Digital Tools and Instructional Rules: A study of how digital technologies become rooted in classroom procedures

Abstract

This paper examines how a classroom culture developsadvanced strategies and procedures for handling complexdigital tools. We report from a vocational Mediaand Communication course at an Upper SecondarySchool in Oslo, Norway. Our analysis reveals how aprocedure called practical assignments has developedhistorically at the school, and how this procedure iscarried out in the classroom. Theoretically, our studyis informed by Activity Theory, which affords us toolsto analyze how social institutions and learning trajectoriesevolve over time, and how longitudinal dimensionsemerge in situ. Our findings show how teachers andlearners create a space for solving context-specific problemsinvolving sophisticated technology. A historicalanalysis is here crucial not only in understanding whydigital technologies are used in specific ways, but alsohow they evolve into classroom conventions.