The technological advancements have been massive in the last few decades and have penetrated almost all the aspects of our lives. Technology have rapidly been evolved and offers various new ways of supporting teaching and learning. With these remarkable developments, a plethora of technology have been used in education including Web2.0 tools (e.g., wikis, blogs, social media tools), mobile technology, gamification tools, learning management systems, virtual worlds, and MOOCs, to name a few. A key question, however, is what should we consider in selecting technology for teaching and learning?
Learning outcomes could perhaps be regarded as the most important dimension to be considered in selecting a technology for teaching and learning. Teachers want their students to achieve the intended learning outcomes and excel academically. It is therefore paramount to have a closer look at the learning outcomes and examine how well technology would lead to a better learning performance in the subject. This is important because literature indicates that teachers use technology in the classroom only if the tools are aligned with their teaching needs. Literature also suggests that teachers generally avoid taking risks of their students’ learning by using unfamiliar technology. In sum, alignment of technology with learning outcomes is essential for teacher adoption and continuous use of technology in teaching and learning.
The second vital aspect of selection of a technology is its functionality, specifically perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. These two dimensions are outlined by the popular Technology Acceptance Model – TAM and have been heavily used in the literature to explore user intentions of adopting technology. According to TAM, peoples’ behavioural intentions of using technology are determined by their perceptions about the usefulness and ease of use. Many credible studies have applied this model in various educational contexts and confirmed how powerful the perceived functionality of technology is in teacher and learner adoption decisions. Overall, teachers typically avoid using technology in the classroom that are complex to use and less beneficial for educational activities.
Another crucial factor is the affective elements. These include how helpful of using technology would be to enhance learner engagement in the subject. Learner engagement is a broad construct that consists of three types of engagement: learner to learner, learner to teacher, and learner to content engagement. When learners can effectively engage in the subject, they often feel sense of belongings in the learning community, consequently, would reduce anxiety towards the subject. It also would help to build learner’s positive beliefs and attitude towards the subject. Therefore, affective elements are important to consider of choosing technology for teaching.
While in this post I detailed three key aspects to be considered in evaluating technology for educational use, there may be several other dimensions. I am aware that aspects such as institutional environment, pedagogic approach, and learning design, amongst other things, can also be very impactful on teacher practice, consequently, may need to consider in evaluating technology. A key message here is technology needs to be evaluated before integrating into the classroom to ensure optimal results in learning and sustainability.