Digital technology and learning
The constructivist classroom
Modelling the effective use of educational technology
“How can I best model the effective use of educational technology for my students and my teaching colleagues?”.
Modelling the effective use of technology is one way by which peers and students can develop capability in this space. The acquisition of digital skills and competence is an area that is impacted by many factors, including available technology, existing skills, motivation and policy. The following short essay addresses the factors impacting the posed question; “How can I best model the effective use of educational technology for my students and my teaching colleagues?”.
Watson (2001) suggests that digital technology used for improving the delivery of education has enormous potential to advance the standard of education and increase graduate employability (p. 252), Teo (2014) further supports the notion that technology tools may improve teaching and enhance innovative practice, however, when technology is not utilised in a pedagogically supported manner, the affordances of the technology will not be maximised (p. 128). Designing a rich learning environment (Hilton, 2015, p. 69) for students is a challenging task and as suggested by Hamilton, et al., (2016), it is necessary for teachers to first understand the relationships between teaching, technology, and learning (p. 439). Obtaining educational value from technology is dependent upon how teachers use the technology, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and attitudes towards technology (George & Sanders, 2017, p. 2888; Ibieta, et al., 2017, p. 427; Wibrow, et al., 2020, p. 14). Evidence suggests that teachers will typically utilise educational technology in ways that align to their established epistemological and pedagogical conceptions garnered from personal belief systems and existing skills with technology (Kopcha, 2012, p. 1118; Wilson, 2020, p. 88)
The effective use of technology is an undertaking that requires a change in perspective and a shift in the status quo (Sanders & George, 2017). As suggested in literature, supported change, favouring the effective use of technology in education, needs to be accompanied by a carefully planned professional development framework, including the mastery of digital technological tools, mediated observations of teaching peers, technology integration practice, feedback, mentoring and support from colleagues (Rowston, et al., 2020 p. 864; Tondeur, et al., 2017, p. 175). To enhance the digital literacy and competence of learners, it is incumbent upon the teacher to engage in well-resourced and purposeful professional development to accompany the provision of any technology infrastructure in a learning environment (Littlejohn & Hunter, 2016). Hoekstra, et al. (2018), suggest that a mentoring and communities of practice model of professional development might be a suitable professional development strategy in vocational education to increase technical and pedagogical knowledge (p. 248).
Understanding that the teacher is central to the development of digital skills in a learner, will assist in the effective use and integration of technology in education. This effectiveness, as addressed, will be contingent upon the establishment of a professional development model which assists teachers in addressing tensions in professional identity, epistemological beliefs, technological determinism, industry requirements and policy directives.
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Hoekstra, A., Kuntz, J., & Newton, P. (2018). Professional learning of instructors in vocational and professional education. Professional Development in Education, 44(2), 237-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2017.1280523
Ibieta, A., Hinostroza, E., Labbe, C., & Claro, M. (2017). The role of the Internet in teachers professional practice: activities and factors associated with teacher use of ICT inside and ourside the classroom. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 26(4), 425-438. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2017.1296489
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Littlejohn, C., & Hunter, J. (2016). Messy or not: the role of education institutions in leading successful applications of digital technology in teaching and learning. Australian Educational Leader, 38(3), 62-65.
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Teo, T. (2014). Unpacking teachers’ acceptance of technology: Tests of measurement invariance and latent mean differences. Computers and Education , 75, 127-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.01.014
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