Exploring doctoral students’ use of digital technologies: what do they use them for and why?

© 2017 Educational Review. Digital technologies now form an integral feature of the university student experience and there is a range of studies that explore digital technology use within a higher education context. However, very few of these studies focus on how doctoral students engage with digital technologies. This article aims to throw light on the digital practices of doctoral students and advance understandings of the changing nature of digital scholarship for them. Drawing on qualitative, in-depth interviews with 12 PhD students in a UK higher education institution, the article identifies seven distinct types of engagement with digital technologies and discusses the range of issues that underpin doctoral, digital scholarship practices. Furthermore, it argues that although the stereotypical portrayal of the PhD as a “lonely journey” is seen to be in decline, doctoral students at large exist and work “in a vacuum” rather than within interactive doctoral communities

A comparative investigation of the use of digital technologies to facilitate school collaboration within the framework of the eTwinning programme

This thesis looks at how digital technologies can create opportunities for online collaboration across schools within the framework of the eTwinning programme, an EU initiative that seeks to promote web-based learning and collaboration between schools across Europe. A socio-technical approach was employed, focusing on the role of social context in shaping the technology use surrounding the eTwinning activities. This 'social shaping of technology' approach allowed exploration of the range of social actors and factors that influence the implementation of digital technologies for school collaboration at micro, meso and macro levels of analysis. \ud Through a comparative, qualitative case study of four different eTwinning projects in the UK and Greece, this thesis investigates how digital technologies such as wikis, blogs and discussion forums were used as online collaborative environments. Data collection took place during the course of the academic year 2009-2010, consisting of semi-structured individual and group interviews alongside classroom observations and online documentary analysis.\ud The findings suggest that students' and teachers' use of digital technologies and, in particular web 2.0 tools, was influenced by a range of social issues relating to the wider school context. As such the tools per se did not lead to noticeable changes in practice - especially regarding collaborative activity. Specifically, all four case study projects were bounded by wider settings and factors such as time, resourcing, assessment regimes and 'fit' with curriculum. This thesis argues that amidst the enthusiasm that surrounds digital technologies in education, there is a pressing need for more critical consideration of the socially and institutionally shaped realities of use. The thesis concludes with a range of suggestions for the future improvement of such web-based collaborative initiatives. \u

Exploring teachers’ perceptions of critical digital literacies and how these are manifested in their teaching practices

Digital systems are increasingly becoming central to the running of contemporary schools. A range of digital tools are also adopted by teachers to facilitate face to face teaching and learning and more recently to accommodate remote schooling. Similarly, digital technologies lie at the heart of how students support their learning but also interact with peers. These digital practices raise questions in relation to teachers’ own critical digital literacies as well as their role in developing students’ critical digital literacies. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that aimed to develop an understanding of teachers’ current experiences and future needs relating to critical digital literacies within school contexts. Drawing on empirical data collected during focus group interviews with primary and secondary school teachers in Finland, Italy, Spain and the UK this paper looks at teachers’ perceptions of critical digital literacies and explores whether and how these are manifested in their practices. Findings revealed that different dimensions of critical digital literacies were more prevalent for each national group and highlighted the disjuncture between how Critical digital literacies (CDL) is defined and perceived in academic research with a stronger emphasis on the “critical” and between the more “twenty-first century skills” oriented policy agendas and curricula which inform teachers’ practice. The paper goes on to discuss the implications of these findings and identifies gaps in relation to teachers’ understandings of critical digital literacies. Last, it offers original insights for future policymaking, research and practice regarding the challenges of supporting teachers with developing critical digital literacies

Critical digital literacies at school level: A systematic review

The rapid and ongoing technological developments and the changes in societal practices require us to update our understanding and skills relating to digital technology use continuously. Various frameworks have been created in recent years to explore the different aspects of digital literacies or digital competencies and a range of newer concepts and dimensions have emerged in the literature aiming to capture the complexity of digital engagement. The main aim of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to map out which elements or issues of critical digital literacies (CDL) relevant for school education currently feature in the academic literature and international policy documents. The secondary aim was to use the findings of the SLR to inform the creation of a research-based framework for school education. The review process followed a systematic protocol for answering specific research questions. Research articles were sought in two electronic databases—EBSCO (Academic Search Complete) and Web of Science—and policy documents were sought on the Internet using Google search. A total of 139 research articles and policy-related documents were used for the analysis. The main dimensions based on the analysis were the following (in the order of most hits): E-safety, Participation and presence, Digital literacy, Media literacy, Digital citizenship, Technology literacy, Information literacy, Data literacy, Digital game literacy, Online learning, Digital creativity and innovation, and Digital well-being. The emphasis in the research articles was on negative issues, although publications also outlined several positive issues about digitality. The emphases of the research articles and policy-related documents differed somewhat. The findings of this SLR have implications for researchers, policy makers and educators interested in the changing nature of critical digital literacies and the dimensions and subdimensions relevant for school education. Context and implications Rationale for the study: This systematic literature review (SLR) identifies the key elements and issues of critical digital literacies (CDL) relevant to school education, as documented in academic literature and international policy documents. In addition, it utilises the findings of the SLR to develop a research-based framework for CLD in school education. Why the new findings matter: Our findings contribute to capturing the different aspects of CDL in the context of compulsory education and offer original insights with regard to supporting the development of teachers and students' critical digital literacies in the future. Implications for researchers, practitioners and policy makers: This SLR has implications for research as it has highlighted the need to continuously update theoretical models and frameworks relating to CDL. Although certain accepted core dimensions can provide a stable foundation for representing emerging phenomena, it is essential to maintain flexibility to address the technological advancements. An implication for policy making is the recognition of the need for continuous professional development and pedagogical support for teachers and students. The value for educational practitioners is that it elucidates the emerging notions of CDL, and it enables educational institutions to enhance their practices and initiatives related to CDL

Mind the gap! Exploring teachers’ professional learning needs to cultivate critical data literacies

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“SOLET”, a self-organised learning environment for teachers about critical digital literacies : proposal and validation

Although digital technologies have generated innumerable opportunities to develop skills for future social, cultural and economic scenarios, their use is nowadays generating several concerns. Decades of research on the adoption of educational technologies have led to understanding that “techno-enthusiasm” might only lead to dead ends in the best of scenarios. In the worst of cases, and particularly in the COVID19 aftermath, several issues associated with the lack of ergonomics at home and technology overexposure, dependence, and burnout have been discussed in the light of critically reconsidering technology-enhanced pedagogies. Such a situation requires not only careful educational research and policymaking, but particularly, a change in the direction of teachers’ professional development. In this context, the EU Erasmus+ Project DETECT (https://www.detectproject.eu/) is a transnational effort aimed to raise awareness amongst educators and support them in understanding the critical digital literacies scenarios and requirements. The project started in 2019 and has already developed a framework including eight areas of critical digital literacy and has been validated. This paper aims at enhancing such a framework by offering the teachers activities and resources to develop their professional skills to implement critical digital literacies at school. Such a professional learning offer is denominated “SOLET” (Self-Organised Learning Environment for Teachers) and its aim is to promote problem-based activities addressing the integration of conceptual reflection with design-thinking. The ultimate goal is to prepare teachers to design for learning around several scenarios and cases requiring critical technology appraisal and usage. The course is based on heutagogy, offering resources and cases to interact with. Moreover, taking into account the concept of “comparators” developed by Nicol the learning architecture embraces automatic, self and peer-assessment as specific activities providing sources of comparison for the participants’ reflection on their own learning. Through this approach, it is expected to ease teachers' access to professional learning opportunities, with implications for the transference of complex concepts like the eight areas of the framework to practice. Ultimately, it is expected to support teachers with enhancing their own students’ opportunities to develop critical digital literacies. The SOLET environment is under development and two rounds of user testing have been already undertaken. The first has included 8 researchers from four universities and one training institution, collecting 161 reviews. The interrater agreement was calculated over the basis of double-blind evaluation of a sample of interactions, yielding a reasonable agreement (83.33%) on the type of technological and interaction issues requiring improvement. The second user test was carried out by five teachers in two collaborative sessions; 18 reviews were collected, yielding more concerns (75% of agreement) but convergence in the adjustments was apparent. These results are discussed in the light of the research relating to teachers’ self-paced professional learning. Finally, the presentation in the conference context might encompass a unique opportunity to collect feedback.Peer reviewe

Digital Technologies for School Collaboration

Web-based school collaboration has attracted the sustained attention of educators, policy-makers, and governmental bodies around the world during the past decade. This book sheds new light on this topical but ever so complex issue. Drawing on a wealth of theoretical and empirical work, it presents the various models of available school twinning programs and explores the cultural, political, and economic factors that surround the recent enthusiasm regarding collaborative initiatives. Moreover, the book critically examines teachers' and students' experiences of web-based school collaboration. In particular, it develops a realistic perspective of the range of challenges they face and identifies the host of technological and non-technological issues that can shape participation in collaborative programs

‘We'd never had to set up a virtual school before’: Opportunities and challenges for primary and secondary teachers during emergency remote education

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about the largest disruption to formal education in recent history and has resulted in school closures and the move to online teaching and learning across the globe. Using data from interviews with 25 teachers and head teachers in England and Greece, this paper aims to capture educators’ experiences during emergency remote education (ERE) in spring–summer 2020 and contribute to current and future conversations about the post-pandemic school. Through a qualitative approach, the paper reports on the often improvised and compromised nature of online schooling during the first pandemic lockdown and presents the opportunities and challenges teachers experienced with the move to emergency remote education. It discusses how didactic modes of teaching prevailed, highlights the importance of parental involvement during ERE and argues that the move to online teaching and learning has accentuated digital inequalities. The findings of this study cast light on the hitherto unexplored area of ERE and offer original insights for future policy making, research and practice on how schools can develop readiness and resilience to face future closures in a post-pandemic world