Localising and contextualising information and communication technology in education: a cultural ecological framework

Abstract

This paper presents a framework for facilitating localisation and contextualisation of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. The framework is developed through the cumulative improvement of the theoretical foundations of the CATI (Contextualise, Apply, Transfer, Import) model for implementing ICT in teaching and learning. The model is re-framed in terms of cultural ecology to place greater emphasis on interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The intention is to arrive at a framework which better reflects the ecology and localisation of people’s interactions with ICT. The framework was piloted with trainee teachers at the University of Joensuu, Finland. Data were collected from student learning diaries containing reflections on the cultural ecological contextualisation of their work in an obligatory course on ICT in teacher’s work. A revised framework and associated pedagogical strategy is presented in the light of the outcomes of the pilot study.

Keywords:

• contextualisation
• localisation
• cultural ecology
• ICT education
• pedagogy