Introducing Digital Technology in a Rural Classroom: One Teacher’s Experience

Abstract

Digital technology (DT) does not come with a ‘menu’ of what teachers can select to transform their instructional practices; it is through use and reflection in/on practice that potential affordances are abstracted. Computer simulation (CS) as DT was explored through auto-ethnography, reflexivity, and action research. The findings of the study revealed that the use of DT when teaching is a sense-making process employed to respond to the contextual and situational demands of the concerned teacher. It is a dynamic and unpredictable situated practice that is focused on the emergent affordances resulting from the interface between technology and pedagogy. The aim is to craft a ‘contextualized’ technology-driven pedagogy to meet the teaching and learning needs of learners in rural schools. It is a professional learning activity that develops self-knowledge and skills that enrich the knowledge base of the individual teacher. Such knowledge contributes to practice innovation, where DT is adopted and adapted to make learning interesting and inclusive and where it engages learners in constructing their knowledge and developing skills to achieve set learning outcomes. The findings are more descriptive than prescriptive since teaching endeavours cannot be cloned but could assist other teachers who might be interested in using DT in their specific contexts. Keywords: digital technology, learning, reflection, rural schools, teaching