PlatformCritique #HigherEd #OpenEducation #EduTooters #ScholarSocial

As generative AI tools become more embedded in everyday academic life, detection is no longer enough.

In my latest blog post, I argue for a shift in how we think about assessment—especially in online and distance education. It's time to move beyond reactive measures and design assessments that are resilient, meaningful, and pedagogically grounded.

Read the full piece: e-learning-rules.com/blog/0020…

#Education #Assessment #AI #OnlineLearning #DistanceEducation #CriticalPedagogy #OER

I'm Stephen Wheeler, an eLearning Technologist at The University of Manchester. My work focuses on online and distance learning, including MOOCs, OERs, and student-centred design rooted in critical pedagogy. I advocate for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and ethical, decentralised platforms that support authentic engagement and inclusive education.

I'm here to connect with fellow educators, technologists, and open education advocates, and to explore how platforms like Friendica can support collaborative, non-commercial educational spaces.

Looking forward to meaningful conversations across the Fediverse!

#EducationTechnology #CriticalPedagogy #FOSS #OpenEducation #Fediverse #DigitalLearning #AuthenticAssessment