Intellectual field or faith-based religion: Moving on from the idea of \u27digital natives\u27

For the past decade the general notion of ‘digital natives’ has attracted considerable attention in both academia and the popular media. While proponents of the idea use a variety of labels, such as ‘Net Generation’, or ‘millenial learners’, the claim they make is essentially the same: younger generations have grown up with digital technologies as part of their everyday worlds and so behave and think differently to older generations to whom these technologies have been introduced later in life (Howe & Strauss, 2000; Palfrey & Gasser, 2008; Prensky, 2001; Tapscott, 1998; 2008). This claim has led to the argument that supposedly old-fashioned teachers and outdated education systems are failing to meet the needs of these younger generations of learners (eg., Prensky, 2010; Tapscott, 1999, 2008). This chapter critically examines the idea of ‘digital natives’ by identifying findings from research that can shed light on questions about young people’s aptitude for and interest in digital technologies. We analyze the key features of claims about digital natives and consider their possible implications for education and educational research. In short, we argue that most claims made about digital natives lack a rigorous and transparent empirical basis and do little to progress educational thinking or policy. It is time, we argue, to move this debate on, not simply to more nuanced versions of the idea, such as ‘digital wisdom’ (Prensky 2009), but rather beyond the very notions and ways of thinking that underpin claims made about digital natives. Indeed, we suggest that moving on from the grounds of this debate is necessary to provide firmer foundations for educational technology research as a serious intellectual field and avoid becoming akin to a faith-based religion

Theorising knowledge practices: a missing piece of the educational technology puzzle

Educational technology research has been characterised as lacking theoreticalframeworks that can enable cumulative knowledge-building across the field.This article explores the value of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) for addressingthese issues by discussing research into the key question of integration ofinformation and communication technologies in education. Specifically, it showshow LCT enables the theorisation of knowledge practices, the basis of educationbut undertheorised by existing research. Drawing on a major study of a technologicalinitiative in all state secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia,the article illustratively uses one dimension of LCT to compare the organisingprinciples underlying the initiative with those underlying the key subjects ofmathematics and English. Analysis suggests that a ‘code clash' with mathematicsand a ‘code match' with English might help explain their different patternsof integration of information and communication technologies. It also demonstrateshow LCT can be utilised with multiple methods, enabling the integrationof research into a wide range of educational topics and thereby contributingtowards building knowledge across the field

Technology & knowledge: An exploration of teachers\u27 conceptions of subject-area knowledge practices and technology integration

This paper explores teachers\u27 understanding of subject-area knowledge practices (e.g. curriculum, goals, and pedagogy of a subject area, etc.) and technology integration, through the use of Legitimation Code Theory. Drawing on a major study of a technological initiative in all state secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia, this paper illustratively uses one dimension of LCT to explore the organising principles underlying the key subjects of Mathematics and English, in relation to teachers\u27 perceptions of technology use in learning and teaching. Analysis suggests a \u27code clash\u27 with Mathematics and a \u27code match\u27 with English might help explain their different patterns of integration of ICTs. The research is novel and innovative in both its use of theory and combining the separate fields of educational technology and sociology of knowledge

Recovering knowledge for science education research: Exploring the Icarus effect in student work

Science education research has built a strong body of work on students\u27 understandings but largely overlooked the nature of science knowledge itself. Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), a rapidly growing approach to education, offers a way of analyzing the organizing principles of knowledge practices and their effects on science education. This article focuses on one specific concept from LCT-semantic gravity-that conceptualizes differences in context dependence. The article uses this concept to qualitatively analyze tertiary student responses to a thermal physics question. One result, that legitimate answers must reside within a specific range of context dependence, illustrates how a focus on the organizing principles of knowledge offers a way forward for science education

Understanding the complexity of technology acceptance by higher education students

It is often claimed that all young people are highly adept with the digital technologies that infuse their lives, and that the way they think and behave has created a new gap between them and their teachers. It is suggested that to bridge this gap and ensure that young people are fully engaged, educators must incorporate digital technology more effectively into teaching and learning. This is problematic, however, because technology has had limited impact on education and has failed to be widely adopted as a learning support across many aspects of school and university education. More needs to be known about how technology is seen by young people and their teachers in order to understand the true nature of the problem that has been identified. This chapter will report on recent research investigating the reasons why digital technologies are adopted by university students in their everyday and academic lives. The findings provide insights into how the ‘rules of the game’ in different contexts influence the ways in which individuals perceive the utility of a technology and the ways in which they use it. This research draws on sociological concepts as an orienting theoretical framework to investigate and conceptualise these differences and consider what they mean for the integration of digital technologies in education

The adaptation of Chinese international students to online flexible learning: two case studies

The cross-cultural experiences of Chinese international students in Western countries have been subject to intensive research, but only a very small number of studies have considered how these students adapt to learning in an online flexible delivery environment. Guided by Berry’s (1980, 2005) acculturation frameworks, the investigation discussed in this paper aims to address this gap by exploring the adaptation processes of Chinese international students to online learning at an Australian university. This paper reports on the challenges perceived by two students from Mainland China, their coping strategies, changes in their opinions of online learning, and their respective patterns of adaptation. By presenting two indicative cases studies drawn from a wider study, this paper aims to demonstrate the use of Berry’s concepts as a means to frame such studies

The online acculturation of Chinese student \u27sojourners\u27

This paper presents a work-in-progress research project that explores the acculturation of Chinese student \u27sojourners\u27 to online learning at an Australian university. Building on Berry\u27s (1980, 2005) acculturation frameworks, this project examines the processes of change in the students\u27 perceptions of online learning and the strategies they use to adapt to online learning. The research consists of two parts: a pilot study and the main study. The aims of this paper are to explain why Berry\u27s frameworks have been chosen for this investigation and to report on the pilot study findings. The overall results indicate a strong clash of educational values and practices between this student group\u27s heritage and host cultures, pointing to a number of adaptation challenges that may be exacerbated by online learning. The main study is currently being conducted. It is expected that a refined framework for conceptualizing the participants\u27 online acculturation experiences will be developed based on the findings of the main study

Jointly constructing semantic waves: Implications for teacher training

This paper addresses how teachers can be trained to enable cumulative knowledge-building. It focuses on the final intervention stage of the Disciplinarity, Knowledge and Schooling (DISKS) project at the University of Sydney. In this special issue, Maton identifies ‘semantic waves’ as a crucial characteristic of teaching for cumulative knowledge-building; and Martin explores a ‘power trio’ of intertwining linguistic resources which contribute to the creation of these waves. This paper draws on these complementary theoretical frameworks from Legitimation Code Theory and Systemic Functional Linguistics to explore their implications for teacher training. Specifically, it links one Year 11 Biology teacher\u27s experience of new metalanguage and explicit pedagogy, in teacher training, to first attempts at classroom Joint Construction, a form of collaborative text creation. This paper then raises important issues regarding collaborations concerned with classroom interaction and knowledge-building practices

LCT in mixed-methods research: Evolving an instrument for quantitative data

A mantra of social science declares a fundamental divide between the quantitative and the qualitative that involves more than methods. According to this depiction，the two methodologies are intrinsically associated with a range of ontological，epistemological，political and moral stances. Each of these constellations of stances is strongly integrated，such that choice of method is held to involve a series of associated choices. Each constellation is also strongly opposed to the other，along axes labelled positivism/constructivism， scientism/humanism，conservative/critical，old/new，among others. These ‘binary constellations\u27 (Maton2014b: 148-70) offer a forced choice between two tightly-knit sets of practices that are portrayed as jointly exhaustive and mutually exclusive. So widespread is this methodological binarism that many scholars ‘are left with the impression that theyhave to pledge allegiance to one research school of thought or the other\u27 (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004: 14