This workshop contribution addresses teachers and teacher educators and combines empirical insights with collective reflection on agency-oriented educational practices. It is structured in two interconnected parts.

In the first part, I present evidence of a gendered digital divide in Swiss upper secondary schools, drawing on quantitative survey data from a research project on digital transformation in upper secondary education. The results reveal significant gender differences in several key areas related to students’(ethical) use of digital technologies, beliefs and perceptions. For example, students identifying as female reported significantly lower confidence in using LLMs, significantly stronger beliefs regarding responsibility in the use of LLMs, alongside significantly less optimistic views about the potential impact of LLMs on society (including societal aspects such as education, democracy, the economy, and the environment). Building on these findings, participants will be invited to collectively reflect on educational approaches that address such inequalities in everyday school practice, moving beyond deficit-oriented narratives that frame students identifying as female as lacking skills, confidence, or interest.

The second part focuses on agency-oriented educational approaches aimed at strengthening both teachers’ and students’ agency in their interactions with digital technologies—particularly LLMs. Drawing on data collected through future workshops, I present a comparative analysis of education-related future imaginaries generated by ChatGPT and future visions of education developed collaboratively by teachers during two workshops conducted in France. The comparison highlights clear differences in values, priorities, and narratives surrounding education and technology, pointing to the normative and political dimensions embedded in LLMs-generated imaginaries.
Overall, this contribution aims to foster collective reflection on how digital inequalities and biased imaginaries of the future of education can be addressed by centering teachers’ and students’ agency. By combining empirical evidence with collective reflection, the workshop invites participants to critically engage with whose futures are being imagined—and whose are being marginalized—when educational technologies are designed, adopted, and discussed.

References:

Consoli, T., & Petko, D. (2025). Which educational approaches predict students’ generative AI confidence and responsibility?. Computers and education: Artificial intelligence, 9, 100431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100431

Consoli, T., Simon, S., Vassaux, C., Guigon, G., Čarapina, M. (under review). Whose Educational Future? Comparing Humans’ and LLMs’ Visions and Imaginaries.

Simon, S., Vassaux, C., Guigon, G., Čarapina, M., & Consoli, T. (2025). The Postdigital Classroom: a Guide Toward the Imaginary. Postdigital Science and Education, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-025-00565-w

Petko, D., Cattaneo, A., Gonon, P., Antonietti, C., Consoli, T., Hartmann, M., Michos, K., & Schmitz, M.-L. (2025). Digitale Transformation der Sekundarstufe II: Schlussbericht des DigiTraS II Projektes. Universität Zürich, Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft. https://perma.cc/X8ET-VHU6