Andrew Joyce-Gibbons

Multi‐touch tables and collaborative learning

Abstract The development of multi-touch tables, an emerging technology for classroom learning, offers valuable opportunities to explore how its features can be designed to support effective collaboration in schools. In this study, small groups of 10- to 11-year-old children undertook a history task where they had to connect various pieces of information about a mining accident to reach a consensus about who had been responsible. Their interaction using traditional resources was compared with their interaction when using a multi-touch table. Analysis suggests that the design and capabilities of the multi-touch technology offers some key features that supported the collaboration and interaction of the participants, particularly in the early stages of the task. Some of these features appear to provide new opportunities for collaboration and interaction, which were different from the interactions observed in the paper-based groups. These features of the multi-touch surface therefore appear to support effective interaction between the pupils. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic • Research suggests that collaborative interaction supports learning. • Features such as the nature of the task and the social interaction influence these outcomes. What this paper adds • This paper looks specifically at the possibilities when a large multi-touch table is used to support collaboration. • It compares paper-based and multi-touch versions of the same activity involving school pupils. Implications for practice and/or policy • Multi-touch surfaces can support collaborative interaction. • The initial stages of the task were significantly different. • Pupils should be encouraged to reach a consensus about what they have to do and how they are going to do it as well as encouraged to produce a joint solution.

The effects of room design on computer-supported collaborative learning in a multi-touch classroom

While research indicates that technology can be useful for supporting learning and collaboration, there is still relatively little uptake or widespread implementation of these technologies in classrooms. In this paper, we explore one aspect of the development of a multi-touch classroom, looking at two different designs of the classroom environment to explore how classroom layout may influence group interaction and learning. Three classes of students working in groups of four were taught in the traditional forward-facing room condition, while three classes worked in a centered room condition. Our results indicate that while the outcomes on tasks were similar across conditions, groups engaged in more talk (but not more off-task talk) in a centered room layout, than in a traditional forward-facing room. These results suggest that the use of technology in the classroom may be influenced by the location of the technology, both in terms of the learning outcomes and the interaction behaviors of students. The findings highlight the importance of considering the learning environment when designing technology to support learning, and ensuring that integration of technology into formal learning environments is done with attention to how the technology may disrupt, or contribute to, the classroom interaction practices.

Mobile phone use in two secondary schools in Tanzania

Mobile phone technology in Tanzania has grown rapidly but there is insufficient data on its application in schools. This paper aims to show how students in the first and third year (F1 and F3) teachers in two rural secondary schools perceived its use. F1 and F3 students completed a questionnaire. Teachers and students in F1 and F3 discussed the uses and misuses of mobile phones in separate focus groups. Although they served similar areas the two schools differed in students’ use – and awareness of misuse – of mobile phones. Most students had access to a mobile phone, but were not permitted to bring them to school. Few teachers could see a positive use for the technology in the curriculum. There is an urgent need for pedagogical resources to support the introduction of mobile technology into classrooms but equally it is crucial that any such introduction is through a process of engagement with the concerns of students, teachers and the wider community with frank discussion about both the dangers and the potential benefits of using mobile phones in learning.

Observe, interact and act: teachers’ initiation of mini-plenaries to scaffold small-group collaboration

Mini-plenaries, the shift in discussion from group to class and then back to group during the course of a small-group collaborative activity, have long been part of the repertoire of teachers. Despite this, they are not considered in detail in the research into teacher orchestration or classroom interaction. This article explores the behaviours of two teachers prior to their decision to initiate a mini-plenary. It considers the impact of technology and classroom conditions on this decision. It also looks at the impact of mini-plenaries on student learning and discusses what the initiation of a mini-plenary may signify within the current theoretical framing of classroom orchestration and teacher–student interaction.