Introduction  

  Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) has steadily developed a significant presence in many educational settings. In 2020 and 2021, its usage was accelerated by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which moved the majority of on-campus education delivery to online education delivery across the globe. With this increased usage in mind, it is important to critically engage with TEL by conducting meaningful research into its processes, impacts and values (given technology can often be viewed as values neutral).   

The inaugural editorial for Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning ( https://stel.pubpub.org/ )  notes that, “By any measure, TEL is a fast-growing research endeavour” (Bligh & Lee, 2020, p. 2), although it is particularly young when compared with well-established or traditional academic disciplines. Indeed, conducting research in TEL has its challenges, as “ technological progress is often more rapid than the logic of longitudinal research” (Daniela et al., 2018) . Further, the excitement for TEL can overshadow comprehensive research into it. In the past, research has tended to focus on: readiness or willingness to use TEL (by educators and students); basic knowledge of latest technologies for TEL; perceived benefits or value or TEL in education; barriers to TEL use; hopes and expectations about TEL use; and the effective design and delivery of TEL (Daniela et al., 2018, p. 5).   

Typically, in TEL research, “the need for interdisciplinary approaches is fundamental due to the complexity of the situation and the multiple disciplines involved” (Scanlon et al., 2019, pp. 1–2). Interdisciplinary and mixed research methods can allow for multidimensional perspectives to emerge. The disciplines that TEL touches upon are vast: computer science, learning (educational technologists and education professionals), psychology, cognition, social sciences, humanities, mathematics and engineering, artificial intelligence, and information and communication technologies. Scanlon writes that “interdisciplinarity has become increasingly important as a means of attempting to address complex, real-world research problems and grand challenges” (Scanlon et al., 2019, p. 1). Significantly, research has come to focus on how TEL can improve learning and professional outcomes.   

Current Trends  

Much of the commentary on research in TEL consistently acknowledges the need for specialist rather than general research areas, given its interdisciplinarity. Balacheff et al. provide a useful breakdown of specialist areas: design (the design and development of learning activities); computational (what technology makes possible); cognitive (what the learner can learn depending on conditions and context); social and cultural (participation and changes in activities in schools, universities, workplaces, and informal settings; and epistemological (specificities of the domain impact; the design and use of technologies) (Balacheff et al., 2009, p. vii).   

Further and more current dimensions in research in technology and education have emerged from a 2019 review of five decades of research from the British Journal of Educational Technology (Bond et al., 2019). This content and authorship review indicates that there are several themes that are common throughout the five decades (from 1970 onwards) of the study and these range from lack of IT support and lack of time to undertake professional development. These themes, combined with a growing focus on learning design and learning analytics in the 2010s, reveals a field that is both complex and rapidly evolving.   

Case Studies  

  Balacheff et al. (2009) provide one example of how the concept of TEL has gained traction. The book describes their involvement in the European Union’s (EU) Kaleidoscope project. It was “concerned with forging links between research centres, identifying research themes, and forging Special Interest Groups, which rendered it a productive site of gestation for thinking about how the field might be conceptualised” (Balacheff et al., 2009, p. 10). One Kaleidoscope focus was interdisciplinarity, meaning to work together across design, computation, cognition, sociocultural theory and epistemology (Balacheff et al., 2009, p. 10). The project represented an ambitious effort to provide cohesive frameworks for working with TEL not only across disciplines, but across the globe. It represented the challenge of integrating and synthesising the frameworks, preoccupations and research methods across the educational and professional traditions in the 21 st century ( Balacheff & Ludvigsen, 2007).  

Research in TEL is a contested space and this is reflected in Reeves and Lin’s (2020) review of a recent set of systematic reviews on emerging learning environments and technologies (Martin, 2020). Reeves and Lin point out that a great deal of research in TEL concerns questions about ‘what works’ but they point out that a more productive focus should be on educational design research:  

“Educational design research fundamentally changes the focus of research from the often fruitless “what works?” question to the more socially responsible questions “what is the problem, how can we solve it, and what new knowledge can derived from the solution?”” (Reeves and Lin, 2002).   

It is likely that more situated and design-based approaches, such as the one promoted by Reeves and Lin, are likely to continue to play an important role in the research space but it is also equally likely that the ‘what works’ approach informed by a quasi-experimental view of education and technology research will also continue to make contributions to the field. With this in mind, Selwyn’s (2012) set of ten suggestions can help to expand the field as well provide a set of values for the practice of TEL-based research.  

Future Developments  

  Given the environments in which TEL is offered are ever-dynamic, inevitably impacted by broader socio-cultural events (such as the Covid-19 pandemic), future developments in TEL research need to maintain deft responsiveness to such changes. Scanlon et al. notes that “TEL researchers need to exploit fully the opportunities new technology and new pedagogies offer for creating more flexible learning opportunities, and integrating innovations in technology and pedagogy, to enhance education, learning and the knowledge building process” (Scanlon et al., 2019, p. 3). This can happen if researchers continue to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to TEL research: “Understanding interdisciplinary working is key to the successful future of TEL research” (Scanlon et al., 2019, p. 10).   

There will be a need to research the predicted and unpredicted new technologies that will emerge in the coming years, and particularly the ways in which they are used. This includes: the adoption of extended reality (XR) technologies, which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed realities, e-sports for the development of STEM skills (virtual and in person), gamification, robotics, chatbots, and the Internet of Things.   

For researchers in the area, the challenge will be to combine methods for conducting research in a rapidly evolving field that can lead to significant practical outcomes for students and, at the same time, help to expand the field in TEL research. Selwyn’s (2012) ten suggestions for conducting research in this space provides a set of parameters and options for expanding the research space to include broader historical and contextual questions that are often overlooked.  

References  

Balacheff, N. & Ludvigsen, S. (2007). Kaleidoscope impact and lessons learned: a position paper. DOI ffhal-00592671f  

Balacheff, N., Ludvigsen, S., de Jong, T., Lazonder, A., & Barnes, S. (2009). Technology-enhanced learning: principles and practices. Springer  

Bligh, B., & Lee, K. (2020). Studies in technology enhanced learning: a project of scholarly conversation. Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning. 1(1), 1–16   

Bond, M., Zawacki-Richter, O., & Nichols, M. (2019). Revisiting five decades of educational technology research: A content and authorship analysis of the British Journal of Educational Technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 12–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12730  

Daniela, L., Visvizi, A., Gutiérrez-Braojos, C., & Lytras, M. D. (2018). Sustainable higher education and Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). Sustainability, 10  

Martin, F., Dennen, V. P., & Bonk, C. J. (2020). A synthesis of systematic review research on emerging learning environments and technologies. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(4), 1613–1633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09812-2  

Reeves, T. C., & Lin, L. (2020). The research we have is not the research we need. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(4), 1991–2001. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09811-3  

Scanlon, E., Anastopoulou, S., Conole, G., & Twiner, A. (2019). Interdisciplinary working methods: reflections based on technology-enhanced learning (TEL). Frontiers in Education. 4  

Selwyn, N. (2012). Ten suggestions for improving academic research in education and technology. Learning, Media and Technology, 37(3), 213–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2012.680213