ICT changes things

It seems that the variety of ICTs appearing in schools is growing at a rate many find difficult to keep up with. Where once teachers only had to worry about what to do with a few desktop computers, we now face the challenge of deciding which of the latest technologies on offer we can/should harness in the classroom for enhancing or, indeed, improving educational outcomes for our students. Having decided that we must have the latest, dare I say, gadget in our classroom, what is the process we go through to convince the school community that this is a good idea?

Supposedly we have experimented with the new technology and have seen the educational potential of adding it to our toolkit, but the next step is not always easy, especially when funds are always short. One problem we face is the requirement from various stakeholders to demonstrate how the new technology will improve learning. This in itself is problematic given the speed with which new technologies are appearing and the difficulties with conducting long term research when the ‘goal posts’ keep changing.

Bigum (2012) describes a loop that schools can find themselves in:

1. New ICT appears in the market
2. Arguments are put forward as to how this new technology will improve current teaching and learning practices. These arguments are usually made in terms of how the technology will address a particular problem.
3. The case for the technology is successful and it is introduced into the school.

Before too long, a new technology enters the market and the loop begins again. To justify the expenditure, calls are made to explain or prove how learning is being improved. Bigum states that this search for improvement is a distraction and can cause people to miss the obvious - ICT changes things. Interesting things happen with ICT that are unexpected and bear little resemblance to what what anticipated.

The problem with this loop is that the technology is usually made to fit in with current practices - it would be difficult to successfully make a case for introducing the technology by saying, “let’s just see what happens, how it changes things.” I have attended many parent meetings in primary schools where the parents insist on knowing how the technology will improve learning - it is their main concern. It is therefore necessary to focus, not on improvements that, at this stage, cannot be quantified, but on how ICT has changed the way we do things. When we accept this, we may move towards exploring how school can change to accommodate a more contemporary approach to learning.

Reference:

Bigum, C. (2012). Schools and Computers: Tales of a Digital Romance. Transformative Approaches to New Technologies and Student Diversity in Futures Oriented Classrooms. L. Rowan and C. Bigum, Springer Netherlands: 15-28.

Affordance Analysis

In his article, Affordance analysis - matching learning tasks with learning technologies, Bower (2008) presents a design methodology for matching learning tasks with learning technologies. The use of the term affordance was previously unfamiliar to me but Bower has assisted me in understanding how consideration of affordances relating to technology as well as educational goals will greatly enhance the use of ICT in classrooms to meet the varied learning needs of students.

As with all use of technology in school, the first priority is to establish intended learning goals and the possible ways to achieve them. Once established, the affordance requirements of the task/s can be determined. The teacher must decide what it is the students will need to be able to do throughout the task e.g read, write, listen, watch, link, modify and many other affordances (some of which are represented on the figure below).

Whilst determining the affordances of the task, the teacher may begin to consider the elearning tools available that may suit the learning intention and the affordances of that technology.

Although unfamiliar with the term affordances, I have considered affordances of technology when planning for its use in class. It is often what leads to the selection of device for a particular task or component of a task. For example, if students need to capture still or video image, an iPad would be an appropriate device. If students are required to share their work and provide feedback, this could be done using blogging software on either tablet or laptop. However, if students are required to comment directly into a document, this may best be achieved using Google docs on a laptop.

Employing a methodology that focuses on affordance of both task and technology should focus the teacher more on ensuring that the learning task fulfills the pre-identified cognitive requirements and the chosen technologies, in turn, support that cognition. This will, hopefully, ensure rich tasks that can be used as exemplars for others in the learning community. Bower also suggests building a portfolio of approaches for identifying, describing, analysing and allocating technologies for deployment. Affordance analysis provides a means to do this and highlights the critical aspects of the selection process - the cognitive and technological requirements.

Bower, M. (2008). Affordance analysis—matching learning tasks with learning technologies. Educational Media International, 45, 1, 3–15. Retrieved http://www0.sun.ac.za/ctl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/bowerarticle.pdf