Integrating technologies into educational ecosystems

Abstract

Discourse on e‐learning propagated myths that generated overstatements regarding the effects of technologies on learning. No pedagogical approach could ever meet such overexpectations. The subsequent disappointment actually paves the way for research targeting more realistic goals. As the myths are fading away, learning technologies might take a more modest but nonetheless useful role in education. They are becoming an unnoticeable part of pedagogical interventions. This contribution describes learning technologies as melting into a beam of educational tools, integrated within many other pedagogical activities that the teacher orchestrates.

Keywords:

• CSCL
• integrated learning
• teachers
• technology‐enhanced learning

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Peter Goodyear and Mike Spector, who launched this debate. Systems and ideas presented in this article have been developed with colleagues from our lab, Patrick Jermann, Frédéric Kaplan, and Fabrice Hong.