Supporting Pupils’ Learning and Interaction with Educational Technology During the COVID-19 Pandemic : A Value Sensitive Approach

Abstract

Teachers around the globe had to change from in-class teaching to remote teaching in a matter of days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a value sensitive approach as an analysis method to investigate how Finnish teachers experienced the utilisation of educational technology to support learning and interaction during the remote learning period. The experiences resulted in valuable insights about remote teaching. Thematic analysis of nine Finnish teachers’ interviews showed that, overall, the teachers did not compromise their teaching-related values but wanted to offer ideal teaching. They managed to create a successful remote learning environment consisting of several systems and services. However, there was room for improvement, as the technology did not fully support all of the teachers’ relevant values. The main finding was the need to develop a more comprehensive visualisation of the pupils’ learning activities in order to better monitor their progress and the need for support.