Using affordances and constraints to evaluate the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning

Abstract Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of information and communications technology (ICT) on the quality of learning is highly problematic, owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in settings for teaching and learning. Yet, for those responsible for allocating large sums of money to the development of ICT in education, it is important to identify, characterise, measure and model more precisely the features and processes through which technology impacts upon teaching and learning activities. This article offers a framework for analysing the effects of ICT in combination with the other factors which may enhance or ameliorate the positive impact of ICT in the classroom and beyond. This framework is applicable to different levels of evaluation, including large scale curriculum development programmes, curriculum and pedagogical change in particular schools, and individual teachers' planning and reflection. Its use in evaluating new ICT-based teaching approaches at classroom level is illustrated and analysed in the context of an in-service teacher education programme in the United Kingdom, and suggestions are made concerning the development of evaluation tools based on the framework

[1]  Stephen W. Draper,et al.  An introduction to measuring and understanding the learning process , 1991 .

[2]  Michael Hammond.  Measuring the Impact of IT on Learning. , 1994 .

[3]  Anne McDougall,et al.  Choosing and using educational software: a teachers' guide , 1994 .

[4]  J. Greeno.  THE SITUATIVITY OF KNOWING, LEARNING, AND RESEARCH , 1998 .

[5]  S. Kennewell,et al.  Developing the ICT Capable School , 2000 .

[6]  G. Salomon,et al.  Skill may not be enough: The role of mindfulness in learning and transfer , 1987 .

[7]  I. Thompson,et al.  Ways forward with ICT: Effective Pedagogy Using Information and Communications Technology for Literacy and Numeracy in Primary Schools. , 1999 .

[8]  Chee-Kit Looi,et al.  Teaching, learning and inquiry strategies using computer technology , 1999, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[9]  Steve Kennewell,et al.  A model for the study and design of teaching situations with ICT , 1999, Communications and Networking in Education.

[10]  Rosamund Sutherland,et al.  The National Grid for Learning: A curriculum without walls? , 2000 .

[11]  Celia Hoyles,et al.  Groupwork with Computers: An Overview of Findings. , 1994 .

[12]  J. Gibson.  The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception , 1979 .

[13]  Robert S. Gilliver,et al.  Learning in cyberspace: shaping the future , 1998, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[14]  J. Greeno.  Gibson's affordances. , 1994, Psychological review.

[15]  Anne McDougall,et al.  Software evaluation: a situated approach , 1996 .

[16]  Steve Kennewell.  The integration of information technology into teachers' decision-making , 1997 .

[17]  James G. Greeno,et al.  Situativity and Symbols: Response to Vera and Simon , 1993, Cogn. Sci..

[18]  I. Birnbaum.  The assessment of IT capability , 1990 .

[19]  C. Hoyles,et al.  A pedagogy for mathematical microworlds , 1992 .

[20]  J. Gardner,et al.  The Impact of High Access to Computers on Learning , 1993 .

[21]  Jean Underwood,et al.  Integrated learning systems in the classroom , 1999, Comput. Educ..

[22]  J. Olson,et al.  Schoolworlds/Microworlds: Computers and the Culture of the Classroom , 1988 .