Technology and Learning
While the incorporation of technology into a classroom setting has been readily adopted as a necessary element of 21st century learning, the question of whether these technologies actually result in an improvement to student education seems to remain, for the most part, unanswered. There is still only a subset of available technologies used in schools due to restrictions of time and costs, both needed for access to resources and training of educators. Also, there have been studies that have raised queries about the financial
investments made in technology within schools (Cuban, 2001). Therefore, extensive and appropriate research is required to ensure that the most useful and effective technologies are taken up in classrooms.
Since the 1970's, computers had experienced wide-spread and rapid growth in industry, business and government. These sectors were becoming increasingly dependent on such information and communications technologies (ICTs) as they were linked with improvement and efficiency. Bigum (2012) argues that such evidence of success of computers for various applications outside of schools was then inferred to be evidence they would have the same success within schools.
Research into the impact of ICT on learning in schools began in around the 1960's but was limited in the early stages, focusing mainly on technology in a formal setting, that is, within schools. More recently however, research has diversified and become more complex as technology has done the same. There is, for instance, more interest in investigating teachers uptake and use of technology, motivations of teachers and students in ICT and differences of technology use between nations (Cox, 2012). Current research also looks at technology in informal settings, such as in homes, as success using technology within schools is believed to be related to the way and extent it is used by students outside of schools.
The original design of experiments in this field of research involved exposing a group of students to ICT tools for education and measuring improvements. This approach is flawed as it assumes that tests for assessing improvement are similar to those that measure traditional progress in education. Cox (2012) argues that e-learning simulates new forms of knowledge and therefore research needs to identify new indicators to measure the value of technology in learning. A more complete research method would incorporate interviews with students and direct observations of behaviour, for example.
Bigum (2012) also criticises this approach to research, seeing the uptake of technologies in schools as following a pattern of response. Exciting new ICTs appear on the market and arguments are made whether and how this technology will improve existing teaching practices and, if successful, the new ICT is put into place. The ICT fits into an existing routine until a newer technology or upgrade is made available and the cycle repeats. Bigum argues that looking for improvements in student education is a distraction from the benefits technology has to offer, that research should focus on the way ICT changes learning. He points out that the resulting effect of incorporating technology into classrooms is more interesting than assessing the original projections of its impact, a concept Sproull and Kiesler (1991) refer to "second-level effects". Using technology in both the school and non-school settings is altering the learning styles, strengths, and preferences of 21st century students (Dede, 2007).
At the International EDYsummIT in the Netherlands, a Call to Action was developed, in which the first action addressed was to establish the role of ICT and its implications for formal and informal leaning. Voogt et al (2011) describes an example of a second-level effect, claiming technology has changed education in schools from a teacher-central to student-central approach. Technology provides a variety of learning activities, allows students to work at their own pace, encourages a collaborative style of learning and allows for students to be involved in the assessment of their own learning. Voogt (2003) states that this style of learning is more in line with the expectations and values of the current workforce. November (2009) reinforces this point, stating in his video "Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom", that there needs to be a shift of control from the teacher to the network of students and that this shift is aided by technology. In this way, students gain a sense of contribution and the skills needed to become life-long learners.
With the amount of time, effort and finances spent incorporating technologies into classrooms, there is a push for research that demonstrates these efforts are resulting in improvements in student's learning. However, this is hampered by the complexity in assessing something that is constantly changing and that is difficult to measure in terms of a finite set of indicators.
References
Bigum, C. (2012). Transformative Approaches to New Technologies and Student Diversity in Futures Oriented Classrooms. L. Rowan and C. Bigum, Springer Netherlands
Cox, M.J. (2012). Formal to informal learning with IT: research challenges and issues for e-learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(1), 85-105.
November, A. [November Learning]. (2009). Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/3930740.
Sproull, L. & Kiesler, S. (1991). Connections: New ways of working in the networked organisation. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
(2003) Consequences of ICT for aims, contents, processes and environments of learning. In Curriculum Landscapes and Trends (eds J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper & U. Hameyer), pp. 217–236. Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Voogt J., Knezek G., Cox M.J., Knezek D. & ten Brummelhuis A. (2011) Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 29(1), 4-14.
Since the 1970's, computers had experienced wide-spread and rapid growth in industry, business and government. These sectors were becoming increasingly dependent on such information and communications technologies (ICTs) as they were linked with improvement and efficiency. Bigum (2012) argues that such evidence of success of computers for various applications outside of schools was then inferred to be evidence they would have the same success within schools.
Research into the impact of ICT on learning in schools began in around the 1960's but was limited in the early stages, focusing mainly on technology in a formal setting, that is, within schools. More recently however, research has diversified and become more complex as technology has done the same. There is, for instance, more interest in investigating teachers uptake and use of technology, motivations of teachers and students in ICT and differences of technology use between nations (Cox, 2012). Current research also looks at technology in informal settings, such as in homes, as success using technology within schools is believed to be related to the way and extent it is used by students outside of schools.
The original design of experiments in this field of research involved exposing a group of students to ICT tools for education and measuring improvements. This approach is flawed as it assumes that tests for assessing improvement are similar to those that measure traditional progress in education. Cox (2012) argues that e-learning simulates new forms of knowledge and therefore research needs to identify new indicators to measure the value of technology in learning. A more complete research method would incorporate interviews with students and direct observations of behaviour, for example.
Bigum (2012) also criticises this approach to research, seeing the uptake of technologies in schools as following a pattern of response. Exciting new ICTs appear on the market and arguments are made whether and how this technology will improve existing teaching practices and, if successful, the new ICT is put into place. The ICT fits into an existing routine until a newer technology or upgrade is made available and the cycle repeats. Bigum argues that looking for improvements in student education is a distraction from the benefits technology has to offer, that research should focus on the way ICT changes learning. He points out that the resulting effect of incorporating technology into classrooms is more interesting than assessing the original projections of its impact, a concept Sproull and Kiesler (1991) refer to "second-level effects". Using technology in both the school and non-school settings is altering the learning styles, strengths, and preferences of 21st century students (Dede, 2007).
At the International EDYsummIT in the Netherlands, a Call to Action was developed, in which the first action addressed was to establish the role of ICT and its implications for formal and informal leaning. Voogt et al (2011) describes an example of a second-level effect, claiming technology has changed education in schools from a teacher-central to student-central approach. Technology provides a variety of learning activities, allows students to work at their own pace, encourages a collaborative style of learning and allows for students to be involved in the assessment of their own learning. Voogt (2003) states that this style of learning is more in line with the expectations and values of the current workforce. November (2009) reinforces this point, stating in his video "Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom", that there needs to be a shift of control from the teacher to the network of students and that this shift is aided by technology. In this way, students gain a sense of contribution and the skills needed to become life-long learners.
With the amount of time, effort and finances spent incorporating technologies into classrooms, there is a push for research that demonstrates these efforts are resulting in improvements in student's learning. However, this is hampered by the complexity in assessing something that is constantly changing and that is difficult to measure in terms of a finite set of indicators.
References
Bigum, C. (2012). Transformative Approaches to New Technologies and Student Diversity in Futures Oriented Classrooms. L. Rowan and C. Bigum, Springer Netherlands
Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold & underused: Computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dede, C. (2007). Reinventing the role of information and communications technologies in education. In L. Smolin, K. Lawless, & N. C. Burbules (Eds.), Information and communication technologies: Considerations of current practice for teachers and teacher educators (pp. 11–38). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Dede, C. (2007). Reinventing the role of information and communications technologies in education. In L. Smolin, K. Lawless, & N. C. Burbules (Eds.), Information and communication technologies: Considerations of current practice for teachers and teacher educators (pp. 11–38). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
November, A. [November Learning]. (2009). Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/3930740.
Sproull, L. & Kiesler, S. (1991). Connections: New ways of working in the networked organisation. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
(2003) Consequences of ICT for aims, contents, processes and environments of learning. In Curriculum Landscapes and Trends (eds J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper & U. Hameyer), pp. 217–236. Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Voogt J., Knezek G., Cox M.J., Knezek D. & ten Brummelhuis A. (2011) Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 29(1), 4-14.
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