Critical Understandings Of Digital Technology In Education

This book explores the underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values of prevailing theories, frameworks, models, and principles in digital technology education through the metaphysical lenses of ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology. By proposing meta-connective pedagogy that reflects the ecological, transformative nature of the digitally networked world, Dreamson repositions learners in the networked world for their authentic engagement. Covering key domains of digital technology education, this volume explores topics such as meta-connective learning; digital identity formation; emergent communities and co-laboured learning; interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge production; teacher attitudes towards the relationship between learning and technology; learner engagement and online interaction; transformative digital literacy; meta-analysis of technology integration frameworks; methodology for authentic digital engagement; and meta-connective ethics. Critical Understandings of Digital Technology in Education is the perfect resource for in-service and preservice teachers, as well as researchers and specialist teachers in technology and information and communication technology education fields who are looking to enhance their pedagogical understandings of digital technology.

This book explores the underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values of prevailing theories, frameworks, models, and principles in digital technology education through the metaphysical lenses of ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology. By proposing meta-connective pedagogy that reflects the ecological, transformative nature of the digitally networked world, Dreamson repositions learners in the networked world for their authentic engagement. Covering key domains of digital technology education, this volume explores topics such as meta-connective learning; digital identity formation; emergent communities and co-laboured learning; interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge production; teacher attitudes towards the relationship between learning and technology; learner engagement and online interaction; transformative digital literacy; meta-analysis of technology integration frameworks; methodology for authentic digital engagement; and meta-connective ethics. Critical Understandings of Digital Technology in Education is the perfect resource for in-service and preservice teachers, as well as researchers and specialist teachers in technology and information and communication technology education fields who are looking to enhance their pedagogical understandings of digital technology.

This book addresses the issues confronting educators in the integration of digital technologies into their teaching and their students’ learning. Such issues include a skepticism of the added value of technology to educational learning outcomes, the perception of the requirement to keep up with the fast pace of technological innovation, a lack of knowledge of affordable educational digital tools and a lack of understanding of pedagogical strategies to embrace digital technologies in their teaching. This book presents theoretical perspectives of learning and teaching today’s digital students with technology and propose a pragmatic and sustainable framework for teachers’ professional learning to embed digital technologies into their repertoire of teaching strategies in a systematic, coherent and comfortable manner so that technology integration becomes an almost effortless pedagogy in their day-to-day teaching. The materials in this book are comprised of original and innovative contributions, including empirical data, to existing scholarship in this field. Examples of pedagogical possibilities that are both new and currently practised across a range of teaching contexts are featured. ​

Critical Mobile Pedagogy is an exploration of mobile technologies for designing and delivering equitable and empowering education around the globe. Synthesizing a diverse range of projects and conceptual frameworks, this case-based collection addresses the ambitions, assumptions, and impacts of interventions in under-researched, often disadvantaged communities. The editors and authors provide a nuanced and culturally responsive approach to showcasing: indigenous, nomadic, refugee, rural, and other marginalized communities emerging pedagogies such as curation, open resources, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and self-directed learning contextual factors, including pedagogy, ethics, scaling, research methodology and culture, and consequences of innocuous or harmful implementation and deployment the nature of participation by global capital, multinationals, education systems, international agencies, national governments, and telecoms companies. Scholars, academics, policymakers, and program managers are increasingly using mobile technologies to support disadvantaged or disempowered communities in learning more effectively and appropriately. This book’s diverse research precedents will help these and other stakeholders meet the challenges and opportunities of our complex, increasingly connected world and work with greater cultural and ethical sensitivity at the intersection of education, research, and technology.

This book critically looks at the tensions between the promise to transform education through the use of digital technology and the tendency to utilize digital technology in instrumental and technical ways. The widespread use of digital technology has had a remarkable effect on almost every domain of human life. This technological change has caused governments, educational departments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to recognize the need to develop educational plans that would support the social and the cultural changes that have occurred with the ubiquitous permeation of digital technology into our everyday lives. This book challenges common assumptions regarding digital technology and education, through critical exploration of educational policies, interviews, and class observations in the US and Israel. In doing so, the author sheds light on the possibilities of advancing digital citizenship under current educational policies.

There is evidence of considerable growth in the availability and use of digital technologies in physical education. Yet, we have scant knowledge about how technologies are being used by teachers, and whether or how these technologies are optimising student learning. This book makes a novel contribution by focusing on the ways in which teachers and teacher educators are attempting to use digital technologies in PE. The book has been created using the innovative ‘pedagogical cases’ framework. Each case centres on a narrative, written by a PE practitioner, explaining how and why technology is used in their practice to advance and accelerate learning. Each practitioner narrative is then analysed by a team of experts from different disciplines. The aim is to offer a multi-dimensional understanding of the possibilities and challenges of supporting young people’s learning with digital technologies. Each case concludes with a practitioner reflection to illustrate the links between theory, research and practice. Digital Technologies and Learning in Physical Education encourages critical reflection on the use of technologies in PE. It is an essential resource for students on physical education, kinesiology or sport science courses, practitioners working in PE or youth sport, and researchers interested in digital technologies and education.

Digital Technologies in the Classroom offers teacher candidates and in-service teachers a practical guide to understanding how digital technologies can be integrated into teaching practices to enhance student learning. Emphasis is placed on 21st century skills and competencies such as social networking, critical thinking, and media literacy. Digital Technologies in the Classroom is available as part of the Pearson Teacher Education Series. The Teacher Education Series features modules authored by leaders in the field of education on hot and timely topics. Each module includes three parts: theory, practical application, and case studies.

This book presents a wide-ranging and critical exploration of a topic that lies at the heart of contemporary education. The use of digital technology is now a key feature of schools and schooling around the world. Yet despite its prominence, technology use continues to be an area of education that rarely receives sustained critical attention and thought, especially from those people who are most involved and affected by it. Technology tends to be something that many teachers, learners, parents, policy-makers and even academics approach as a routine rather than reflective matter. Tackling the wider picture, addressing the social, cultural, economic, political and commercial aspects of schools and schooling in the digital age, this book offers to make sense of what happens, and what does not happen, when the digital and the educational come together in the guise of schools technology. In particular, the book examines contemporary schooling in terms of social justice, equality and participatory democracy. Seeking to re-politicise an increasingly depoliticised area of educational debate and analysis, setting out to challenge the many contradictions that characterise the field of education technology today, the author concludes by suggesting what forms schools and schooling in the digital age could, and should, take. This is the perfect volume for anyone interested in the application and use of technology in education, as well as the education policy and politics that surround it; many will also find its innovative proposals for technology use an inspiration for their own teaching and learning.