Anna Keune

Designing Edukata, a Participatory Design Model for Creating Learning Activities

Closing gaps between visionary ideas and classroom practice was the key achievement of the design research and work of the iTEC project. The design activities were based on the traditions of Scandinavian participatory design, activity theory, service design, artistry, and a specific view on learning design. Within iTEC, the design research and work brought forward the concept of Learning Activities as a useful mode of communicating new ideas to teachers that provided both challenges and support for overcoming those challenges. Evaluation results showed that Learning Activities were extremely successful. This success led to the need to ensure the continuation of Learning Activity design and production beyond the project. The design approach for creating the Learning Activities was captured for educators in the Edukata toolkit. Radical simplification yielded a model that seems to be valuable for teachers even with small amounts of training. However, the full impact of this model and its applicability in the diverse school learning settings across Europe remains to be validated. In this article we present the design research process and one of its main results: the Edukata toolkit for teachers to design their own Learning Activities to bridge the gap between tie visionary ideas and classroom practice.

Facilitating Student Reflection through Digital Technologies in the iTEC Project: Pedagogically-Led Change in the Classroom

During the Europe-wide iTEC project, student reflection has been supported through the development of two dedicated digital tools: TeamUp and ReFlex. Using these tools, students are able to monitor their progress, thus gaining a greater awareness of their learning achievements and an appreciation of the new skills they have developed. Although TeamUp and ReFlex have been well-received by teachers and students, the use of audio-visual tools to support reflection was novel for most and the project evaluation highlighted the need for detailed guidance if these technologies are to be exploited to their full advantage.