Digital platforms, teacher training and work

Abstract

The use of digital platforms (DP) in education has been driven by the covid-19 pandemic, affecting teaching work and training. To understand the post-pandemic context regarding DP in education, we conducted a qualitative literature review to identify contributions and challenges in teacher training and work carried out via DP in Brazil and worldwide. It involved collecting data from scientific databases, one national and two international, and organizing the selected works into three thematic groups: the first focused on initial and continuing teacher training and DP, the second and third focused on teaching experiences with DP in Brazil and other countries. Therefore, we conclude that the potential of PDs in the pedagogical, educational, and technical fields is emerging; on the other hand, there is still a lack of initial and continuing training for the pedagogical and critical use of PDs, a lack of technological infrastructure, the increase in social, digital, economic, and epistemic inequalities resulting from obscure algorithmic processes implemented with artificial intelligence, such as platformization, datafication, and algorithmic performativity (PDAP), and ethical dilemmas, such as algorithmic bias and environmental impacts. These results highlight a characteristic feature of all technology, that of non-neutrality, such that it can be both conducive to and detrimental to education, depending on the purposes that guide its implementation.