Abstract:

Sociocultural theory puts social interaction at the center of all learning processes. However, classrooms worldwide and specifically in India see minimal social interaction. Various approaches that can make classrooms interactive have been suggested and tested. Networked computers is one such approach in which use of personal devices like tablets, phones, or laptops that are connected via a local network or the internet is used. Students can work together on a common problem, collaboratively write blogs, and collectively design and explore simulations. In these types of activities, all participating students have access to a common digital workspace or shared screen. Where they can create and manipulate representations and also access, use, and modify representations created by other students. In a classroom where such activities are used, the role of a teacher’s activities also needs to change. In this study, we are trying to understand how the presence of a shared screen impacts the teacher’s activities. To answer this question, we created two settings. One with computers without a shared screen, and the other with networked computers with a shared screen. The purpose of such a design was to contrast two conditions and focus only on the impact of a shared screen on teachers' activities. Forty-five students in grade four were divided into two groups and were assigned to one of the two conditions. Classroom sessions were video-audio recorded, field notes were collected, computer logs were saved and focused group discussions (FGD) were conducted. Interaction analysis of the video-audio data was done and it was supported by the observations from field notes, FGD, and computer logs. A detailed analysis of the two settings shows some similarities and differences among them. In the ‘without shared screen’ setting the teacher spends the largest portion of his time helping students solve technical issues, assessing students' work, giving feedback and encouragement, and facilitating learning via activities. It is difficult for the teacher to attend to the calls of all students, so one student has to be chosen over another. Alternatively, in the 'with shared screen' setting, teachers spend as much time as they would in any other setting solving technical issues, but they don't have to give personal feedback or encouragement, and there is much less time spent assessing students' work and facilitating learning. In this setting, the teacher did not have any difficulty managing time. Observations and responses in the video and the FGD indicated that students from the group that lacked a shared screen perceived the teacher as the only person they could ask for assistance. Whereas, the students from the ‘with shared screen’ setting said that along with the teacher they also seek/offer help from/to peers. We argue that the observed differences are partly due to the presence or absence of the shared screen in the classroom and how it leads to the formation of a cohesive group and a common goal. The shared screen facilitates peer-assessment, feedback, and encouragement. As a result of this, the teacher’s few responsibilities are distributed to the network of the students mediated by machines. We also discuss the implications of findings for the design of digital instructional material.

Keywords:

CSCL, Interaction analysis, Teacher’s activities, shared workspace, ICT in Education.