The Techno-Pedagogical Pivot: Designing and Implementing a Digital Writing Tool

Authors: Justin D. Olmanson, Katrina S. Kennett, Bill Cope

Abstract:

In educational technology, the idea of innovation is usually tethered to contemporary technological inventions and emerging technologies. Yet, using long-known technologies in ways that are pedagogically or experimentially new can reposition them as emerging educational technologies. In this study we explore how a subtle pivot in pedagogical thinking led to an innovative education technology. We describe the design and implementation of an online writing tool that scaffolds students in the evaluation of their own informational texts. We think about how pathways to innovation can emerge from pivots, namely a leveraging of longstanding practices in novel ways has the potential to cultivate new opportunities for learning. We first unpack Infowriter in terms of its design, then we describe some results of a study in which we implemented an intervention which included our designed application.

Keywords: Design, innovation, learning, technology, writing.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1106965

References:

[1] N. Saeed, Y. Yang, and S. Sinnappan, “Emerging Web Technologies in Higher Education: A Case of Incorporating Blogs, Podcasts and Social Bookmarks in a Web Programming Course based on Students’ Learning Styles and Technology Preferences,” Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 98–109, Oct. 2009.
[2] G. Veletsianos, Emerging Technologies in Distance Education. Athabasca University Press, 2010.
[3] C. S. Dybdahl, D. G. Shaw, and E. Blahous, “The Impact of the Computer on Writing,” Computers in the Schools, vol. 13, no. 3–4, pp. 41–53, Aug. 1997.
[4] C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, and J. Fitzgerald, Handbook of Writing Research. Guilford Press, 2006.
[5] A. J. Cañas and J. D. Novak, “Concept Mapping Using Cmap Tools to Enhance Meaningful Learning,” in Knowledge Cartography, A. O. Bs. MA, S. B. S. Bs. MSc, and T. S. Bs. MA, Eds. Springer London, 2008, pp. 25–46.
[6] D. P. Ausubel, J. D. Novak, and H. Hanesian, Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Werbel & Peck, 1978.
[7] J. D. Novak and D. B. Gowin, Learning How to Learn. Cambridge University Press, 1984.
[8] J. D. Novak, Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations. Routledge, 2010.
[9] D. C. Rice, J. M. Ryan, and S. M. Samson, “Using concept maps to assess student learning in the science classroom: Must different methods compete?,” Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 35, no. 10, pp. 1103–1127, Dec. 1998.
[10] K. Cho and C. MacArthur, “Student revision with peer and expert reviewing,” Learning and Instruction, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 328–338, Aug. 2010.
[11] M. Kalantzis and B. Cope, Literacies. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
[12] J. P. Spradley, Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980.
[13] R. S. Weiss, Learning from strangers: The art and method of qualitative interview studies. New York: Free Press, 1994.
[14] H. F. Wolcott, The art of fieldwork, 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2005.
[15] V. A. Anfara, K. M. Brown, and T. L. Mangione, “Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the research process more public,” Educational Researcher, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 28–38, 2002.
[16] A. L. Strauss and J. M. Corbin, Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing. Sage Publications Inc, 1998.