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

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.