Educational Technology as a Positioning Tool in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract : In this paper, I argue that educational technology can become a symbolic tool for teachers’ social positioning as much as a pedagogical tool for the classroom. Drawing on Holland et al.’s (1998) concepts of cultural artefact, semiotic mediation, and positional identity, I explore the experiences of PowerPoint use of one rural teacher in Bangladesh. Through her story, I shed light on the processes through which PowerPoint was becoming a positioning tool and how, at the same time, a shift in her positional identity was emerging.