Digital Technologies as Support for a Cooperative Activity of Practical Work in Biology

  • Vincent Widmer
  • Mireille Bétrancourt
Keywords: Cooperation, collaboration, biology, practical work, digital technologies, middle School, Design-based research

Abstract

A design-based research approach was implemented to design a technology-enhanced learning activity aiming to support students’ observations and interactions during practical work in biology. Tablet laptops and a photo sharing web platform (beekee) were used to support annotation and sharing of photographs. This paper presents the first field study observing implementation of the learning activity in a real situation. Questionnaires were administered to evaluate students’ interest in the topic and their perceptions of group interactions. The results confirm the potential value of this type of technology-enhanced learning activity and help to identify design principles that will be tested in the next iteration.

Published
2018-10-24
How to Cite
Widmer, V. and Bétrancourt, M. (2018) “Digital Technologies as Support for a Cooperative Activity of Practical Work in Biology”, Swiss Journal of Educational Research, 40(2), pp. 405–446. doi: 10.24452/sjer.40.2.5068.