Learning technology: Theorising the tools we study Martin Oliver Martin Oliver is a Reader in ICT in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is an editor of the journal Learning, Media and Technology, and is Chair of the Association for Learning Technology. Address for correspondence: Dr Martin Oliver, London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London, 23-29 Emerald Street, London, WC1N 3QS, UK. Email: m.oliver@ioe.ac.uk Abstract This paper identifies a significant gap in existing work within the field of educational technology—the failure to explain technology theoretically—and proposes an agenda for addressing this. While there are discussions of theory within educational technology research, these typically focus on learning. Technology itself is seldom considered, being treated instead as “natural” or given. This is in marked contrast to other fields of study, in which robust theories of technology have been developed. The consequence of this is that technology is treated as if it will cause learning—and when it does not, there is no clear explanation of why.To advance this discussion, two traditions of work theorising technology are introduced—one positivistic, including work on affordance, and the other (largely unrepresented in educational technology) that provides a social account. An example of each is used to analyse a case study, so as to contrast the kind of claims that currently get made about technology with those that we could make. It is argued that adopting a social account of technology would enable richer, better-integrated claims to be made about technology use. Introduction This paper identifies a significant gap in the way that current research in the field of educational technology is theorised, and offers a proposal for how this may be addressed. The importance of this is that current accounts of technology provide poor explanations of how technology use leads to—or fails to lead to—learning. First, the field is reviewed in order to provide a systematic account of current ways in which technology is theorised. Problems are identified, and discussed in relation to wider traditions of theoretical work. Then, an example is offered that contrasts two different approaches: one reflect- ing work in the field, and one unrepresented in current educational technology research. The paper concludes by identifying implications for research in the field. Background: the conspicuous absence of theories of technology within the field Considerable effort has been made to making sense of what we mean by “learning.” This is an important and serious issue, and one that is obviously worthy of considerable attention (see, eg, Mayes & de Freitas, 2004). However, it is not the whole story. An account of educational tech- nology that can only explain “education” and not “technology” runs the risk of dealing naively with an important part of its field of study. The consequence of this is a failure to provide convincing accounts of the link between technology use and learning. It is this gap in current educational technology research that is addressed here. British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 44 No 1 2013 31–43 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01283.x © 2012 The Author. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2012 BERA. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.