The platformization of higher education: challenges and implications

Abstract

Worldwide, even in developing contexts, most universities have embraced different platforms, and quite commonly, many institutions support more than one platform simultaneously. Autonomy and self-regulation, which are critical features of higher education institutions, may prevent the sector from having government-led regulatory efforts addressing the many issues that emerge from the universal use of platforms spurred by tech gurus and vendors. Instead, the sector will have to find its way to generate a conducive policy and regulatory environment that maximizes the benefits of platformization and minimizes its risks. This self-regulatory effort may have an important exemplary effect on how other educational levels tackle those issues and influence public interventions in schools, particularly. In the end, higher education institutions have a major social and political responsibility as teacher training providers and researchers on both technological developments that nurture platformization and on its implications at all levels from a critical perspective.