Exploring the role of technology in Design for Learning

Written by Lora Blackman: Datacom Education Innovation Practice Lead

Technology can be used to expand opportunities for students to participate in deep learning and inspire creative reimagining of what learning looks like – but there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Teaching is a creative profession. As educators, we are tasked with transforming content into engaging, accessible, and relevant learning experiences tailored to meet the diverse needs of our students. This role, while demanding, offers boundless opportunities to craft profoundly meaningful educational journeys.

In my capacity as a Pedagogy Technology Specialist, I am particularly drawn to the power of technology to expand these opportunities. Technology not only broadens the horizon for creativity in content delivery but also supports robust, effective educational practices across planning, delivery, and assessment phases. The integration of technology in education — what we term 'digital practices' — is intricate, combining deep content knowledge with foundational pedagogies and innovative technological applications.

This complexity is why our collaboration with schools focuses on equipping educators with the skills to creatively, responsibly, and critically implement digital practices. Our goal is to enhance learning design in a way that is as informed as it is inspired, ensuring that every educational experience we craft is effective and transformative

Designing for Learning

Designing for learning involves making strategic choices about which teaching methods best support impactful learning experiences. This process addresses the core question of ‘what do I want students to know or be able to do?’ and seeks a solution to that problem.  There is no universal method to integrate technology because teaching is an interaction between what teachers know and how they apply this knowledge in the unique circumstances or contexts within their classrooms. Instead, when digital practices are infused throughout the process of designing, it expands opportunities for students to participate in deep learning and can inspire creative reimagining of learning experiences.

Focus on learning

At the heart of truly transformative education is our focus on the student experience — a commitment to viewing the learning process through the lens of the learners themselves. This empathetic approach is essential as we shift and refine the digital practices of teachers. By understanding learning from the student's perspective, we uncover their unique needs, preferences, and challenges. This insight allows us to integrate digital tools not just as functional solutions, but as meaningful enhancements tailored to foster deeper engagement and understanding.

Reflecting on my early teaching days, I recall eagerly awaiting sample texts to help dictate my lesson plans. We often relied heavily on textbooks to guide us, inadvertently outsourcing our decision-making to prescribed materials. Today, there's a risk of falling into a similar pattern with digital tools, expecting them to automatically engage and educate, but true engagement comes from creatively using these tools to design learning experiences that are directly aligned with student needs.

By adopting this student-centred design approach, we empower educators to rethink and reshape their digital practices. It encourages a fusion of content, pedagogy, learning sequences, assessments, and supportive resources into a cohesive, learner-focused strategy. This isn't just about using technology; it's about weaving it into the fabric of education to enhance every aspect of the learning journey.

Reimagine teaching

As teachers engage in designing for learning, digital practices will become crucial tools in solving the fundamental question: "What do I want students to learn and achieve?" By incorporating a diverse array of activities, teachers can build robust, grounded knowledge that is closely tailored to the educational goals at hand.

Technology use in the classroom does not promote a single pedagogical perspective but instead supports a broad spectrum of cognitive processes and ways of representing knowledge, allowing students to express their understanding in varied forms. Digital practices, when thoughtfully integrated, empower teachers to take creative command of the curriculum. Depending on the needs of their students and the objectives of the course, educators can either subtly or radically transform the learning experience. Highly effective digital practices extend beyond a teacher's preference for specific apps, they encompass a strategic application of technology and teaching techniques that enhance every students' ability to achieve specific learning outcomes.

Leverage technology

Transitioning our focus from what technology can do for teachers to what teachers can do with technology shifts the agency back to teachers, highlighting their expertise in crafting educational experiences. In the realm of learning design, people drive innovation, not technology. The most impactful uses of technology embrace a wide array of approaches, allowing for flexibility and creativity in teaching methods.

Designing for learning is complex, it has purpose, and it is iterative. When designing for learning teachers will select digital practices, adopt, and integrate where it makes sense to facilitate powerful learning experiences. This design process must start with students at the centre of the problem-solving process to ensure that technology is leveraged to increase student learning. Effective use of technology in education rests on a solid foundation of pedagogical knowledge and carefully developed digital practices, enabling teachers to maximise both the efficacy and efficiency of their teaching strategies. This thoughtful application ensures that students have the best possible opportunities to thrive in their learning.

The path forward

As a creative profession, teachers have the opportunity to harness a repertoire of techniques for designing learning.  By integrating digital practices into the design process, teachers can not only engage students more deeply, but also help them develop skills and knowledge that extend beyond the traditional curriculum. Developing these practices is a central challenge for educators, and it is one we actively address through our collaboration with schools in the Datacom Education Horizon Program. Our guiding principles for the program are to Focus on Learning, Reimagine Teaching, and Leverage Technology, empowering teachers and students to thrive with digitally driven learning.

For a deeper dive into designing learning with technology, visit us at the Datacom stand at the National Education Summit in Melbourne. I also invite you to join me, Lora Blackman, in the Classroom of the Future on Saturday, June 15th at 1:45 PM, where I will be exploring the “Characteristics of High-Impact Lessons with Technology”.

Datacom are a Classroom of the Future Workshop Sponsor of the National Education Summit Melbourne.