Topic 2: What does current research tells us (or not?)
In this session you will engage with the second focus area that will contribute to the development of your position paper. In this topic we ask: What does the educational research tells us about the use of new technologies? There has been an enormous amount of research conducted into the use of new technologies in education, workplace and professional learning. However, much of this appears not to be widely known or applied to improve practice. This session consists of an exploration of the research literature, in regard to this focus, and past experience tells us that you will return to this focus regularly.
Exploring the research literature
The use of technology is so common that to compare its use to current non-technological practice would be equivalent to comparing instruction with books to the same amount of instruction without books twenty years ago (Berger et .al., Handbook of research on science teaching & learning, p. 486). The quote above reminds us that we need to be very clear as to what we are trying to find out in regard to the use of new technologies in Education and Training, and whether it is a valid quest. For example, if we are trying to consider the impact of computers on school learning, then is it meaningful to consider the 'cost per student per Final Year score point', or the number of hours of use per student? Maybe! But there is a tension in the research literature regarding this. It can be argued (forever) that some research, while methodologically valid, misses the point by failing to recognise both the complexity of the issues involved, and the unaccounted for outcomes resulting from the infusion of new technologies into education and training. For example, think about issues such as engagement and collaborative learning - it is hard to account for these in assessment, but maybe helping students engage more with their studies and to benefit from collaborative learning might have long-term benefits that are not accounted for in many research studies.
The point here is that while there are many valid research studies regarding aspects of the use of New Technologies in Education, many of which adopt a qualitative methodology, and others which are quantitative studies (another source of tension), there is a need to 'unpack' them and to understand them in context. It is also worth thinking about the kinds of uses of new technologies which have not been implemented or studied: What are the possibilities? Topic 2 task 1. Your task for this session is to investigate some current research findings and consider them in regard to your professional practice (where possible). 2. Relate these studies to others that support or refute their findings.
3. Out of this investigation, you should be able to identify some key issues, factors etc. that could contribute to your development of a personal position on the use of new technologies in education and training contexts (Assignment 1). 4. Create a summary in text form or as a concept map that lets you explore the relationships between the documents you selected. 5. Share your summary with other students in the topic 2 discussion space on this site. 6. Review and respond to at least two posts of your fellow students and provide constructive and critical responses.
Suggested approaches to find relevant articles:
Access the library database to search for journal articles about the use of new technologies or ICTs. This will give you a feel for these publications.
Choose an area/topic of personal interest and review two articles. What does the research say? What are the issues they identify and how do they relate to your experience and current practices with new technologies? In particular, what does the research say in regard to issues such as culture, gender, equity and access?
Conduct a Google or Google Scholar search specifically to find research articles in your area of interest or expertise, and then try to access these same articles through the Deakin library.
Using the journal titled 'Technology, Pedagogy and Education', browse for some research papers on new technologies within Teacher Education.
A guide to summarising and responding to the literature
Discuss the implications for your practice, and what, if anything needs to be addressed. Are there other articles that support and/or refute (disagree) the positions, findings etc. in these materials.
Specifically, identify one article that supports a position, and one that refutes it (in some way).
It is also important to consider what are NOT being addressed - new possibilities perhaps, or innovative practices etc. that might be just too hard to study.
Are there terms in the articles that can be interpreted in more than one way? How do we decide what the authors mean or how they are using that term. For example what does it meaning to be 'innovative'?
Topic 2: What does current research tells us (or not?)
In this session you will engage with the second focus area that will contribute to the development of your position paper.In this topic we ask: What does the educational research tells us about the use of new technologies?
There has been an enormous amount of research conducted into the use of new technologies in education, workplace and professional learning. However, much of this appears not to be widely known or applied to improve practice. This session consists of an exploration of the research literature, in regard to this focus, and past experience tells us that you will return to this focus regularly.
Exploring the research literature
The use of technology is so common that to compare its use to current non-technological practice would be equivalent to comparing instruction with books to the same amount of instruction without books twenty years ago (Berger et .al., Handbook of research on science teaching & learning, p. 486).The quote above reminds us that we need to be very clear as to what we are trying to find out in regard to the use of new technologies in Education and Training, and whether it is a valid quest. For example, if we are trying to consider the impact of computers on school learning, then is it meaningful to consider the 'cost per student per Final Year score point', or the number of hours of use per student? Maybe! But there is a tension in the research literature regarding this. It can be argued (forever) that some research, while methodologically valid, misses the point by failing to recognise both the complexity of the issues involved, and the unaccounted for outcomes resulting from the infusion of new technologies into education and training. For example, think about issues such as engagement and collaborative learning - it is hard to account for these in assessment, but maybe helping students engage more with their studies and to benefit from collaborative learning might have long-term benefits that are not accounted for in many research studies.
The point here is that while there are many valid research studies regarding aspects of the use of New Technologies in Education, many of which adopt a qualitative methodology, and others which are quantitative studies (another source of tension), there is a need to 'unpack' them and to understand them in context. It is also worth thinking about the kinds of uses of new technologies which have not been implemented or studied: What are the possibilities?
Topic 2 task
1. Your task for this session is to investigate some current research findings and consider them in regard to your professional practice (where possible).
2. Relate these studies to others that support or refute their findings.
3. Out of this investigation, you should be able to identify some key issues, factors etc. that could contribute to your development of a personal position on the use of new technologies in education and training contexts (Assignment 1).
4. Create a summary in text form or as a concept map that lets you explore the relationships between the documents you selected.
5. Share your summary with other students in the topic 2 discussion space on this site.
6. Review and respond to at least two posts of your fellow students and provide constructive and critical responses.
Suggested approaches to find relevant articles:
A guide to summarising and responding to the literature