One of the concerns in our field of study is that persistent focus on things/technologies (e.g., mobile devices, virtual worlds, AI, online courses, etc etc) rather than problems (e.g., poverty, achievement, engagement, etc). The Journal of Computing and Higher Education has a special issue on “The Research We Need” in educational technology and Spencer Greenhalgh has an article in it that asks three important questions:

  1. which problems should we solve?
  2. who should solve those problems?
  3. is solving problems always good?

It’s a thoughtful paper and well worth your time.