An exploratory case study of computer use in a primary school mathematics classroom: New technology, new pedagogy? The basics....

In this case study, Joanne Hardman a lecturer in Educational Psychology at the University of Cape Town, researched the computer as a transformative tool in a disadvantaged school. Her main aim with this case study was to see if the introduction of  new tool such as the computer would shift a teacher's pedagogical practice. She elaborated on  Vygotsky's learning theory, before discussing Activity theory as a framework for analysing change activity systems of the classroom and the computer. She focuses on contradictions as forces of change, and demonstrated how one can track transformation within an activity system. By tracking contradictions, she illustrated how the computer leads to shifts in other elements of the classroom. She was looking to providing one illustration in which the Activity Theory can be used as a methodological tool to investigate classroom changes (Hardman, 2005).

References
Hardman, J. 2005. An exploratory case study of computer use in a primary school mathematics classroom: New technology, new pedagogy? University of Cape Town. Perspectives in Education, Volume 23(4). December 2005.