Researching Technology-Enabled Teaching , Learning , and Training (original) (raw)
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Technology Enabled Learning: Policy, Pedagogy, Practice
Technology Enabled Learning: Policy, Pedagogy, Practice
This book comes at an unprecedented moment in history, when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every sphere of activity. The impact on the education sector left millions of students out of school due to institutional closures. Governments, institutions, students and teachers had to make an almost overnight transition to distance and online learning. But crisis generates creativity, and many Commonwealth countries found appropriate solutions to ensure that students continued to learn. A range of technologies was usedprinted text, radio, television, interactive radio instruction, community radio, multimedia, and online learning-based on the requirements of different constituencies. The editors would like to acknowledge with gratitude all those who have made a significant contribution to the publication of this book. We are indebted to Professor Asha Kanwar, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, for providing leadership, encouraging the commissioning of this publication, and writing the foreword. Our thanks to the members of COL's Publication Committee for their comments and approval of the publication proposal. The book would not have been possible without the contributions and timely support of the authors. Our thanks to the following peer reviewers for providing constructive comments on the draft chapters: Professor Mohammed Ally,
Furthering Research and Development in Technology-Enabled Learning
Journal of Learning for Development
Considerable attention has been paid, in the recent past, to technology-enabled learning (TEL) and how digital technologies have been facilitating teachers, learners and trainers in transforming the ways they approach teaching-learning and development (Kirkwood & Price, 2016; Sankey & Mishra, 2019). Institutions across the globe use TEL to 'enhance' the quality of learning and teaching with the use of technology (Browne et al, 2010) and invest considerably in technologies that could have an impact as such. But, the very 'enhancement' vis-à-vis 'impact' issue was subsequently contested to visualise an 'enabling' stance in the use of technology. Professional development initiatives based on the enhancement proposition had to struggle as to how to enhance quality in teaching-learning. Concurrent articulation on the scholarship of teaching and learning (
Much of the drive towards greater utilisation of learning technology at the start of the twenty-first century is framed within the language of hyperbole. The term 'transformation' makes particularly regular appearances within policies, publications and research which are suggesting that major changes in the landscape of teaching and learning are within our grasp, and that the developing capability of learning technology is the central tool which can help to achieve such a transformation. The examples below illustrate the almost mythical status of learning technology: We want to use ICT to build a society where everybody has the opportunity to develop their potential. We will ensure that all those working in our education and children's services are able to use the technology well. From that baseline, we can effect a genuine transformation of provision in the future. (DfES 2005: 10-11) E-learning will inevitably transform all forms of education and learning in the twenty-...
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2004
This paper seeks to show how 'policy', 'management' and 'information and communications technology' (ICT) were constructed for schools in England between 2000 and 2003 and to discuss some effects of these constructions on teaching and learning in the institutions involved in the InterActive Education Project. It argues that their contribution collectively constituted 'ICT' as a particular kind and form of challenge for schools, and that recognising the nature of this constitution is crucial to understanding the relationship between ICT and teaching and learning. Informed by an abductive methodology, this paper draws on analyses of policy documents and interviews with the head teachers of the educational institutions taking part in the InterActive Education Project to show how the possibilities and opportunities of using ICT were shaped by those constructions. It suggests that the main policy framing ICT in education over the period in question, the National Grid for Learning, had the provision of hardware and infrastructure as its main target, but offered little advice on how they might be used. This constituted the core of the management problem of ICT for schools. The final section of the paper outlines some of the mechanisms through which schools addressed these issues and discusses some possible implications for what counts as 'teaching and learning' with 'ICT'.
Teaching in Lifelong Learning: a journal to inform and improve practice, 2009
This article reviews the progress which has been made in the uses of Learning Technology (LT) to support teaching and learning in the Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector. It argues that progress in terms of the depth and breadth of overall impact is limited and disappointing, despite significant investment from government and others. Across the PCET sector as a whole, despite progress in a number of areas, the use of technology is far from embedded in teaching and learning, and little real 'transformation' on any major scale has taken place. The possible reasons for this situation are discussed, as is the particular situation of teachers in PCET. The lack of progress is not, it is argued, due to any lack of willingness by staff to experiment and innovate, but to a range of other sector wide issues. The article concludes with some recommendations relating to how this important sector of UK education could move forward to a more positive future in relation to LT.
Technology in the United Kingdom's Higher Education Context
2008
Frequently, university-wide strategic decisions about technology are made without fully understanding the implications for resources, administration, teaching programmes, teaching practices and learning approaches, often resulting in technology-led course designs. Yet evidence shows that it is not the technology per se that changes learning and teaching but the pedagogical advantage we make of its use. In parallel, professional development programmes have largely focused on how to use the technology, resulting in replication or supplement of existing teaching practices, as opposed to transforming learning. In particular, the lack of specific context and reflection in professional development programmes can lead to a poor understanding of how and why students use technology effectively in learning. This requires a rethink of how we support initiatives that use technology in learning and teaching. Professional development programmes need to focus not only on the individual teacher, but also on support staff, departmental, and senior managers, so that appropriate policies, supporting structures and resources are in place for effective technology use. This chapter critiques these issues in the context of higher education in the United Kingdom and examines the political drivers that have pushed for the use of information communication technology (ICT) in learning and teaching. It considers this in the context of the United Kingdom Open University and how this institution has addressed some of the issues highlighted. Finally, a framework for professional development to support ICT in learning and teaching is presented aimed at holistically improving the student learning experience. This framework incorporates not only individual staff but also faculty and institutional management.
Technologies, learning and culture: Some emerging themes
Research in Comparative and International Education, 2018
This paper reflects on some of the themes emerging from a consideration of recent research at the nexus of technologies, learning and culture. The authors comment on the expansive nature of the concept of learning spaces in papers featuring an investigation of technology enhanced learning (TEL) and communication design studios in the UK and Australia, the use of interdisciplinary research collaborations to develop novel implementations of TEL learning spaces, and the challenges of developing an e-university in Malawi. They also examine a comparative study focused on classroom-based learning spaces augmented by computer-based assessment technologies, and the role of TEL both within and in response to protests at universities in South Africa. Massive open online courses are then considered as distinctive educational designs that may offer diverse student experiences, either formal or informal. The next emerging theme considers the sources of tension and richness arising from the widel...
Converging institutional expertise to model teaching and learning with emerging technologies
progressio, 2013
There is an increasing disjuncture between the use of technologies and the impact that this has on teaching and learning practice. This challenge is compounded by the lack of institutional preparedness to support emerging practices that harness transformative potential in higher education (HE). Most staff development initiatives have tended to focus on skills acquisition, which have often not translated into pedagogical change. In the previous two years (2011 and 2012), four higher education institutions (HEIs) in Cape Town, South Africa, convened a collaborative short course on ‘Emerging Technologies for Improving Teaching and Learning’, which was targeted at 43 educators at the four HEIs over the two years it was offered. The objective of the course was to empower educators from the four HEIs with pedagogical knowledge for teaching with emerging technologies by modelling authentic practices. The course provided a unique opportunity for academics to come together in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere to learn, discuss and benefit from valuable experiences of peers and expert facilitators from the four HEIs in our region regarding the use of technologies for improved teaching and learning. This article draws on the theorybased design framework for technology enhanced learning (TEL) to reflect on the two-year inter-institutional facilitation of a course aimed at empowering educators to teach with emerging technologies through modelling practice.
Teaching with technology and higher education: a brave new world?
PRACTICE, 2019
This paper explores the application of technology to pedagogy in higher education. The data are gathered from 21 academics who apply technology to their teaching with University students in England. The research is based on a qualitative inductive methodology. The findings reveal that a complex range of personal, social and professional factors influence pedagogy with technology in higher education. The paper makes an original contribution to knowledge by outlining some of the challenges that exist in using technology to teach in higher education. The research participants do not think that applying technology to teaching is necessarily representative of best pedagogical practice. Caution and thought are recommended if pedagogy with technology in higher education is to be developed effectively. The research reveals that transformative pedagogy is possible when technology is applied to teaching in higher education; however, this necessitates considering the needs of the students alongside reflecting on the personal, social and professional backgrounds of those who are teaching in higher education. This innovative approach to professional development with technology is developed in the paper.