No. 15 (2024): Læremidler, læringsrum og læringsdesign

Denmark is renowned for having one of the most digitized education systems in the world, a result of extensive efforts to digitalize the educational materials market. This includes a government subsidy scheme that covered 50% of the costs of digital learning resources from 2012 to 2017. According to PISA 2022, Danish 15-year-old students spend an average of 3.8 hours daily using digital tools during school hours, placing Denmark firmly in first place among OECD countries. Additionally, the ICILS survey from 2018 showed that Danish students rank among the highest in the world in terms of computer and information literacy.

This growing digitalization has sparked debates about the pros and cons of using digital learning resources, including concerns about whether screen time dominates school activities too much and whether a return to more analog teaching could foster deeper focus and concentration. But what does the research actually say?

In this special issue, Learning Tech is pleased to present four research articles offering both empirical studies and theoretical reflections. These contributions aim to enrich the public debate and provide insights into the consequences of both digital and analog learning resources and related teaching designs for education, learning, pedagogy, and didactics.

In the article From Physical to Virtual Teaching, Kaspar Kjemtrup and Christine Nadja Suadicani explore the impact of interactive tools and teaching methods on student participation and social interactions in online education. Based on a netnographic study of two fully online schools, their research reveals a significant correlation between the use of cameras and digital interaction tools and the degree of engagement and social interaction in online teaching. The authors highlight the re-designing of online teaching as key to creating better and more engaging online learning environments.

The article Magic Wands in School – Desire and Entangled Materialities in the Danish Subject by Michael Peter Jensen and Thomas Roed Heiden introduces a posthuman perspective on how non-familiar materials, such as magic wands, can evoke a desire that disrupts learning spaces with unpredictability and imagination. The authors argue for the importance of unpredictability as a counterbalance to a more controlling design perspective in education. Drawing on posthumanist theories of desire and assemblages, the article examines video data from Danish lessons in grades 1 and 7, involving both analog and digital learning resources. Their analyses reveal how magic wands can liberate learning spaces and facilitate student agency. The authors advocate for freeing up learning spaces to allow for unpredictability and greater student agency.

In Prototyping in Science Education, Stine Ejsing-Duun, Lasse Stege Bredgaard Hansen, Maria Damlund, Peter Stenkilde, and Anne Gottlieb investigate how prototyping can be used in science education to enhance students' inquiry and modeling competencies through a design process that integrates both digital and analog technologies. Through three case studies from Danish primary schools, the article demonstrates how students use an engineering approach to create bridge prototypes. Prototyping serves as a way to explore and manifest design ideas, with the case studies highlighting how this method not only promotes hands-on learning but also strengthens students’ ability to critically select and use technological resources.

Guest Editors
Rasmus Leth Jørnø, Susanne Dau & Stig Toke Gissel