Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 26
Technology for Classroom Orchestration
Pierre Dillenbourg and Patrick Jermann
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
Introduction
On a regular basis, new metaphors emerge in the field of learning technologies. Are
they “old wine in a new bottle” or do they convey a novel idea? Is “inquiry-based”
learning more than “learning from simulations”? Is “educational data mining”
different from “student modelling”? Is “orchestration” just a new buzzword? It
probably is, but nonetheless this chapter argues that the idea of “orchestration”
conveys a new approach to the relationship between classrooms and technologies.
First, we explain why this relationship should be analyzed in terms of classroom
life and not only in terms of learning outcomes. Then, we decompose this relation-
ship by extracting 14 “design factors,” first from the metaphor of “orchestration”
(see “The 'Orchestration' model”) and then from the idea of viewing a classroom
as an “ecosystem” (see “The 'Ecosystem' model”). These factors relate pedagogi-
cal and technological design choices with classroom life. In the next three sections,
we illustrate these factors with three learning environments we have developed and
tested in real contexts. Our conclusions revisit orchestration as the management of
constraints systems.
This analytical chapter is restricted to the domain of formal education in co-
present settings. It does not deny the interest of research on informal learning as
well as on distance education but stresses the social responsibility of our research
community to contribute to schooling.
“It Works Well (In My Class)”
As most scholars in learning sciences, we are not only researchers but also teach-
ers in our own university. Surprisingly, these two roles sometimes co-exist almost
independently from each other.
