Bruce and Levin (1997), for
example, look at ways in which the tools, techniques, and applications of
technology can support integrated, inquiry-based learning to "engage
children in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing,
problem-solving, and experiencing the world." They developed the idea of technology
as media with four different focuses: media for inquiry (such as data
modeling, spreadsheets, access to online databases, access to online
observatories and microscopes, and hypertext), media for communication (such as word processing, e-mail,
synchronous conferencing, graphics software, simulations, and tutorials), media for construction (such as
robotics, computer-aided design, and control systems), and media for expression (such as interactive video, animation
software, and music composition).
In a review of
existing evidence of technology's impact on learning, Marshall (2002) found strong evidence that
educational technology "complements what a great teacher does naturally,"
extending their reach and broadening their students' experience beyond the
classroom. "With ever-expanding content
and technology choices, from video to multimedia to the Internet," Marshall suggests
"there's an unprecedented need to understand the recipe for success, which
involves the learner, the teacher, the content, and the environment in which
technology is used."
"Though many devices enter our classrooms for different reasons -- they are not neutral. Some are used to reinforce the authority of formal teaching; some engage students in the process of imaginative discovery. By balancing conventional and subversive academic possibilities, these latter objects show us the real potential of learning technologies. Not as sterile knowledge-delivery devices policed by authorized educators, but as boundary objects between endorsed educational utility and creative self-expression gone rogue."
