Your Name and Title: Erik Jon Byker, Ph.D. ~ Assistant Professor, Stephen F. Austin State University
School, Library, or Organization Name: Stephen F. Austin State University
Country from Which You Will Present: United States
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience: Researchers, professors, technologists, primary school/elementary school teachers, pre-service teachers.
Short Session Description (one line): In this session, I discuss the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) theory and its relationship to comparative findings from my ethnographic research in elementary schools in India and the United Kingdom.
Full Session Description: How are elementary schools in the United Kingdom and India using computer technology? What are the similarities in the purposes of technology between the two countries? What are the differences? What meanings do elementary students in Bangalore, India, and Broadclyst, England, assign to computer technology? In this conference session, I investigate and report on these questions in relationship to my ongoing ethnographic research on how computer technology gets socially constructed in elementary schools.
During the session, I will briefly introduce the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) theory as a conceptual framework for exploring how and why computer technology gets used in elementary schools. Then I will discuss comparative findings from my research in India and the United Kingdom. I will finish the session by inquiring about similarities and differences in the United States as well as any other countries which the participants in my session represent. I will also inquire about the strength of SCOT theory as a way to investigate the uses and meanings for computer technology in elementary schools.
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