Learning with IT: Towards a research agenda ‐questions and issues

Abstract

Learning with information technology (IT) is at the top of the research agenda for further and higher education. It is also at the centre of many post‐16 investments and policy initiatives. The widespread use in recent years of the term ‘information and learning technology’ (ILT) in further education (FE) colleges illustrates the particular focus in that sector. This paper analyses why this conjunction of learning and technology is seen as so important and describes how it has been articulated in practice. It outlines the scope of related research and how this matches the political and social imperatives, the professional development concerns of staff in the sector, and the ever‐changing technological context. In its summary of the pertinent research questions, the paper shows how research priorities can be and are being matched by concrete developmental practice