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Technology, Learning and Pedagogy

Module description

In this module you will explore issues around digital technology in education practice and  develop a critical understanding of the role of technology for your own education future.
You will interrogate key concepts such as play and gamification, immersion (AR/VR) and personalisation (AI) and use these to critically consider the relationship between new technologies, pedagogy and educational practice. You will explore and experiment with practical ways in which new technologies might be used in teaching and learning.  And you will reflect on debates around some of the key issues that have emerged in the networked age, such as mis/disinformation, ethical AI and automation, and how to bring these into educational practice.
Using a variety of digital tools, face-to-face seminars, hands-on and online activities, and drawing on a range of literature from educational technology, digital sociology and psychology, you will not only develop your critical understanding of issues around technology in education, you will also discuss, theorise and imagine, with other students, what probable, possible and preferable digital futures of education may look like.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Through exploration and discussion you will learn about the theoretical and practical affordances and challenges of a variety of technologies for teaching and learning. You will be encouraged to reflectively link your ideas to your own practice and experiences.

Specifically the module will enable you to:

• develop a conceptual, critical and experiential understanding of the social and creative nature of learning with digital and networked technologies;
• identify possible affordances of digital tools for teaching and learning;
• identify and interpret educational theory and research and relate this to educational practice and educational futures with digital networked technologies;
• identify and interpret evidence and discuss this in the context of academic and professional reading work independently and with originality;
• develop a critical understanding of ethical issues involved in teaching and learning with new technologies.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate a systematic understanding of theoretical perspectives and practical concerns in the area of educational technology
• 2. demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature of learning processes around new technologies, with a specific focus on social and digital aspects of teaching and learning and around possible educational futures
• 3. demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on the affordances of technological tools for teaching and learning

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. identify systematically and evaluate insightfully current research and advanced scholarship relevant to the field of educational technologies;
• 5. explore critically the multiple lenses through which the role of educational technologies for education, teaching and learning can be interpreted and developed;
• 6. demonstrate the ability to identify and critically discuss current issues related to educational technologies and education;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. critically reflect on your experiences of educational technology practices and discuss the implications for future practice;
• 8. present and communicate ideas clearly, reflectively and critically, in oral, written and multimodal formats
• 9. demonstrate effective use of technology, including the use of electronic databases, word processing, multimedia, and other educational technologies

Syllabus plan

The precise structure of the module varies year by year, but in general, we will focus on a variety of pedagogic approaches underpinned by various technologies. We will engage with these approaches through a range of digital tools, hands-on workshops and seminars, as appropriate for the module.

It is envisaged that the syllabus will cover at least some of the following topics:

• Technology in classrooms
• Play-based learning and gamification
• Computer support for collaborative learning
• Adaptive technologies for learning (AI)
• Teaching and learning with language generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT)

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

This module has online resources available via ELE. All required readings will be provided on a weekly basis via ELE. The list below is an indicative reading list as an indication of the type and level of information that you are expected to consult.

• Aiello, P., D’elia, F., Di Tore, S. & Sibilio, M. (2012). A Constructivist Approach to Virtual Reality for Experiential Learning. E–Learning and Digital Media, 9(3). PP.317-324.
• Burnett, C. & Merchant, G. (2018). New Media in the Classroom. SAGE Publications.
• Craft, A. (2011). Creativity and Educational Futures.  Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books
• DeFreitas, S. (2018). Are Games Effective Learning Tools? A Review of Educational Games. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 21(2), pp. 74-84.
• Reimers, F. M., Schleicher, A. & Anash, G. A (2020). Schooling disrupted, schooling rethought. How the Covid-19 pandemic is changing education. OECD.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Albion P.R., Tondeur J. (2018) Information and Communication Technology and Education: Meaningful Change through Teacher Agency. In: Voogt J., Knezek G., Christensen R., Lai KW. (eds) Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53803-7_25-1
• Gee, J. P., & Hayes, E. R. (2011). Language and learning in the digital age. Routledge.https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/
• Sinclair, N., Haspekian, M., Robutti, O., Clark-Wilson, A. (2022). Revisiting Theories That Frame Research on Teaching Mathematics with Digital Technology. In: Clark-Wilson, A., Robutti, O., Sinclair, N. (eds) The Mathematics Teacher in the Digital Era. Mathematics Education in the Digital Era, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05254-5_15
• Zawacki-Richter et al. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – where are the educators? Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 16:39 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0

Key words search

Educational technology, language learning