Digital technologies and the scholarship of teaching and learning in sociology

Abstract

In this paper we synthesize the knowledge available and identify the knowledge needed about ways that new digital technologies may affect student learning, particularly in sociology. We propose that a sociologically-informed Scholarship of Teaching and Learning requires awareness of how social contexts and relationships affect and are affected by the use of digital technologies. The paper suggests that sociological perspectives can inform the structural and cultural contexts that shape key aspects of teaching and learning with digital technologies. Specifically, we examine computer-mediated pedagogy, the use of multimedia in classrooms, access and the digital divide, student and instructor self-concepts, learning styles, and institutional contexts.