18 Winter / Hiver 2017 Here are some testimonials on what motivated individuals to volun- teer for Math Kangaroo contest and clubs: “I really like what these clubs are doing for students [who are] curious about math outside of what they see in school” —  a PhD pure mathematics student. “It might change the life of some of the kids” —  one enthusiastic volunteer. For more information, please have a look at: www.mathkangaroocanada. com. Those interested in administering the Canadian Math Kangaroo contest in a school or university can find an application form from the Contact page of the website. n elwyn’s book is a timely contribution to the debate surrounding uses of technol- ogy in education. It is well-organized and easy to read. Selwyn’s thoughtful use of questions encourages readers’ engagement as he examines bene- fits and disadvantages of technol- ogy as it is used in education in the broader sense. Selwyn categorizes the use of technology in education into three broad areas: improving, trans- forming, and revolutionizing edu- cation. He organizes the discus- sion into six chapters - five of which are framed as questions: Digital Education and Education- al Change, Making Education More Democratic?, Making Edu- cation More Personalized?, Mak- ing Education More Calculable?, Making Educa- tion More Commercial?, ‘Good’ Education and the Digital – So What Needs to Change? Selwyn notes that the current debate on technol- ogy in education tends to be one-sided in favour of technology where some of the arguments are that the current educational model is broken and that digital technology can fix it. Such declara- tions stifle debate and hinder deeper examinations on how technology may serve learners’ endeav- ours. Selwyn rightly encourages debate when he says: “The ideas of digital improvement/trans- formation/disruption of education clearly require problematizing: that is, taking a step back from them and not taking them at face value” (page 23). Selwyn notes that proponents of technological solutions for education may have vested interests. Are they careerists employed to sell technology solutions? Or perhaps academics eager to publish “learned analyses?” Selwyn points out that student learning is not top-of-mind if those are the motivations. In his first chapter “Digital Technology and Educa- tional Change” Selwyn casts his discussion wider than mere classroom practice, noting that this is but a small part of the overall impact of technology in education. Do the politics of education war- rant discussion? He asks what changes are realized by the introduction of technology: do the changes actually improve the educational pro- cess, are these changes in the learners’ best interest? In the following chapter, “Making Education More Democratic” Selwyn challenges claims that technology improves both access to and success within institutions of higher learning. Where and what is the supporting evidence? Selwyn considers experiments in massively open online courses (MOOC) — those which are available at no or low cost to anyone with an internet connection. How many students suc- ceed and which demographic do they represent? In “Making Education More Personalized” Selwyn focuses on the claim that the ability to provide customization is one of the important features of on-line education. He provides a bal- anced view of the claim, citing the perceived advantage of such concepts as e-portfolios while noting that the material learned in an on-line environment will essentially be the same for every student. Selwyn then focuses his discussion on “Making Education More Calculable” where the con- cept of “datafication” of education is gaining some prominence. He defines “datafication” as the ability to collect data on performance of all actors involved in the educational process. He brings to question how those data might be used and by whom. In “Making Education More Commercial” Selwyn wonders what happens to the learners’ rights when they are in conflict with a corporate requirement to achieve profit. “‘Good’ Education and the Digital – So What Needs to Change?” provides a concluding dis- cussion of the advantages and disadvantages of technology in education. In spite of its small size—six succinct chapters in 175 pages—the conversation generated by Selwyn’s questions gives the book heft. n “Is technology good for education?” (author: Neil Selwyn) Author: Neil Selwyn Publisher: Polity ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-9646-1 Date: 2015 No. of pages: 175 By Jon Rokne Book Review/Revue de livre About the Author Jon Rokne (LSMIEEE) is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary where he served as department Chair from 1989 to 1996.An IEEE member since 1970, Dr. Rokne has volun- teered in a number of capacities. In the Computer Society, he completed two terms as Vice-President, Publications and three terms on the Board of Governors. He served as Vice- President, IEEE Publication Services and Products Board and as a member of the Board of Directors of IEEE for two terms. Dr. Rokne is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Canadian Review, and has contributed numerous book reviews and articles. He was also a contribu- tor to the Special Focus on Engineering and Technology Education published in the Summer 2013 issue of the magazine; Dr. Rokne wrote on the topic: “The trend towards abstraction in engineering education.” Rossitza Marinova (SMIEEE) has been a Professor in Mathematics and Computing Science at Concordia University of Edmonton since 2004. She has a Ph.D. in Computational and Applied Mathematics (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), M.Sc. in Mathematical Modeling, and B.Sc. in Mathematics (Sofia University, Bulgaria). She also worked as a research scientist in the software development industry in Canada and in the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan. Dr. Marinova is a member of the IEEE TISP Canada committee, contributing through her long-standing service as co-secretary, co-organizing numerous Edmonton-area events and playing a role in several nationalTISP Canada workshops. She is 2018 Chair of IEEE Canada’s Educational Activities Committee. Dr. Marinova is a Life Member of Canadian Mathematical Society and a member of Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society. About the Author