Decolonising EdTech: Positionality in Educational Technology Research
Channel: e/merge Africa
Date: 2023-05-29

Have you ever thought about your own positionality and what it means for you as an educational technology researcher? Our positionalities shape our particular research interests, what we regard as worthy of studying, our relationships with our research participants, conceptual and theoretical lenses and the research approaches we are drawn to, and more. This interactive session will engage participants in a reflexive process where we unpack different kinds of positionalities together (social, intellectual, decolonial), the relationship between these and doing educational technology research.

Dr. Nompilo Tshuma is a Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum Studies and the Centre for Higher and Adult Education at Stellenbosch University. She has been working with educational technology since 2005 in both student and staff development, and as a researcher. Nompilo holds a PhD (Rhodes University) which focused on understanding the agency of academics as they integrate educational technology and quietly resist a range of constraining structural forces. Developing from this, her current research interests focus on reflexivity and critique by seeking a nuanced understanding of educational technology practices in higher education through a better understanding of context and the use of social theories.

Dr. Nicola Pallitt is an Educational Technology Specialist at senior lecturer level in the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. She provides learning design support and designs professional development opportunities for academics to use technologies effectively in their roles as educators. Nicola supervises postgraduate students and co-teaches formal courses in Higher Education. She received her PhD from the University of Cape Town. She values contextual and culturally responsive approaches to learning design and educational technology usage. She seeks to expand critical perspectives on educational technologies in Higher Education and regularly contributes to collaborative research.