Opening up the classroom: Enabling and interrupting digital media practices in School

Rooted in media and communication studies, and drawing on Structuration theory, this feature utilises the concept of open spaces as analytical lenses to observe how ‘digital education’ is unfolding in classrooms today. We conducted in-depth fieldwork in one German school in a long-term project from 2012 to 2017. We present theoretically and empirically based research from classroom observation and teacher interviews that informs debates about open education and innovative digital media pedagogies. The feature embeds the project’s findings in a reflection on digital practices in schools and, more broadly, in the contemporary global debate over the implementation of digital media in schools.