Teacher Understandings of Technology Affordances and Their Impact on the Design of Engaging Learning Experiences.
Seau Yoon Foo, Jeanne HO, Ministry of Education, Singapore ; John Hedberg, National Institute of Education, Singapore
EdMedia + Innovate Learning, in Lugano, Switzerland ISBN 978-1-880094-53-2 Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Waynesville, NC
This study examined how six teachers approached the design and implementation of lessons which were to demonstrate exemplary classroom practices using ICT. Each teacher was asked to design and teach a unit of work (topic) which would engage the learners and use ICT in knowledge generative rather than presentational activities. After the first lesson observation, a reflection and feedback session was conducted by the researcher and the teacher. This resulted in the teacher re-designing the lesson to enhance ICT use and students' engagement. Our study revealed that there is a difference between students' physical engagement and cognitive engagement in a task and that the teacher needs to ensure that the mechanics involved in using ICT does not distract students from the intended learning goals. The teachers' understanding of what constitutes effective learning and their roles also determine how ICT is used. Finally, ensuring effective use of ICT requires the teacher to make explicit the cognitive processes involved in using the tool and to involve students in the cognitive process.
Foo, S.Y., HO, J. & Hedberg, J. (2004). Teacher Understandings of Technology Affordances and Their Impact on the Design of Engaging Learning Experiences. In L. Cantoni & C. McLoughlin (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2004--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 3047-3054). Lugano, Switzerland: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
© 2004 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)