Deconstructing EdTech frameworks based on their creators, features, and usefulness

ABSTRACT

Several theoretical frameworks have been released in recent years to inform how educational technology (edtech) can be used in the classroom. These frameworks range from providing a holistic view of the role edtech plays in education at a macrolevel to analyzing how edtech is used by students and teachers. With a growing number of them now available, researchers have yet to systemically collect and analyze a set of these frameworks, which can result in edtech not being used effectively by practitioners and researchers alike. In response, this study employed a content analysis methodology to analyze nine frameworks designed for using edtech. This study will report its findings regarding the creators of these frameworks, features used to draw attention to the frameworks, and which frameworks key stakeholders may find most useful. To conclude, implications for contextualizing these frameworks within the EdTech Ecosystem will be offered along with critical considerations for practitioners and researchers to use when selecting edtech frameworks for their work.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical Media Literacy
• Frameworks
• EdTech

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Todd Cherner, PhD, is the Director of the Master of Arts in Educational Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in the University of North Carolina’s School of Education at Chapel Hill. Cherner specializes in using technology to develop students’ critical media literacy skills.

Chrystine Mitchell Ph.D. is an assistant professor of elementary education at York College of Pennsylvania. Her research focus includes pre-service teacher education, technology integration, and the significance of multimodal texts. She is dedicated to developing teachers’ ability to use technology in both meaningful and authentic ways.