Abstract:

In this paper we present a set of orientations to support the design of didactic activities with technologies, in the frame of what some authors call “learning with technologies” (Jonassen, 2007, Papert, 2000, Laurillard, 2012) and following a broader reflection on the pedagogical potential of online digital tools for information, communication and production of contents. This work is the result of a series of reflections and discussions which we have been developing along the past twenty years under a variety of projects and studies. These efforts have in common the aim of contributing for the identification of points of convergence between learning objectives and digital tools’ pedagogical potential.

We follow a Design-Based Research work model, which also refers to the basic elements of Diana Laurillard’s line of thought on the analysis of digital tools’ pedagogical potential and on the process of designing activities with those tools. According to Laurillard (2006), through the planning of learning activities with technology, as a strategy of the planning formalization, the idea is to help the teachers and trainers to:
1) reflect about how a specific learning objective can benefit from the use of a specific technology;
2) make explicit the added value that technology can bring;
3) think about what the use of technology implies, in comparison with traditional teaching and learning methods;
4) consider and explore alternative plans adapted to the specific circumstances of each teaching and learning situation;
5) share their plans and receive critics and suggestions for improvement.

It seems to us that the pedagogical component has been given less attention than the technological tools, and therefore we seek to emphasize that component in the process of teaching and learning. It is a question of providing help to those who wish to design new activities using digital technologies, using as a reference and leitimov the learnings to be developed, rather than mere experimental exercises of a certain technology. It is also a matter of making known the results of a long process that we have been developing and broadening around the idea of “learning with technology” about learning goals more demanding from the cognitive point of view.

As a result of our reflection, we developed a model that serves both the questioning and the formalization of didactic activities with technologies, which education professionals may use so as to take effective advantage of the pedagogical potential of digital technologies in individuals’ learning processes. This model is operationalized in a two-part guide that follows a series of elements: the first section invites the activity designer to engage in a process that involves reflection, decision and clarification of the activity itself and of the pedagogical and didactic framework; the second section guides towards the decision making on other relevant aspects with the purpose of helping to fine-tune and contextualize the pedagogical design.

Keywords:

Learning design, Pedagogical design, Learning with technologies, Digital technology, Pedagogical potential of digital technologies.