Technology, pedagogy and the new science of learning.

1. A Brief Introduction to
Educational Technology
Part 2 – The Modern World
Mike Sharples,
Institute of Educational Technology

2. Educational change
“A mid-nineteenth-century surgeon is magically
transported through time to a modern operating
theatre. Once there, he finds himself completely at a
loss to know what to do or how to help.
In contrast, a mid-nineteenth-century teacher is
transported through the years to a modern classroom.
Once there, he picks up seamlessly where his modern
peer left off.”
Tim Bush, precis of Seymour Papert “The Children’s Machine”, 1994
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukfe/archive/2012/10/24/it-s-the-difference-between-technology-for-learning-and-technology-in-
learning.aspx

3. Education 1904-1994
Same technology, similar activity
1904
1954
1994

4. 1904
1954
1994
Entertainment 1904-1994
New technologies, new activities

5. Modern classroom 2004
New technology, but same pedagogy
5

6. Modern classroom 2016
6
New technologies, new pedagogies

7. Education is changing
New technologies
New pedagogies
New science of learning
7

8. New technologies
8
Constructive and collaborative Distant and interactive
Massive and social Personal and sensing

9. New technologies for learning
9
New technology can
augment learning
For example, ‘smart
earpieces’ for learning in
context:
who/what am I looking at?
what is s/he saying?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/0
5/17/groundbreaking-gadget-claims-to-fit-in-
your-ear-and-translate-fo/

10. New technologies for learning
10
New technology can
augment learning
For example, ‘smart
earpieces’ for learning in
context:
who/what am I looking at?
what is s/he saying?
…and can disrupt
traditional education
http://www.monorean.com/

11. Early signals
11
As educational
technologists we should
watch for early signs of
new and disruptive
technology
“Instinctively [Jed] switched over to his
miniputer to review the situation.
It was a simple thing to do. Many of the parts
of the miniputer were synthetic bio-chemical
units, their “controls” built into Jed’s aural
cavity; he “switched on” by simple neural
impulse. At once the mighty resources of the
machine, equal to the libraries of the world,
billowed like a curtain on the fringes of his
brain. The machine responded like an
electroencephalograph to the minute impulses
of his brain, and flicked over at his command
to the particular section of knowledge that he
wanted to consult.
Its “voice” came into his mind, filling it with
relevant words, figures, and pictures.”
Extract from a short story by Brian Aldiss, ‘The Thing Under the
Glacier’, Daily Express Science Annual, 1963.
1963
Smart earpiece for learning
controlled by neural impulses

12. Early signals
12
As educational
technologists we should
watch for early signs of
new and disruptive
technology
Explore educational
benefits
Discuss risks and
disruptions
“Learners can command an
increasing range of mobile
technologies that have the
potential to support learning
anytime anywhere, but also to
disrupt the carefully managed
environment of the classroom.”
Sharples, M. (2002) Disruptive Devices: Mobile Technology for
Conversational Learning. International Journal of Continuing
Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning, 12, 5/6, pp. 504-520.

13. Future Technology Workshop
13
A structured group method to systematically
envision and explore future technologies and
activities
CURRENT
TECHNOLOGY
FUTURE
TECHNOLOGY
CURRENT
ACTIVITY
1. Everyday
technology-
mediated activity
2. Familiar
activities supported
by new
technologies
FUTURE
ACTIVITY
3. New activities
that current
technology might
support
4. New activities
with new
technologies.
The present
The future (evolution
of technology)
The future (evolution
of practices)
The future (disruptive
innovation)
Vavoula, G.N. & Sharples, M. (2007) Future Technology Workshop: A collaborative method for the design of new learning
technologies and activities. International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, 2,4, 393-419.

14. Challenge
14
Identify technologies that may enhance or disrupt
education in 2020
Discuss their benefits and risks

15. New pedagogies
Pedagogy:
Theory and practice of
teaching, learning and
assessment
15

16. Innovating pedagogy
16
Rhizomatic learning Peer learning through networking
Personal inquiry Personally-meaningful investigations
Flipped classroom Study content online, discuss in classroom
Crossover learning Connecting informal and classroom learning
Learning to learn Learning how to become an effective learner
Geo-learning Learning about the landscape/environment
Learning through gaming Learning by playing educational games
Learning by storytelling Using narrative to guide learning
Threshold concepts Focusing on topics that are difficult to teach
Computational thinking Learning to abstract, plan, design, debug
Context-based learning Learning by interaction with real objects & locations
Incidental learning Learning from everyday incidents
Learning by making Learning by creating and sharing objects
Bricolage Learning by creative play with objects
Embodied learning Learning with and about your body
Dynamic assessment Discovering and overcoming learning difficulties

17. Example: Crossover Learning
●How do the learning
activities of informal and
classroom learning differ
in: initiation, support,
goals, activities,
outcomes?
●What are the benefits of
connecting formal and
informal learning?
●How can educational
technologies support this
pedagogy?
Connecting informal and classroom learning
17
Learner-initiated Teacher-initiated
Learner-
managed
Informal learning
(e.g. internet
browsing)
Self-managed
learning (e.g.
homework)
Teacher-
managed
Non-formal learning
(e.g. evening
classes, MOOCs)
Formal learning (e.g.
schools)

18. Crossover learning: MyArtSpace
●Need: to make school museum visits more
effective
●Aim: connect learning in museums and
classrooms
●Change from worksheet exercise to
inquiry-led learning
●Children as collectors and curators
●3000 children over 1 year in three
museums during 2006-7
●Greater engagement (from 20 minutes for
previous visits to 90 minutes with
MyArtSpace)
●Students brought back to the classroom
rich resources from their visit
Learning between classroom, museum and home
18
Vavoula, G., Sharples, M., Rudman, P.,
Meek, J., & Lonsdale, P. (2009)
Myartspace: Design and evaluation of
support for learning with multimedia phones
between classrooms and museums.
Computers and Education, 53, 2, 286-299.

19. Prepare a question
in the classroom
Create and collect
evidence in the
museum
View and share in
the classroom
Present a personal
perspective

20. New science of learning
“Insights from many different fields are converging to create a new
science of learning that may transform educational practice”
20
A.N. Meltzoff, P. K. Kuhl, J. Movellan, & T. J.
Sejnowski (2009) Foundations for a New Science
of Learning, Science 325 (5938), 284.
Neural learning
● Learning supported by brain circuits that link
perception and action
Computational learning
● Infer structural models from the environment
● Learn from probabilistic input
Social learning
● Learning by imitation
● Shared attention
● Intersubjectivity
Developmental learning
● Behavioural and cognitive development
● Neural plasticity
Contextual and temporal learning
● Learning within and across contexts
● Cycle of engagement and reflection

21. Insights from neuroscience
21
Timing Spacing between stimuli is
important in creating Long Term
Memories
Spaced learning
Neural plasticity The brain can re-organise itself
by forming new connections,
throughout a lifetime
Environmental
enrichment
Critical periods
Resilience: learning to
respond positively to
environmental challenges
Stress Moderate levels of stress is
associated with performance –
but ‘moderate’ differs among
individuals
Challenge-based learning
Learning self-regulation
of emotions

22. Example: Spaced learning
22
http://www.innovationunit.org/sites/default/files/Spaced_Learning-downloadable_1.pdf
Kelley, P., & Whatson, T. (2013). Making long-term memories in minutes: a spaced learning pattern from memory
research in education. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 589.
Based on behavioural and laboratory studies of how Long Term
Memories are encoded (DNA synthesis in the synapses of the brain)
Three short learning episodes spaced by 10 minutes of physical activity
(e.g. clay modelling)
A controlled study found similar learning outcomes from one hour of
spaced learning compared to a four-month course of classroom teaching
Studies are now being repeated in 15 schools
Teacher-led
presentation
Students
recall key
concepts
10
minute
active
break
10
minute
active
break
Students
apply
knowledge

23. Insights from behavioural sciences
23
Positive
reinforcement
Positive behaviour that is
rewarded tends to be
repeated
Behaviour modification

24. Example: Gloyo
Changing children’s handwashing behaviour
24
● An interactive toy that teaches children how to wash
their hands properly.
● Mobile hand washing device shaped like a ‘yo-yo’
● Designed in collaboration with young children
● One side contains lotion for washing hands
● Other side has UV light to detect where lotion has not
been washed off
● Images showing 6 steps to wash
● Positive reinforcement of correct behaviour
● A one-year trial saw sustained improvement in hand
washing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8816000/8816165.stm
Randle, J., Metcalfe, J., Webb, H., Luckett, J. C. A., Nerlich, B., Vaughan, N., ... & Hardie, K. R. (2013).
Impact of an educational intervention upon the hand hygiene compliance of children. Journal of Hospital
Infection, 85(3), 220-225.
http://bit.ly/2efmOIf

25. Insights from cognitive sciences
25
Feedback Giving immediate feedback is
successful for easy learning
tasks and when the student is
building knowledge. Both
positive and negative feedback
can help learning. Feedback
must be relevant and lead to
action.
Assessment for learning
Mastery learning
Constructivist
learning
Students who actively explore a
topic, then receive instruction
perform better than students
who are instructed first, then
explore
Productive failure
Learning by constructing
Context and
learning
We understand new topics in the
context of what we already know
Case-based learning
Learning from examples
Language Language enables cognition Learning multiple
languages
Meta-language and
metacognition

26. Example: productive failure
● Learners explore a complex problem and try to
generate solutions
● Teacher explains how to find the answer, using
the student solutions as examples
● In productive failure, students are primed to
understand the lecture
● In lecture-first, students are limited to
memorise, recall and apply the formulas they
had seen
● A study of students learning a complex topic of
combinatorics on an interactive tabletop
● Students who explored first then watched a
lecture performed significantly better than
lecture-first
● Learning by productive failure has been
implemented in over 26 Singapore schools
Learning by exploring complex problems
26
Students explore
a problem,
producing a
range of
answers
Teacher
explains the
correct answer
using students’
solutions as
examples
Productive failure
Teacher
presents the
topic and shows
how to solve
problems
Students try to
solve problems
related to the topic
Lecture-first teaching
www.manukapur.com/research/productive-failure/
Schneider, B., & Blikstein, P. (2016). Flipping the Flipped Classroom:
A Study of the Effectiveness of Video Lectures Versus Constructivist
Exploration Using Tangible User Interfaces. IEEE Transactions on
Learning Technologies, 9(1), 5-17.

27. Insights from social sciences
27
Cooperative
learning
People learn best when they
learn together
For groups to work:
• shared goals
• each person knows how and when to
contribute
• everyonemakes an appropriate
contribution
• share rewards in a fair way
• opportunity to reflect on progress and
to discuss contributions
Cooperative learning
Jigsaw learning
Team-based learning
Zone of proximal
development
Learners should work in a zone
where they can be helped:
between what they can already
do unaided, and what is far too
difficult
Scaffolding
Peer learning
Learning
organisations
Organisations (such as schools
and businesses) are learning
systems
Organisational learning
Double-loop learning

28. Example: FutureLearn
● Which pedagogies improve with
scale?
● FutureLearn platform designed to
support learning as conversation
● The more people who exchange
ideas and perspectives, the
better the learning experience
● Conversations linked to content
● Peer review and small group
discussions
● Social network techniques to
manage the massive scale of
conversation
Social learning at massive scale
28
www.futurelearn.com
Ferguson, R. & Sharples, M. (2014). Innovative pedagogy at massive
scale: Teaching and learning in MOOCs. In C. Rensing, S. de Freitas, T.
Ley & P. J. Muñoz- Merino (Eds.) Open Learning and Teaching in
Educational Communities, proceedings of 9th European Conference on
Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL 2014), Graz, Austria,
September 16-19. Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 98-111.

29. Designing learning with technology
“A systematic but flexible
methodology aimed to improve
educational practices through
iterative analysis, design,
development, and
implementation, based on
collaboration among researchers
and practitioners in real-world
settings, and leading to
contextually-sensitive design
principles and theories”
Design-Based Research
Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and
technology-enhanced learning environments. Educational Technology
Research and Development, 53(4), 5-23.
Educational
theory
Educational
practice
Design
experiment
Expanded
theory
New
technology in
practice
Design
experiment
guides
informs
guides

30. Comparison of DBR with laboratory
experimental research
Experimental studies Design-based studies
Laboratory studies Real world situations that contain
limitations, complexities, dynamics
Aimed at testing hypotheses Aimed at designing new interventions
and generating hypothesis
Usually single dependent variable Multiple dependent variables (though not
all are investigated)
Control of variables, through
specification of fixed procedures
Iterative and flexible revisions of the
research design
Normally isolated from the social world Normally involve social interactions
Researchers are the decision makers Partners contribute to the decision
making

31. Evaluating educational technology
innovations
31
“a serious investigation of the impacts
of technology on student learning will
require multiple studies and more than
one methodological approach…
For many policymakers, the decision to
be made is not whether to invest in
technology or not, but rather how best
to integrate technology with local
educational goals…
In many cases, technology-based
interventions seek to foster analytic,
problem-solving, or design skills that
are not covered by conventional
achievement tests. Using an outcome
measure that has nothing to do with the
intervention under study can easily
mask real impacts on learning.”

32. Evaluating educational technology
innovations
32
Method Context Results
Design experiment Design-based
research
Theory development
Educational technology requirements
Controlled
intervention study
Hypothesis testing Comparative effectiveness of educational
interventions
Systematic review Increasing
predictive power
Effect size of type of intervention
Comparison with average effect size of 0.4
Observation Learning in situ Understanding the learning process
Critical incident
analysis
Learning in situ Analysis of incidents in terms of breakdowns
and breakthroughs, to inform design
Ethnographic study Learning in situ Scientific description of learning activities and
cultures
Interaction analysis Learning practices Corpus of learners’ interactions
Activity analysis Learning analytics Learner behaviour and performance
Survey New learning
intervention
Insight into learners’ intentions, experiences,
and difficulties

33. Learning
design
Improved
Educational
Practices
Objectives and
strategies for
institutional change
Learning Analytics
Agile development
Institutional innovation
Double loop organisational learning

34. Learning
design
Improved
Educational
Practices
Objectives and
strategies for
institutional change
Theories of effective
education
Theory-
informed
innovation
Learning Analytics
Design-based research
Agile development
Educational evaluation and insight
Institutional innovation
Double loop organisational learning

35. What next?
Scalable and sustainable learning systems
Beyond MOOCs
Intelligent tutoring systems
A tutor for every learner
Personalised and social learning at massive scale
How to combine the learning benefits of social and personal learning
Orchestration outside the classroom
Facilitating informal learning
Lifelong professional development
Connecting learning in workplaces and classrooms
Distributed accreditation
Blockchain technologies for education
Formative analytics
Big data analytics to support learning
35

36. Which future?
36
?
?
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”
Quote attributed to Alan Kay
?
http://www.k-
12techdecisions.com/article/the_education_of_the_future_how_fa
r_can_we_go
http://government-2020.dupress.com/category/education/
?
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/who-we-
are/community/education.html
https://www.stem.org.uk/heated/uk-universities-set-offer-degree-
credit-through-moocs-first-time