Teachers as Guides: The Role of Teachers in the Facilitation of Technology Mediated Learning in an Alternative Education Setting in Western Kenya

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the perception of teachers’ changing roles in a class utilizing tablet technology and a mobile learning platform. Deploying educational technology has been shown to shift students’ perception of the role played by their teacher. At the same time, the teachers also experience the need for change in their teaching style to integrate this technology. It is important to identify shifts in students’ and teachers’ understandings in order to achieve the potential of the technology’s affordance. Therefore, we seek to understand the change in teachers’ perceived roles in a technology-mediated learning environment by asking three key questions: 1.) How have students’ perceptions changed of the role of teachers after the integration of technology? 2.) How have teachers’ perceptions of their own roles changed as they deploy these learning technologies? 3.) What are the efforts/strategies used by teachers to adapt to the integration of technology in their classroom?