Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
is a need to enable and support a hybrid model of practitioner and design-based
research practice. One of the strengths of technological tools in learning technology
research is that they could support not only isolated aspects of research but also inte-
grate research with design and support smoothly all components of the inquiry cycle
including problem formulation, design of digital learning artifacts, online data col-
lection, analysis, and further improvement. In this section we discuss the nature of
information and communication technology (ICT)-enhanced technological innova-
tions and outline some possibilities of how technological affordances could enable
and support such practices. Then, in order to illustrate how these conceptual changes
could be linked to specific technologies, we sketch the elements of a high-level
architecture for a teacher-oriented inquiry platform.
ICT for Educational Innovation
ICT in educational innovation plays a dual role: it is (a) a fundamental piece of
equipment that has an important role in the concept and design of educational prac-
tices and (b) an enabler of new educational innovation and knowledge-building
models and practices. While the roles of ICT
in
educational innovation are well real-
ized and conceptualized, the potential of ICT
for
educational innovation is neither
well understood nor utilized. One important function of ICT could be to overcome
the fragmentation of knowledge caused by the multiple separated contexts in which
educational knowledge is created.
Educational innovation is distributed in nature. Knowledge that contributes to
innovations is generated by universities, schools, publishers, and others. The funda-
mental challenge is not only to empower all these potential sources of innovation
to contribute, but also to integrate their distributed outputs, translate this knowledge
into practice and feed it back into new innovation cycles. ICT, as a technological
infrastructure, plays an important role for enabling effective organizational models
for collaborative knowledge-building and sharing, such as “innovation networks”
(Hargreaves, 2003). Web 2.0-based and other collaborative knowledge-sharing plat-
forms can enhance collaboration and innovation uptake (Bentley &Gillinson, 2007).
Additionally, new knowledge-creation platforms based on semantic grid technolo-
gies and e-research models, as developed in e-science (De Roure & Frey, 2007), can
bring about a front-to-end digital chain of collaborative knowledge production—
from research or innovation design to output. Further, these platforms can help
with the integration and interaction of different kinds of evidence and knowledge
produced in multiple case studies, research, and design projects. While it is not
the case yet, numerous examples from other industry sectors show that integrated
ICT-based platforms that support complex knowledge flows between research, prac-
tice, and decision-making could enhance teachers' potential to engage in systematic
inquiry as well as provide new types of evidence for educational decision-making,
development, and further innovation (e.g., De Roure & Frey, 2007; Philip, Chorley,
Farrington, & Edwards, 2007).
