What future is there for formal schools and schooling in an increasingly digital age? Are educational technologists justified in arguing for the re-construction of school processes and practices along digital lines? Do contemporary digital technologies simply render the educational institution entirely obsolete? This chapter outlines - and then critiques - the radical forms of digital 're-schooling' and 'de-schooling' that are often argued for within current academic debates over educational technology community. Instead, the chapter argues for a more modest approach that seeks to use digital technologies to work with schools as they currently are, rather than against them.

Despite all of the talk of technology transforming organizations and institutions, it could be argued that the organizations and institutions that relate to education have displayed less obvious evidence of change over the last few decades than those in other areas of society. In particular, many people would argue that a slow pace of change is especially evident with the “traditional" institutions of education – not least the school. In this chapter, we shall consider the significance of educational institutions in contemporary education. How can educational institutions such as the school be said to be coping with the demands of digital technology? Is there a continued need for formal institutions in education? Does digital technology in fact render the educational institution obsolete?