Pekka Mertala

Pekka Mertala

Associate professor
Unit
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Department / Division
Department of Teacher Education
Room number
RUU C230
Email
pekka.o.mertala@jyu.fi
Mobile
+358504670082
Postal address
Alvar Aallon katu 9
Fields of science
113 Computer and information sciences
315 Sport and fitness sciences
518 Media and communications
516 Educational sciences

Biography

I work as an associate professor (multiliteracy and digital literacies) at the Teacher Education Department of the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä. I lead the Education, Texts and Technologies research group  as well as work within the LearnDigi - Digitalization in and for learning and interaction reserach profiling area,

Research interests

My key research themes include:

- Critical educational technology research, especially how technology and education are discussed.
- Datafication and data literacy in school (Modality project) and leisure time (Running with Data project).
- Children's perceptions of technology and media (e.g., Innokas Artificial Intelligence projects).

Publications

Publication
2025

Bridging digital competence to digital citizenship: preparing learners for a digital society

EDUsummIT 2025 – Designing Education Ecosystems for the Future: The Role of Digital Technologies. Dublin City University.
Trevisan, Ottavia
Langran, Elizabeth
Egan, Alison
Costello, Eamon
Michaux-Colin, Florence
Warriem, Jayakrishnan Madathil
Starkey, Louise
Cotnam-Kappel, Megan
Deschênes, Michelle
Mertala, Pekka
Christensen, Rhonda
Parent, Séverine
Bocconi, Stefania
Saito, Toshinori
Hogan, Tracy
Goda, Yoshiko
Publication
2025

Leikin lyhyt suhteellisuusteoria

Lapsibarometri 2025. Lapsiasiavaltuutetun toimiston julkaisuja.
Mertala, Pekka
Mustola, Marleena
Publication
2024

Datafixation of education

Datafizierung (in) der Bildung. Digitale Gesellschaft. Transcript Verlag.
Mertala, Pekka
More publications from this author

Research groups

Research group

Education, Texts and Technologies

The research group conducts interdisciplinary research on the relationships between education, texts and technologies.

Projects

Text saying PARADOX: Resolving the Ethical Paradoxes of Data-Informed Talent Identification in Junior Sports through Data Literacy
Project

Resolving the Ethical Paradoxes of Data-Informed Talent Identification in Junior Sports through Data Literacy (PARADOX)

The PARADOX project investigates and addresses the ethical challenges in data-informed talent identification processes in junior sports.
Project

AI projects in the Innokas Network

Research on AI projects in basic education and early childhood education in the Innokas Network
Project

Movement for Data Literacy (MODALITY)

The project investigates datafication within schools and develops methods of enhancing students' data literacy.
Project

LearnDigi - Digitalization in and for learning and interaction

LearnDigi is a profiling area of JYU funded by Academy of Finland. We aim to examine ways in which technologies are used to support learning and knowledge construction, and the impacts of increasing digitalization on learning and interaction.