Search

2020, The Author(s). In the field of special and inclusive education, using research to inform decisions about practice and policy has been reflected in the field's efforts to identify and use evidence-based practices (EBP) as a gold standard for the profession. However, there has been increasing acknowledgement of the "wicked problem" of implementation. Fixsen and his colleagues describe wicked problems as 'those that are difficult to define and fight back when you try to solve them' (Fixsen, Blase, Metz, & Van Dyke, 2013, p. 218). Since the time of Marx (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) it has been noted by ecological observers that powerful stakeholders and features of the existing system will deter attempts to change the system. The implication of this ecological view is the 'wicked problem' of non- implementation of EBP may be seen more as a consequence of the social, organisational and material conditions that operate in school settings, rather than the existing research focus and dominant discourse which tends to examine the deficits in skills and knowledge or lack of commitment of special education practitioners to implement EBP in special and inclusive settings.

Early childhood is a precious and sacred time when learning and developmental foundations for future succes are eslabli hed. It is widely acknowledged that par­ent are the child' first educator (Stephen er al. 2013) and U1at families "play an li:nportant role in providing children with opportunities Lo acces and use digital tools at home, which in turn influences their learning' (Neumann 2014, p. 112). The ho.me environment is often the fir t context where children acce and experience digital technologies. It has been the focus of research (e.g. Pahl 2010; Marsh 2006) with strong argument for the need to continue to examine these context to under­stand how technology can "enrich rather than hinder children's play experiences" (Johnson and Christie 2009, p. 285). With increased access to the Internet in many homes, comes increased variety in the types of technological activities available to children. The importance of the decisions made by families regarding digital tech­nologies is clear. Indeed, "it is parents who 'are the real experts in their toddlers' use of screen technologies" (Holloway et al. 2015, p. 1 ). Additionally, it is noteworthy to mention that when we talk about families, it is not only parents who influence young children's experience with digital technologies but also other family members such as older siblings (e.g. Matsumoto et al. 2015).

This poster presents part of a larger research which aims to understand young children's digital play in relation to their imaginative play - a major force of psychological development in the early years. The poster will be of interest to DiGRA/FDG audience as it focuses their attention on the need for theoretical and research based criteria to appraise developmentally sound apps suitable for preschoolers (3-5 years of age).

Mobile technology is being adopted at a rapid pace by both schools and families, essentially being repurposed as assistive technology for students with disabilities (Gentry et al., 2010). This recent technology appears to have the potential to ameliorate many of the issues connected to the lack of sustainability of traditional forms of assistive technology implementation, which include: (a) stigmatisation; (b) cost; (c) maintenance; (d) sustainability; and (e) lack of alignment with the principles of Universal Design for Learning (Wehmeyer et al., 2008). As mobile technologies are being widely adopted as educational tools for all students, their potential importance as assistive technology for students with disabilities cannot be overstated. Many students with disabilities rely heavily on assistive technology to participate more fully in most environments in their lives. They use this technology for mobility (wheelchairs, electronic navigation systems), communication (Dynavox, PECS systems), social skills acquisition (video modelling), learning (computer software), literacy (screen readers, audiobooks), etc. (Merbler, Hadadian, & Ulman, 1999). Some students require several different devices; this can be impractical when moving from one environment to another. Through the use of a variety of personalised applications, mobile technology may possess the capability to provide many kinds of support with one device. For example, a screen reader application could be used to assist with literacy, a communication app with communication, and a movie app for social skills lessons. Globally, students with disabilities have been included in the general education classroom in increasing numbers over the past few decades. The inclusion movement has left some general education teachers struggling to adapt their pedagogy to support an increasingly diverse student population. Global legislation such as the United States’ Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004)

Since digital technologies entered the realm of education, there has been strong debate as to whether they are appropriate, useful, or even harmful for young children. The concept of 'screen time' has been debated with concern (well supported by research) that sitting in front of a computer screen can be detrimental to children's posture, muscular development and body weight, as well as to their eyesight and attention span. Recommendations have suggested the exposure of preschoolers to computers should be limited to 20 minutes, and for those under 2, nil. Digital technologies are becoming increasingly mobile, making previous concerns about posture, obesity and screen 'radiation' redundant. Yet, there is no clear guidance about young children's appropriate usage of mobile technologies. This is worrisome given that tablet technologies are rapidly entering many households. There is evidence that children as young as 6 months old are becoming regular tablet users. Our current research focuses on young children's use of digital tablets. So far, it indicates that it is not the use of digital tablets themselves that is an issue. Rather, the concern is the quality of the apps children are exposed to, and the social contexts within which the apps are used.

Teachers in isolated schools are often unable to access the same opportunities for professional development as teachers in metropolitan schools. Attendance at face-to-face courses takes these teachers out of the classroom for additional days due to the extended travel required. Information and expert advice about classroom behaviour management is available on the Internet, however the time required for finding and accessing these resources is in short supply. The 'Bringing It To The Teachers' online learning environment was designed to provide specific information and professional advice, including professional development, to teachers in isolated schools and provide them with access to a supportive Community of Practice. Design-Based Research was used to build the 'Bringing It To The Teachers' network in five isolated schools in western New South Wales, Australia, for teachers of students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and associated behaviours. The focus of this article is the evolution of the 'Bringing It To The Teachers' site through the iterative cycles of improvement that provide a footing on which the design principles for such online networks can be built in another context.

This chapter draws on six case studies of pedagogy with technology in Higher Education. The studies are chosen because they illustrate how the use of technology impacts on pedagogy in these contexts. While the cases are drawn from different levels of higher education (undergraduate to postgraduate) they are woven together by a shared framework: namely, the use of CHAT to explore pedagogical innovation with technology. One of the significant strengths of CHAT, all studies will argue, lies in its ability to situate goal-directed action within the larger context of a motive-directed activity. That is, its explanatory power lies in situating pedagogy (in the instances reported here) socially, taking it out of the realm of the teacher I student dyad to enable a more nuanced understanding of how learning actually happens as a complex activity.

Playing with toys has been an established part of early childhood education for many years. Educators and theorists agree that opportunities to engage in make-believe play provide a wide range of avenues for enhancing literacy practices in the early years as children make meaning of their surrounding contexts. The increased availability and accessibility of mobile digital technologies has seen children more frequently engage in screen-based or "digital" play, sometimes leaving behind traditional forms of make-believe play with physical objects in physical spaces. However, when combined traditional make-believe and digital play complement each other in providing a rich texture for making meaning. An instance of onscreen and offscreen play is deconstructed to show the meaning-making complexities for child participants. This paper examines four propositions associated with meaning making - space, mediation, materiality and embodiment (Burnett, Merchant, Pahl & Rowsell, 2014) to discuss the complex and diverse relationships between the immaterial and material experience in a literacy episode which combines onscreen and offscreen play. Reported herein are the ways that imaginative play and literacy practices are enriched in the environments which blend physical toys and digital experiences.

Families and educators have turned to digital tablets to support the unique needs of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), due to their ease of use, social acceptance, low cost, and portability. While school-based trial programs are emerging, there is very little research examining collaborative partnerships between families and educators relating to digital tablets. This study employed a qualitative methodology to investigate the use of digital tablets in the home setting to support students with ASD. Underpinned by Moll and Greenberg's funds of knowledge theoretical framework, the study posited that the use of digital tablets for students with ASD can be enhanced if experiences from the home setting are validated by educators. It used semistructured interviews and anecdotal evidence with four families to explore the various ways digital tablets are used. Data from interviews with four teacher participants in a school-based trial were used to examine the collaboration between homes and schools regarding digital tablet use. The results showed that digital tablets were used daily in their homes. Frequent recreational and educational uses were reported as well as uses that supported behavior and communication. Finally, there were some suggestions in relation to the collaboration between home and school.

Teachers in isolated schools are often under-resourced and overwhelmed with additional pressures. Teaching in an isolated community can sometimes challenge teachers' skills and knowledge, particularly when additional pressures such as behavioural issues associated with students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) like behaviours are present. Teachers in isolated schools catering for students exhibiting elements of ODD need additional support and resources, but distance and isolation are barriers to the provision and receipt of these services. Professional support networks are often relied on by these teachers, but these support communities can be hard to build because of the physical distances occurring in rural NSW. Thus, teachers in isolated schools are often faced with dealing with stress and student behaviours on their own, with very little support, which might leave them feeling disconnected. One method of connecting isolated teachers is through an online Community of Practice (CoP). Websites which can enable the development of a CoP have been proposed as a way of solving this problem. This study was developed to examine the building of an online support structure named 'Bringing It To The Teachers' to provide for an emergent online professional network for teachers in isolated rural NSW schools. The study involved ten teachers from five isolated schools catering for students who had been identified as displaying oppositional and defiant behaviours. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the study, investigating the elements required for successful development of an online CoP for teachers in isolated rural communities.

Playing with building blocks such as Lego has been an established part of early childhood education for many years. Educators and theorists agree that building blocks or constructive play provide a wide range of avenues for enhancing learning and development in the early years, but the increased availability and accessibility of mobile digital technologies has seen children more frequently engage in virtual or “digital” play, often leaving behind traditional forms of play with physical objects in physical spaces. So what might children lose – or gain – during this transition from physical to digital play? Lego, the best known producer of building block toys, recently announced Lego Fusion, a range of specially designed digital products that will allow to incorporate physical build blocks into digital games on iOS and Android devices. It isn’t Lego’s first foray into the digital realm – its videogame series has been highly successful commercially over the globe. But this is the first range of Lego products to require both physical and digital components to operate, and shows the ongoing move away from physical toys and towards digital.

Since computer technologies entered the educational domain, a number of metaphors have been introduced in the literature to explain this newly emerged phenomenon to educators in familiar terms. This chapter explores the ways that the conceptualisation of educational technologies as a teaching 'tool' can assist our understanding of the implementation of a new digital technology, the interactive whiteboard (IWB), in teaching children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The tool metaphor relates to a socio-cultural concept of a tool mediated purposeful human activity as a unit of analysis in educational research (Vygotsky, 1978). The activity model (Engestrom, 1991) was adopted in this study to focus on the teachers' use of technology. The IWB was then analysed as a teaching tool that can enhance (or hinder) the teacher's pedagogical goals. The chapter then provides a discussion of the use of the IWB in children with ASD using the tool metaphor. The question that we asked was how the tool metaphor can assist our understanding of the pedagogical choices made by a teacher in the process of working with children with ASD. The study demonstrated the usefulness of the tool metaphor for providing insights into what constitutes the effective use of the IWB in teaching children with ASD. The use of the metaphor allowed us to go beyond clinically-based research that has dominated the field of special education, and examine the day-to-day reality of how digital technologies were used in a classroom context with students who have ASD.

Continued, life-long, self-directed learning is a key element of academic excellence - a desirable graduate attribute of a modern tertiary institution (Nicol, 2010). The development of self-directed learners 'involves a new role for teachers which focuses on process-orientated teaching, with students actively involved in the learning process' (Cassidy, 2011: 8). This process of teaching and learning is more than 'face-to-face interaction or the simple transmission of prescribed knowledge and skills' (Daniels, 2001: 2; it assumes a specific paradigm of teacher-student interaction, where the teadcher shares his/her expertise with the learners in a collaborative dialogue, facilitates the students' awareness of their learning process or meta-cognitive skills, and supports co-construction of their own knowledge.

Although the term self-study may suggest an individual teacher educator studying his or her own practice, most self-studies involve pairs or small groups of teacher educators working together in what is often called collaborative self-study. An extension of an informal collaboration is to formalize self-study as professional learning for teacher educators. This means that a group of teacher educators and other academics can study their practices over an extended period of time and share experiences as a community. This chapter identifies and explains the nature of a professional learning framework that underpins a group of academics becoming a self-study community. The framework is developed from previous research with teachers in schools and is adapted for self-study of academic teaching practices. The framework is based on the dynamic interaction of three professional learning influences: (1) content, (2) process, and (3) conditions that support such a community. Development of the framework is based on the progress of a group of ten academics, mostly teacher educators, over a 12-month period. Refinement of the framework is supported by case studies of the experiences of two of the participants in the self-study community.