Teachers’ Experiences of using Learning Technology in Pakistan

Shah, Uzair and Hodgson, Vivien and Trehan, Kiran (2012) Teachers’ Experiences of using Learning Technology in Pakistan. In: Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Network Learning :. UNSPECIFIED, NLD. ISBN 978-1-86220-283-2

Abstract

The advancements in learning technology such as computers, mobile devices and the Internet, correspondence with faculty members, linkage and connections with other students and administrative activities, have become extended to the students beyond t normal university office hours. Education technologists are exploiting the benefits of technology to transform teaching methods in universities and promote interaction and collaboration; aspects important to Networked Learning. Despite the extensive use of learning technology, little research has been conducted to understand how faculty members experience learning technology within their pedagogical practices; and much of the existing literature has been in the context of culturally western universities. This study aims to highlight the phenomenon of teachers’ experiences of using learning technology within their teaching practices at Hazara University (HU) located in Mansehra, Pakistan. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm, phenomenography was used in this study. Phenomenography aims to understand and describe the different ways people perceive or view a particular phenomenon. From the analysis, five qualitatively different conceptions of using learning technology were identified; ‘attention retainment’, ‘vocational skill development’, ‘information enrichment’, ‘connectivity’, ‘as omnipotential’. These categories of experience represent the referential aspect of the phenomenon. Their relationships to each other is elaborated with three dimensions of variations highlighted from the data which are ‘prior exposure to learning technology’, ‘academic literature-conscious teaching’ and ‘perceived scope of technological use’. These dimensions of variations represent the structural aspect of the phenomenon. The relationships between the referential and structural aspect of the phenomenon are summarized and presented in a tabular form. Findings point to how the ubiquitous nature of learning technology and also some of the affordances experienced by the teachers of using learning technology within pedagogical practices. This further highlights the importance and the reliance on learning technology of teachers to assist and contribute towards the different aspects of their pedagogical practices. As suggested research in a different setting and with a different cultural group could reveal ‘new’ conceptions. This study provides new ways of seeing learning technology within pedagogical practices which may prove insightful for further research in this field. On a broader scale, the findings could have implications on design of teacher’s education programmes, and course curriculums.