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