Examining the Impact of Flexible and Digitally Mediated Learning Environments on Teachers’ Conditions of Professional Practice

• In Event: Technology-Mediated Learning Environments

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a 2011 research study on the impact of flexible and digitally mediated learning environments on 1450 kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) teachers’ professional practice. The purpose of this research study was to provide data concerning teachers’ efforts to make student learning more flexible in terms of time and space using emerging technologies. The study identified various ways in which the flexible timing and pacing of instruction affects both teachers and their teaching and learning environment. This research constitutes a unique contribution to the literature by providing a large body of empirical evidence that helps to clarify the implications of the ambiguous notion of learning at ‘any time, any place and at any pace’.

Authors

• Philip Andrew McRae, University of Alberta

• Stanley J. Varnhagen, University of Alberta

• Bradley Arkison, University of Alberta