Critical perspectives on TEL: art and design education, theory, communities and space

This paper explores three themes, emerging from the Inter-Life project, an Art and Design education and social skills project set in a virtual world. We argue that they connect with the concerns raised by critical Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) researchers at the Alpine Rendezvous workshop entitled TEL: the Crisis and the Response. The first theme focuses on theory and TEL. We consider Cultural Historical Activity Theory, but we strongly feel that our argument has broader application as part of the intellectual self-defence toolkit that researchers and practitioners in the critical TEL community need if they are to resist the crises arising from educational globalisation. A second theme relates to the importance of working together in research communities and joint enterprises, focused on using a joint set of tools to investigate an issue or set of issues in a systematic way. In our final theme, we focus on the significance of learning spaces. They are part of the intellectual toolkit with which critical TEL researchers can resist the subordination of our ideas and work to globalised interests.