The thesis deals with the introduction of computers to each student and teacher in school, called one-to-one. The aim is to contribute with knowledge about how one-to-one affects learning. Particular focus is on the quality and character of knowledge formation in the Swedish school. A further aim is to bring reflections and create knowledge about how one-to-one, as a product of the knowledge society, affect the conditions for learning. In addition, in the light of the special conditions of the knowledge society, the goal is to bring insights on the developmental possibilities for the term knowledge in relation to one-to-one.
The basis for the thesis is the knowledge society and the conditions of knowledge production, and in how Sweden has chosen to focus on the need to provide students with digital skills. The theoretical approach is in phenomenology as ontological stance, and in phenomenography in terms of perspective on learning. The thesis is based on four studies: a narrative research review focusing on what research tells us about pupils respective teachers in one-to-one projects. Further included is a theoretical article with a focus on developing an alternative understanding of the conditions for the formation of knowledge on the social web, based on Martin Heideggers’ phenomenology. An interview study about the students’ perceptions of their learning in one-to-one is also included as well as a phenomenographic analysis of a knowledge task focusing on critical dimensions and knowledge depth. The results are discussing whether the strong focus on digital skills arising from the knowledge formation in one-to-one is consistent with the performative knowledge that is assumed to be of importance in the knowledge society. The thesis also discusses how one-to-one affects students’ ways of experiencing their learning in a one-to-one setting, and the effects upon quality and character of knowledge. Finally the thesis also discusses a possible way to develop the concept of knowledge in the light of the results presented in the four studies by formulating the concept of “stretched knowledge.”
The article aims to illuminate the character of web 2.0 out of a reading of Martin Heidegger in order to provoke new epistemological questions about web 2.0 and knowledge formation. The article applies the ontological grounds on which Heidegger described being-in-world and worldliness, out from the phenomenon of web 2.0. The article states that web 2.0 could both be considered to be a thing (in Heideggerian terms), but also as not being a thing. A thing, according to the character of equipment, the feature of self-sameness and by the fact that it is organized in equipmental nexus which makes it recognizable as a thing from different perspectives. However, it does seem to have unthingly features because of its lack of spatio-temporal fixation, the fact that there is no original and no copies of it, and that it lacks timely orientation. The article further discusses the way the world reveals itself while using web 2.0, and is proposing a new term for this kind of revelation, namely a stretched world. It finally discusses web 2.0 as a place for dwelling, and the epistemological consequences of these features of web 2.0 for knowledge formation. It proposes that research questions should be asked from the perspective that web 2.0 used for knowledge formation is something to act upon while stepping into it.
The aim of this article is to review cross-disciplinary accumulated empirical research on one-to-one computer projects in school settings as published in peer-reviewed journals between 2005 to 2010, particularly the results of teacher- and pupil-oriented studies. Six hundred five research articles were screened at the abstract and title level, 36 were full-text mapped, and 18 of those were further analysed. The final analysis revealed two main themes of narration, which guided the further descriptions. The first theme, Pupil-Related Results, deals with classroom activities and learning experiences and the outcomes of one-to-one projects. The second theme, Teacher-Related Results, deals with how teachers comprehend and relate to one-to-one computer projects. The results show that the research field has not developed substantially since the previously published reviews. This paper discusses the reasons for this lack of development, as well as the need for political, scholarly and epistemological awareness when researching questions of one-to-one computer projects.
Gaze cues and direct gaze attract visual attention. However, few studies have explored visual cues in children within realistic contexts. The effect of information and repetitive stimulus presentation has not been thoroughly studied with dynamic stimuli. The aim of the present study was to investigate how information affects the visual strategies of children measured by the number of fixations on certain areas of interest and their durations. Furthermore, this study examined the effect of gaze cues and direct gaze. In two consecutive experiments, children’s visual strategies when viewing magic tricks were measured by an eye tracker. Gaze cues were only present in Experiment 1.The results showed that repetitive stimulus presentation and information caused children to change their visual strategies when viewing magic tricks with and without gaze cues. However, the effect was larger when the gaze cues were not present. These findings in children were similar to those in adults.