The fundamental aim of education is to prepare students for life (AITSL, 2022). The evolving digital world has created and continues to create digital disruptions to the way we live, function, work and learn requiring people to change expectations and behaviours to adapt to handle digital content (Green, 2020). According to Ng (2012, referenced in Green, 2020). To become competent in digital literacy; technical, cognitive and social functional characteristics lie at the centre between the digital skills and learner’s traits.

The Australian ICT Curriculum is referred to as digital literacy and is now considered a general capability of all students' education requirements. Educational technology has a two-fold approach in the curriculum. There are the digital skills needed to access and learn through technology, these skills are referenced in the A.C definition of digital literacy include the ‘knowledge and skills students need to: create, manage, communicate and investigate data, information and ideas; solve problems; and work collaboratively at school and in their lives beyond school’ (ACARA, 2022).

Secondly, there is the learning traits needed by the students to handle the digital content; being a life-long learner, self-motivation, maintaining and learning new skills, exploration and play, engaging in a global network and desire for active modes of learning (engage, reflect, apply) (Green, 2020).

Using technological education frameworks enables educators to follow a structured approach to effectively incorporating technology into learning. SAMR is a progressive framework allowing educators to reflect on their integration of technology based on the levels, substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. The aim being to integrate technology education within the modification and redefinition level for the technology to enhance and extend students learning (Howell, 2020).

Similarly, TPACK is a framework used to describe the types of knowledge; content, pedagogy and technology and the relationship between them that teachers need in order to teach a learning environment enhanced by technology effectively (Howell, 2020). It is important to begin with pedagogy knowledge when incorporating these technology frameworks into student learning as pedagogy informs the correct way technology should be used (Howell, 2020).

Technology can have negative impacts on student learning particularly when it has not been incorporated through a pedagogical lens or is overused, it can affect student focus, distractibility, engagement and learning (Kolbe, 2020). A 2015 Australian study on the integration of ICT found the best practise to be accessible when needed and away when instruction was happening (Blackley & Walker, 2015 cited in Kolbe, 2020). Furthermore, the OECD found moderate use of technology in the education setting had positive outcomes while frequent use correlated with lower results in reading, maths and science scores Kolbe, 2020).

Pedagogical Statement:

I believe the constructionist pedagogy gives educational technology the focus on both the technical skills and learning skills students require to navigate the digital world. Constructivism pedagogy focuses on active learning, constructing meaning from doing. Further social constructivism pedagogy believes that ‘social interaction precedes the development of knowledge and understandings’ (Howell, 2020, p. 24)’ along with the guidance of a MKO (more knowledgeable other) and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Through using technology collaboratively and socially in class with expert teachers or skilled peers allowing students to learn alongside them utilising Vygotsky’s ZPD enables technology to further enhance learning through supporting students transition from the enhancement stage of SAMR to progress to transformation. Through technologies use as a pedagogical tool students are able to meet the digital literacy requirements of technical competence, meaningful use, critical evaluation and motivation (Blannin, 2020), this can be shown through the sample classroom activity.

Primary school grade 5/6 class

G.C : HASS 

World Map Game, increasing the odds through selective investigating.

Students would be grouped searching one country fact per technology tool: Google Earth, Google image, YouTube, WHO, through a single search they can estimate their country’s advantage. From there students will begin a self-directed research into their ‘winning’ country. Through the use of educational technology this task will have the ability to be extended by student-led inquiry, using the SAMR model, transforming this task by modifying students exploration and assignment from geographical understanding to an in depth look into the historic, economic, political and sociotal structrues and impacts on the country that has resulted in these country facts.

It is supported by the social constructivist theory pedagogy of forming knowledge through social interaction by engaging in a peer led geographical and reaserched based compettion. Engaging in ZPD, enhancing this through referencing the three E’s framework: engagement, enhancement, extension.

Within this example, technology is used as a pedagogical tool, students working with their peers at different digital capabilities, allowing the technology applications to inform their deeper understanding of the content and guide the direction of learning with the aim to go from teacher centred teaching to constructivist student-centred approaches enhanced with technology.