5. Levels Key factors Social, political and economic Organisational Pedagogical & epistemological Technical Global Regional National Institutional Disciplinary Course
6. Probable focus area for MEd ICT minor dissertations Levels Key factors Social, political and economic Organisational Pedagogical & epistemological Technical Global Regional National Institutional Disciplinary Course
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8. Levels Key factors Social, political and economic Organisational Pedagogical & epistemological Technical Global Regional National Institutional Disciplinary Course Use of mobile phones to increase student engagement: Gender differences in Sociology 101
9. Levels Key factors Social, political and economic Organisational Pedagogical & epistemological Technical Global Regional National Institutional Adoption of e-learning policies at a higher education institution Disciplinary Course
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17. Where is your potential project located? What are the key issues and debates? Does your project rely on an intervention? What particular aspect will you research? Levels Key factors Social, political and economic Organisational Pedagogical & epistemological Technical Global Regional National Institutional Disciplinary Course
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Notas del editor
Hello everyone – Although I am not with you today, I thought I would share some ideas around how to think through the research on information communication technologies in developing countries by explaining a conceptual framework.
The key purpose of a conceptual framework is to provide a shared language of how various concepts are understood. In other words when some one talks about the “pedagogical value” of ICTs in teaching and learning in higher education, what exactly to they mean by “pedagogical value”. This is really important in any research document – your essays, your research proposals, your final thesis. The second reason for devising a conceptual framework to locate current issues and debates in a coherent manner that links logically to the available literature. The third reason is to use the conceptual framework to group the key areas and elements within the broader debates so that there is some ways of grouping similar ideas together making it easier to see the relationships between the various aspects The fourth reason for having an underpinning conceptual framework is that it makes it easier to identify points of leverage for change using educational technology to address educational challenges
On way to think about the various issues that impact upon the use of ICTs in Education is to identify the key factors involved. Conole and Oliver have created a conceptual framework that I have adapted. It endeavours to show in a graphical manner the main factors that influence the uptake of ICTs for teaching and learning. The outer circle represents the Context – in our case developing countries, which include the policy related issues – primarily from government, the social and cultural issues within the society at large and the availability of funds in general to support connectivity at a country level. The inner circles represent the key internal illustrate how the organisational issues, technical and pedagogical issues intersect. Organisational issues include institutional strategies, policies and procedures. The Pedagogical & Epistemological include teaching methods and the content of the curriculum. Technical refers to the ICTs that can support the teaching and learning activities and include general hardware, software and connectivity as well as specific educational software for example Learning Management systems, Eportfolios,
These factors – the organisational, pedagogical, technical for example can be cinsidered at many different levels. You can for example focus on just one course and investigate the pedgogical issues around the use of a particular technology or you could be looking the use of a technology within an entire discipline (say ICT in Mathemetics) or maybe at the insitutional level you might want to be investigating the use of various ICTs by students and academics at a univesrity.
When we plot the factors against the levels we can more easily plot where exactly your research interest might lie and then infer from that the informing literature.
It will also help you define the level of your research – in other words in your minor dissertation you are likely to focus on the intitutional, disciplinary or course level as the scope for national, regional or global level is usually too wide for a minor dissertation.
It will also help you define the key issues to be addressed; the intervention you may need to undertake – in other words some activities you are going to develop – e.g. a series of video lectures or using mobile phones in the classroom; and what exactly you are going to be investigating – in other words are you going to be looking at the social issues around the use of mobile phones – maybe the gender differences within once course
in other words are you going to be looking at the social issues around the use of mobile phones – maybe the gender differences within once course
Or maybe how e-Learning policies are being adopted at a particular institution.
Let’s take a few examples. I will look at the institutional level only. For the rest, please see the report written by Czerniewicz and Jaffer. Let’s look at the social, political and economic issues and debates these can include
Other examples at the intitutional level
Let’s turn to the pedagogical
A final thought: Where is your potential project located? What are the key issues and debates? Does your project rely on an intervention? What particular aspect will you research?