Technology supported learning and teaching within the context of higher education in a 21st century society
type: CreativeWork
description: "The physical environment in which teaching and learning occurs is being replaced with an electronic classroom, but the process of teaching is very much the same. In the second phase, however, we will begin to use technology in new ways, to advance beyond what was possible in the classroom." Downes. (2004). This overview supports an application for a PhD by publication at the University of Glamorgan. It identifies the tensions, barriers and facilities within the field which is broadly called eLeaming, but which I prefer to term Technology Supported Leaming. Successful uses of appropriate innovative technologies by staff and students in education is not a mystical or ethereal goal. Real innovation is often driven by the passionate few, frequently developed in their own time and enthused by a real desire to make a difference to the learning of their students. This motivation is not unique, unusual or perhaps unexpected. However the real problem is in 'mainstreaming' this innovatory practice or activity, (O'Donoghue, 2006, p. vii). As contemporary society becomes increasingly diverse and complex, so does the process of preparing young people for life as independent thinkers, productive citizens, and future leaders. The changing nature of students, the collegiate experience, learning, teaching, and outcomes assessment all have substantive implications for altering educational practice. The information age has encouraged the ubiquity of a seemingly endless supply of information that is there just waiting to be internalised by students who have the ability and the inclination to interrogate the vast range of information systems available. There is a need to consider the relationship between pedagogy and technology in driving the changes to the education process and what outcomes will determine the efficacy of these new learning environments. Pedagogic determinism needs to be focused within the 'real' world of increasing financial pressures on students and educational esta…
abstract: "The physical environment in which teaching and learning occurs is being replaced with an electronic classroom, but the process of teaching is very much the same. In the second phase, however, we will begin to use technology in new ways, to advance beyond what was possible in the classroom." Downes. (2004). This overview supports an application for a PhD by publication at the University of Glamorgan. It identifies the tensions, barriers and facilities within the field which is broadly called eLeaming, but which I prefer to term Technology Supported Leaming. Successful uses of appropriate innovative technologies by staff and students in education is not a mystical or ethereal goal. Real innovation is often driven by the passionate few, frequently developed in their own time and enthused by a real desire to make a difference to the learning of their students. This motivation is not unique, unusual or perhaps unexpected. However the real problem is in 'mainstreaming' this innovatory practice or activity, (O'Donoghue, 2006, p. vii). As contemporary society becomes increasingly diverse and complex, so does the process of preparing young people for life as independent thinkers, productive citizens, and future leaders. The changing nature of students, the collegiate experience, learning, teaching, and outcomes assessment all have substantive implications for altering educational practice. The information age has encouraged the ubiquity of a seemingly endless supply of information that is there just waiting to be internalised by students who have the ability and the inclination to interrogate the vast range of information systems available. There is a need to consider the relationship between pedagogy and technology in driving the changes to the education process and what outcomes will determine the efficacy of these new learning environments. Pedagogic determinism needs to be focused within the 'real' world of increasing financial pressures on students and educational esta…
author: O'Donoghue, John
language: eng
keywords: Education, Higher, Computer-assisted instruction, technological innovation
date published: 2008-11
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:39:05Z
provider: University of South Wales
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of South Wales