Matt, there's a fair bit of literature about the "affordances" of digital technology that may be relevant to this topic. I suspect that on the surface your argument is sound, although I wonder about the role of serendipity. I often learn either by myself or with others during moments of "oh, I didn't know this software could do that". I'm also inclined to think that one of the affordances of digital technology is that it can facilitate novel pathways of inquiry ... and student inquiry is not necessarily led by educators they interact with.

Hi, there is a lot of evidence. For example, 

http://www.sri.com/blog/evidence-shows-how-right-use-technology-can-increase-math-learning

https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based.../finalreport.pdf

http://www.dcmp.org/caai/nadh176.pdf

http://edtechreview.in/news/681-technology-in-education

http://www.ncsl.org/portals/1/documents/educ/item013161.pdf

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/v32/v32n2/okojie.html

http://ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Price-concise.pdf

Matt, there's a fair bit of literature about the "affordances" of digital technology that may be relevant to this topic. I suspect that on the surface your argument is sound, although I wonder about the role of serendipity. I often learn either by myself or with others during moments of "oh, I didn't know this software could do that". I'm also inclined to think that one of the affordances of digital technology is that it can facilitate novel pathways of inquiry ... and student inquiry is not necessarily led by educators they interact with.

Hey Matt,

Now I don't know how you are using this material and if it is part of a larger story, so please forgive me if I don't have all the facts. But here goes...

I'm a bit worried your thesis is actually a truism (whether it relates to just computer technologies or teaching technologies or any topic in general). That is, it is obvious that if you know more about anything, it should be possible to make "make discerning ... selection and deployment decisions"

see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truism

The hard question is, how does one develop and maintain this kind of knowledge in times of rapid technological change while you maintain a full teaching load because if you wait until you've got all this  knowledge, you might never use anything and in the use of it, is often the deep learning needed to evaluate it.

Also technology choice is one of those wicked problems because right is affected by the context, the stakeholders at the time of deployment and the limitations of such things as availability (best tool might not be affordable by your institution or accessible by all platforms). Complex problem with many "right" answers. Many paths can lead to learning.

Good luck with your study.

Regards

Lindy

Hi Matt, you've probably already thought of this but the Clark vs Kozma debate comes to mind for me. See http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate for a summary and references. From our interactions and discussions I've always thought of you as leaning more toward the Kozma side!

There must be some argument to make in terms of hype curves(cycles) too. As much as they argued against, their peak is representative of your argument. Educators (in this case) jumping on the band wagon before they have fully understood the why and affordances (the Gibson type) of the medium.

Also there is a side argument to be made in the role of academic support. It could be quite conceivable for an educator to have a set of learning outcomes to deliver, be constrained by an unfamiliar delivery method (say they were F2F but are now being required to deliver online...) to then to seek the assistance and guidance of an academic support person or group. This group would be versed in the various media and delivery choices and facilitate. The most stated reason for not using Virtual worlds was Institutional support. Gregory S, Scutter S, Jacka L, McDonald M, Farley H, Newman C. Barriers and enablers to the use of virtual worlds in higher education: An exploration of educator perceptions, attitudes and experiences.. Educational technology & society, special edition, in press.

Hi Matt

Have you accessed the research that cites the TPACK framework? Proponents of this would argue that technical knowledge is integral to teacher knowledge and that technical knowledge is an aspect of this. I haven't cited examples as you have probably thought of this already, but please reply if you would like some examples.

Dear Matt

I would like to help you with your research, however I would like to know a little bit about what you really want.

If I understand correctly below I decide to share with you some papers that you might find interesting. these are following:

Brown, A., & Green, T. (2009). Issues and trends in instructional technology: Web 2.0, Second Life, and STEM share the spotlight. In M. Orey, V. J. McClendon, & R. M. Branch (Eds), Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, 34, (pp. 7‐23). New York: Springer Science and Business Media.

Buraphadeja, V. & Dawson, K. (2008). Content analysis in computer-mediated communications: analyzing models for assessing critical thinking through the lens of social constructivism. American Journal of Distance Education, 22(3), 130-145.

Macdonald, J. & Poniatowska, B. (2011). Designing the professional development of staff for teaching online: an OU (UK) case study. Distance Education, 32(1), 119-134.

Pellas, N. & Kazanidis, I. (2014b). Online and hybrid university-level courses with the utilization of Second Life: Investigating the factors that predict student choice in Second Life supported online and hybrid university-level courses. Computers in Human Behavior, 40(2), 31-43.

Pivec, M., Stefanelli, M.C., Christensen,I.-M. F. & Pauschenwein, J. (2011). AVATAR – The Course: Recommendations for Using 3D Virtual Environments for Teaching. E-Learning Papers - Game-Based Learning: new practices, new classrooms, No. 25, July 2011 www.elearningpapers.eu/en/elearning_papers

Seezink, A. & Poell, R. (2010). Continuing professional development needs of teachers in schools for competence-based vocational education. Journal of European Industrial Training, 34(5), 455-474.

Singhal, M. (1997). The internet and foreign language education: Benefits and challenges. The Internet TESL. Journal, III (6). Retrieved 12 October 2012 online from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-Internet.htmlWang, F. & Burton, J. (2013). Second Life in education: A review of publications from its launch to 2011. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(3), 357-371.

With kind regards

NP

Hi Matt

I was Principal Investigator on a UK government project that looked at Web 2.0, and how and under what conditions teachers in 27 secondary schools in England brought Web 2.0 affordances into their teaching. Here's a link to the report:

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1480/1/becta_2008_web2_summary.pdf 

Best regards

Colin Harrison

Emeritus Professor, University of Nottingham

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1480/1/becta_2008_web2_summary.pdf

Hi Matt,

The references have been made in this area are very valuable as they provide evidence of the relationship between availability and use of technologies (software and hardware) and improving learning.

Be careful when reviewing the evidence, as it shows that the improved learning comes not from the technology itself, but of how we use it in teaching strategies and apendizaje we implemented.

In essence, you know the equipment or software not give us a big advantage for improving processes but understand very well that is what we seek to occur in the minds of students. For example, the trend is now achieving educational skills and achieve appearing on students is not only technologies but have the power to use them to achieve goals.

If collaborative skills required, I require a strategy that uses technology resources in a way, if I need communication strategies to use the technologies with some variation.

In short we need to place the technological tools in the context of education and from there look for the best way to use it, never the contrary, it is to think that mastering technology itself can improve Education.

I am not sure if there is a definitive answer to your question. On the face of it, the answer appears to be a straightforward yes. I suspect what you are really getting bat is the extent to which teachers need these skills. An interesting, though slightly dated paper by Larson, A. (1995), ‘Technology Education in Teacher Preparation: Perspectives from a Teacher Education Program’ explores a range of issues relating to the technological requirements with a group of trainee teachers. It should make for interesting reading and you can access it via

http://education.illinois.edu/TTA/conferences/AESA-95.html

Also, a review article by Buabeng-Andoh, C. (2012), Factors influencing teachers’ adoption and integration of information and communication technology into teaching: A review of the literature’ published in International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology(IJEDICT), 2012, Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 136-155 should be of use.

Hi Matt - until now I would have suggested that educators need to understand and clearly develop i) the goals of their courses and ii) the needs of their students - before they can consider the possible uses of technology.

However, with the advent of the Cloud and the many possibilities of 'personalising learning, it is clear we have entered a new paradigm for education and technology. The learners should be much more in control of their own learning and thus using 'specific'educational approaches - including technologies - may restrict their development.The role of the educator thus should be changing - understanding the possibilities rather than limitations is probably more appropriate.

We have an interesting EU project exploring this called 'School on the Cloud" http://www.schoolonthecloud.eu - you will find there our state of the art report and new paradigm paper

http://www.schoolonthecloud.eu

The project mentioned by Karl seems fantastic, and is an attempt to incorporate large-scale technologies for learning achievement.

I agree that one of the first tasks is to determine the needs of students, but also the needs of teachers. Also, be clear about the objectives of each course but in a clear context of institutional objectives and the education system itself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

El proyecto mencionado por Karl me parece fantástico, y es un intento a gran escala de incorporar las tecnologías para el logro de aprendizajes.

Concuerdo en que una de las primeras tareas es determinar las necesidades de los estudiantes, pero también las necesidades de los docentes. Además debe estar claro los objetivos de cada curso pero en un contexto claro de objetivos institucionales y del propio sistema educativo.

Thanks Alfredo - we are bringing interested groups together to examine the issues - as business has accepted Cloud-based working processes - but in education - where we need to update our approaches to meet 21st century societal needs, we almost ignore the potential. We will hold an open workshop / meeting in Palermo, Sicily in October 2015, if you are interested in participating (its free to participate) please get in touch with me.

Journal of Information Technology for Teacher

Education

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtpe19

Factors affecting teachers' use of information

and communications technology: a review of the

literature

Shazia Mumtaz

 University of Warwick, Coventry, USA

Published online: 20 Dec 2006.

Hi there,.

I found this article very interesting although it is a little dated now.  My own research is based on the use of mobile technologies in the Drama Studio and I have found that teachers are reluctant to use new technology unless they have had time to learn it themselves.  They then cite lack of time to do so, so one is left wondering?

Hope this helps

Kathryn

Hi Kathryn, yes this is an interesting point, our research shows that educators are using Cloud-based tools for their day-to-day activities (travel, shoppong, living etc.. but not in schools and teaching/educating. So they don't see the connection between their profession and normal lives. Seems like schools are still perceived as outdated environments where teaching is more important than learning and the needs of society are not important. Have a nice christmas :-)

Dear Professor ,

We did some unofficial studies of using E-learning system for some liberal art subjects in my school ,and the feedback is positive . The only set back was , we did not carried out the pre-test ,and compare with the post test result  May be, on the next project , a better research have to be done..especially the reformation of Advance Mathematics subject ! 

Kathryn,

There is a coincidence in the reluctance of teachers to use new technologies for learning but efforts to change that is not only by themselves but also changes in institutional patterns. Surely I say that is not a change that occurs in the short term, requires a medium-term effort, but we need perseverance and a plan with clear objectives.

In some universities this side of the world, as in Peru, this work has already started some years ago and is having very good results in hybrid classes.

[email protected]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kathryn

Hay una coincidencia en la reluctancia de los profesores para utilizar las nuevas tecnologías en beneficio del aprendizaje pero los esfuerzos para que esto cambie no solo es por parte de ellos mismos sino también de cambios en los patrones institucionales. Con seguridad te digo que no es un cambio que ocurre en corto plazo, requiere de un esfuerzo de mediano plazo, pero necesitamos constancia y un plan con claros objetivos.

En algunas universidades de este lado del mundo, como en Perú, este trabajo ya se ha iniciado algunos años atrás y se está teniendo muy buenos resultados en las clases híbridas.

[email protected]

Karl

Actually the topic interests me greatly because I am convinced of the potential of using cloud technologies to achieve learning objectives and ensure that students achieve the skills needed for 21st century. It would be great to participate in this project started.

[email protected]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karl

Realmente el tema me interesa sobremanera pues estoy convencido de la potencialidad del uso de las tecnologías en la nube para lograr objetivos de aprendizaje y lograr que los estudiantes logren las competencias necesarias para el siglo 21. Sería fabuloso poder participar en este proyecto que han iniciado.

[email protected]

There is certainly some research available out there to assist in this topic area. I would suggest limiting your search to recent years after perusing the research database findings, as typically older studies in emerging technologies are outdated. However, one cannot neglect seminal or primary works (thus why you should at least snoop around the older stuff initially). Some examples include:

Perceptions of effectiveness of instructional uses of technology in higher education in an era of Web 2.0

V Venkatesh, AM Croteau… - System Sciences (HICSS), …, 2014 - ieeexplore.ieee.org

Abstract Understanding learners' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of information and

communication technology (ICT) use, including those in the broad category of social media,

is both important and critical to the success or failure of integration of ICT in higher ...

Cited by 2 Related articles All 4 versions Cite Save

Professional Development on Web 2.0 for Teachers of Spanish: A Mixed Methods Case Study

C Bustamante - 2014 - digitalcommons.unl.edu

This research explored the experiences of eighteen teachers of Spanish in grades 7-12 from

both rural and urban areas in Nebraska, who participated in a technology, pedagogy, and

content-based, online professional development program called Web 2.0 for Teachers of ...

Cite Save More

[PDF] from drdo.gov.in

Impact of Web 2.0 Technology Applications in Kerala University Library: Library Professionals' Perspective

ST Seena, SKG Pillai - … of Library & Information Technology, 2014 - publications.drdo.gov.in

Abstract The web has transformed the ways by which people search, find, use and

communicate information. Integrating the use of web 2.0 technology into libraries has

become the subject of interest among library professionals. Web 2.0 technologies facilitate ...

Cite Save

[PDF] from editlib.org

Web 2.0 Tools: a Valuable Support to Teachers of Struggling Readers

H Hu, ME Oslick, S Feng - Society for Information Technology & Teacher …, 2014 - editlib.org

Abstract This study investigated how a group of graduate students in a reading specialist

program responded to a professional development training on Web 2.0 technologies as

demonstrated in their perception and practice when working with struggling readers. The ...

Related articles All 2 versions Cite Save

Web 2.0 applications and practices for learning through collaboration

YC Hsu, YH Ching, BL Grabowski - … communications and technology, 2014 - Springer

Abstract This chapter provides a review of the theoretical bases and international research

on the uses of Web 2.0 applications for learning through collaboration. Web 2.0 applications

empower users with a venue for personal expression, sharing, communicating, and ...

Cited by 8 Related articles All 5 versions Cite Save

'I'm just not that comfortable with technology': student perceptions of and preferences for Web 2.0 technologies in reflective journals

TS O'Connell, JE Dyment - Journal of Further and Higher …, 2014 - Taylor & Francis

Encouraging reflective practice and developing reflective practitioners is a goal of many

disciplines in higher education. A variety of pedagogical techniques have been used to

promote critical reflection including portfolios, narratives and reflective journals. Over the ...

Cite Save

There is certainly some research available out there to assist in this topic area. I would suggest limiting your search to recent years after perusing the research database findings, as typically older studies in emerging technologies are outdated. However, one cannot neglect seminal or primary works (thus why you should at least snoop around the older stuff initially). Some examples include:

Perceptions of effectiveness of instructional uses of technology in higher education in an era of Web 2.0

V Venkatesh, AM Croteau… - System Sciences (HICSS), …, 2014 - ieeexplore.ieee.org

Abstract Understanding learners' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of information and

communication technology (ICT) use, including those in the broad category of social media,

is both important and critical to the success or failure of integration of ICT in higher ...

Cited by 2 Related articles All 4 versions Cite Save

Professional Development on Web 2.0 for Teachers of Spanish: A Mixed Methods Case Study

C Bustamante - 2014 - digitalcommons.unl.edu

This research explored the experiences of eighteen teachers of Spanish in grades 7-12 from

both rural and urban areas in Nebraska, who participated in a technology, pedagogy, and

content-based, online professional development program called Web 2.0 for Teachers of ...

Cite Save More

[PDF] from drdo.gov.in

Impact of Web 2.0 Technology Applications in Kerala University Library: Library Professionals' Perspective

ST Seena, SKG Pillai - … of Library & Information Technology, 2014 - publications.drdo.gov.in

Abstract The web has transformed the ways by which people search, find, use and

communicate information. Integrating the use of web 2.0 technology into libraries has

become the subject of interest among library professionals. Web 2.0 technologies facilitate ...

Cite Save

[PDF] from editlib.org

Web 2.0 Tools: a Valuable Support to Teachers of Struggling Readers

H Hu, ME Oslick, S Feng - Society for Information Technology & Teacher …, 2014 - editlib.org

Abstract This study investigated how a group of graduate students in a reading specialist

program responded to a professional development training on Web 2.0 technologies as

demonstrated in their perception and practice when working with struggling readers. The ...

Related articles All 2 versions Cite Save

Web 2.0 applications and practices for learning through collaboration

YC Hsu, YH Ching, BL Grabowski - … communications and technology, 2014 - Springer

Abstract This chapter provides a review of the theoretical bases and international research

on the uses of Web 2.0 applications for learning through collaboration. Web 2.0 applications

empower users with a venue for personal expression, sharing, communicating, and ...

Cited by 8 Related articles All 5 versions Cite Save

'I'm just not that comfortable with technology': student perceptions of and preferences for Web 2.0 technologies in reflective journals

TS O'Connell, JE Dyment - Journal of Further and Higher …, 2014 - Taylor & Francis

Encouraging reflective practice and developing reflective practitioners is a goal of many

disciplines in higher education. A variety of pedagogical techniques have been used to

promote critical reflection including portfolios, narratives and reflective journals. Over the ...

Cite Save

Matt, 

I co-authored a book chapter on pedagogical usability

Moore, J. L., Dickson-Deane, C., & Liu, M. (2014). Designing CMS courses from a pedagogical usability perspective. In Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance Education : Research on Course Management Systems in Higher Education. (p. 169). Information Age Publishing.

in that chapter we reference  2  papers which may provide some evidence that you are looking for

Hope this helps...:-)

Interesting paths that lead from the initial question. The courses have a support of a virtual platform is used sometimes with rigor but are not focused on learning but in other different patterns as referenced in the investigation of Camille "Faculty use of the course management system (CMS)" .

There is a use of virtual platforms for commitment to the institution and the rules thereof fully fulfilled the request to publish the syllabus, reading resources or PPTs, but no interactive elements that are of most importance to the skills and learning .

Here is an interesting article that talk about this topic (not only this) but is written in Spanish. 

http://www.um.es/ead/red/42/faraon.pdf

The refeneces are also helpful

María Esteban, the article you've shared has been instructive and useful for the quantitative elements shown. I agree that education should not look for black swans but also must avoid taking risks in order to improve.

Alfredo

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María Esteban, ha sido ilustrativo el artículo que has compartido y útil por los elementos cuantitativos mostrados. Concuerdo en que la educación no debe buscar cisnes negros pero tampoco debe evitar asumir riesgos para poder mejorar.

Alfredo

Good Answer Alfredo D. Holguín Alfaro

Useful materials on http://tpack.org/