Theoretical Perspectives Influencing the Use of Information Technology in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

In conceptualizing the nature of schooling, the common parlance is to describea curriculum that contains content and is conveyed by a particular set of pedagogies.Its learning outcomes are evaluated by a suite of assessments; and – in the case oftechnology-based instruction – various aspects of content, pedagogy, and assessmentare instantiated via computer tools and applications, digital media, and virtual environments.Other chapters in this handbook describe the relationships between informationtechnology and curriculum, content, and assessment. This chapter discusseshow various theories of learning and forms of pedagogy shape the technologies usedto instantiate them, and how the evolution of computers and telecommunications iswidening the range of instructional designs available.