Caught in the Tractor Beam of Larger Influences: The Filtration of Innovation in Education Technology Design (original) (raw)
Related papers
Technology-mediated writing: It’s not how much, but the thought that counts
E-Learning and Digital Media, 2021
Struggling writers including students with disabilities (SWD) need instructional strategies to support their ability to write independently. Integrating technology-mediated instruction to support student writing can mitigate students' challenges throughout the writing process and personalize instruction. In the present group design study, teachers taught 11 to 12 year olds in sixth grade with varying abilities to use a technology-based graphic organizer (TBGO) when digitally planning and composing a persuasive paragraph. Results indicated that the writing quality of the paragraph and use of transition words by typical and struggling writers was significantly better when the TBGO was used as compared to students who wrote without the TBGO. Additionally, when the TBGO was removed, students in the treatment group maintained gains. Student participants and teachers in this study identified features that were especially supportive to students’ writing behaviors. Implications for prac...
The Techno-Pedagogical Pivot: Designing and Implementing a Digital Writing Tool
World Academy of Science, 2015
In educational technology, the idea of innovation is usually tethered to contemporary technological inventions and emerging technologies. Yet, using long-known technologies in ways that are pedagogically or experientially new can reposition them as emerging educational technologies. In this study we explore how a subtle pivot in pedagogical thinking led to an innovative education technology. We describe the design and implementation of an online writing tool that scaffolds students in the evaluation of their own informational texts. We think about how pathways to innovation can emerge from pivots, namely a leveraging of longstanding practices in novel ways has the potential to cultivate new opportunities for learning. We first unpack Infowriter in terms of its design, then we describe some results of a study in which we implemented an intervention which included our designed application.
Teacher design of technology for emergent literacy: An explorative feasibility study
2012
The active participation of teachers in designing classroom learning experiences contributes to teacher abilities to facilitate learning. This paper reports on a case study of one Dutch teacher designing a technology-rich learning environment for emergent literacy. Data were collected to explore the design and implementation of the learning environment, respectively. The main findings from the design study are that scaffolding teacher design: takes mammoth effort; appears to contribute to teacher learning; yields usable products and ownership, both of which seem to contribute to classroom implementation, but also yields products whose subject matter quality is questionable. The pre-post test data from the implementation study indicate that all children working with the intervention exhibited significant learning gains. Based on the findings, it is hypothesized that the high degree of teacher ownership which stems from designing classroom materials positively influences integration of on-computer activities with off-computer classroom activities, and that a high level of integration yields positive influence on pupil learning about the functions of written language.
A Historical Overview of Writing and Technology: Seeking the Right Instructional Tools for the Job
This chapter discusses the history of writing and technology and offers an overview of the integration of advances in the use of technology in the writing classroom. The author has framed this overview by highlighting the importance of selecting the most appropriate tool for any instructional task. Grounded in the belief that writing is a key skill for students to master for success in the classroom and, more importantly, beyond the classroom, this chapter is designed to open a theoretical and practical dialogue between readers and this book about how to best theorize and enact meaningful writing instruction in the digital age.
Underutilized Technology Solutions for Student Writing
Intervention in School and Clinic, 2020
This article provides key considerations and step-by-step procedures useful for any teacher to use when planning to enhance their writing instruction with technology. This includes understanding current writing initiatives as well as recognizing the common behaviors of skilled and struggling writers. Four types of underutilized, yet commonly available technology families are described with associated online tool exemplars. These tools can be used during writing instruction across educational settings to support varying student needs. Recommendations are also made for a step-by-step approach to embedding technology within various components of writing (i.e., prewriting, research, drafting, editing, proofreading) that allows for implementation of writing strategies paired with commonly available technology. Finally, guidelines are shared to support teacher planning and implementation of effective writing strategies supported with technology.
Teacher perceptions of integrating technology in writing
Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 2019
With increasing emphasis by policymakers, there has been an increase in access to technology within schools across the globe. However, recent survey findings suggest that teachers may not be integrating technology into their writing instruction in meaningful and effective ways. Variability in technology integration can be attributed to teacher attitudes about technology. This study seeks to understand teacher attitudes and perceptions regarding writing instruction and use of technology. Interviews of 47 middle school teachers revealed that most teachers considered themselves to be technology users who perceived their students' writing skills to be deficient, yet spent little time on writing instruction in content areas. Teachers indicated that barriers to using technology included that it was too time-consuming; they had limited access; and they perceived access to be a competition. However, teachers revealed that technology was positive for students with disabilities, differentiating instruction, and providing twenty-first-century learning opportunities. These findings suggest that teacher attitudes and perceptions play an important role in technology integration. In addition to increased access to technology, school divisions should provide pre-service and in-service training and time for reflection so that teacher attitudes that impede technology integration can be positively manipulated to improve technology integration in the classroom.
1992
A study examined the integration of computers into the writing practices of a ninth-grade remedial English class in an urban high school in the San Francisco area. Computers and word processors were introduced midway into the school year. The class was observed and recorded daily through the academic year, and all written work collected. Six students were selected for in-depth focus as they carried out writing tasks. Analysis focused on how classroom writing practices were structured and carried out and how students participated in writing tasks before and after the computers arrived. Although many changes accompanied the use of computers, the study concluded that the teacher's structuring of writing instruction had the greatest impact on both student writing and the ways computers entered into that writing. Findings suggest that computers do not function as independent variables in classrooms, but rather as part of a complex network of social and pedagogical interactions. (Six tables of data and five figures are included; 58 references are attached.) (SG) Abstract This study examines thd integration of computers into the writing practices of a remedial English class in an urban high school. Computers and word processors were invoduced mid-way into the school year. The class was observed and recorded daily throughout the academic year, and all written work collected. Six students were selected for in-depth focus as they carried out writing tasks. Analysis focuses on how classroom writing practices were structured and carried out and how students participated in writing tasks before and after the computers arrived. Although many changes accompanied the use of computers, the study concludes that the teacher's structuring of writing instruction had the greatest impact on both student writing and the ways computers entered into that writing. It is argued that computers do not function as independent variables in classrooms, but rather as part of a complex network of social and pedagogical interactions. , Rafi, a ninth grader, has been asked by his English teacher to help his classmate, Lynnette, edit her essay using the computers and word processors in the classroom. He is one of a few students who have learned how to check the spelling of a word processing file using the computerized spell checker. When Lynnette becomes annoyed with the way the spell checker highlights words and phrases in her story, Rafi responds with a tempered view of the technology:
I have asked my co-editors at Educational Technology Research & Development (ETR&D) for an opportunity to share a few reflections as my 15 years of service as ETR&D Development Editor draws to a close. These few remarks represent my reflections about some of the things I have observed over the years. The categories into which I have chosen to group these reflections are: (a) writing, publishing, and editing; (b) instructional design and technology research; and (c) attitudes and abilities. The main messages I try to convey are: (a) simple, descriptive language tends to promote understanding, (b) advocacy can easily lead to over-promising and loss of confidence in our professional discipline, and (c) humility and open-minded inquiry are essential for learning and instruction. Some of these remarks may seem disconnected and unnecessarily personal. That is a risk one takes when trying to express what one genuinely believes. I do hope these thoughts will provoke others, as I have been provoked to learn more and more over the years.
Not "what" but "how": Becoming design-wise about educational technology
2003
2 during the academic year. Only 7% of these teachers allowed students to use the computers to send e-mail as an instructional tool, and "even fewer involved the students in cross-classroom collaborative projects or in Web publishing" (p. 4). found that fewer then two out of ten teachers is a serious user of technology in the classroom. However, this is not because teachers are luddites or lack training. The "technology puzzle" according to Cuban is that, "of those same 10 American teachers, about seven have computers at home and use them to prepare lessons, communicate with colleagues and friends, search the Internet, and conduct personal business. In short, most teachers use computers at home more than at school."