This article was downloaded by: [North Dakota State University]

On: 14 October 2014, At: 02:17

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered
office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Teachers and Teaching: theory and

practice
Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ctat20

The advantages and disadvantages of

using ICT as a mediating artefact in
classrooms compared to alternative
tools
a
May Britt Postholm
a
Norwegian University of Science and Technology , Norway
Published online: 02 Nov 2007.

To cite this article: May Britt Postholm (2007) The advantages and disadvantages of using ICT as a
mediating artefact in classrooms compared to alternative tools, Teachers and Teaching: theory and
practice, 13:6, 587-599

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540600701683531

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the
“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,
our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to
the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions
and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content
should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources
of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,
proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or
arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any
substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,
systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-
and-conditions
 Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice
Vol. 13, No. 6, December 2007, pp. 587–599

The advantages and disadvantages of

using ICT as a mediating artefact in
classrooms compared to alternative
tools
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

May Britt Postholm*

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Teachers
10.1080/13540600701683531
CTAT_A_268214.sgm
1354-0602
Original
Taylor
602007
13
May
may.britt.postholm@ntnu.no
00000December
BrittPostholm
and
& Article
and
Francis
(print)/1470-1278
Francis
Teaching:
2007
Ltd theory(online)
and practice

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using information and communication
technology (ICT) as a mediating artefact in the classroom compared to alternative tools with illus-
trations from a qualitative classroom study. The aim of the article is to describe and show the condi-
tions that have to be satisfied if ICT is to have an advantage over alternative tools in a classroom.
The main focus is on the importance of the context of the learning activities, in which the teacher
plays an important part. Theories on language and learning are presented and the article concludes
with reflections on the teacher’s role in the use of ICT in the classroom.

Keywords: Alternative tools; Classroom research; Conditions for learning; ICT;

Qualitative method; Socio-cultural theory

Introduction
Researchers have both positive and negative attitudes to information and communi-
cation technology (ICT). For years there were predictions that teachers, textbooks
and even schools would be replaced by new teaching and learning technology. In
1980, Bork predicted that the major method of learning by 2000 would involve
computers at all levels and in almost all subject areas. But we can see today that this
has not come true. If we look at this from another perspective, Cuban (1986) is very
sceptical about all the technological innovations in school, claiming that the attempt
to improve classroom productivity through technological innovations has yielded very
modest changes in teacher practice. He adds that there were then no clear indications

*Programme for Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
N 7491, Norway. E-mail: may.britt.postholm@ntnu.no

ISSN 1354-0602 (print)/ISSN 1470-1278 (online)/07/060587–13

© 2007 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13540600701683531
 588 M. B. Postholm

that instruction is in any way more effective or productive after the introduction of
radio, film, instructional television and computers. More than 10 years later, Light
(1997) claimed that the only successful example of educational technology is the
school bus.
In this article the reader is invited into the school and into the classroom. The aim
of the article is to describe and show the conditions that have to be satisfied if the use
of ICT is to have an advantage over alternative tools in a classroom, and to describe
concrete learning situations which integrate ICT. Thus, the focus is on learning activ-
ities in school using ICT when both teachers and pupils are physically present. The
research study was conducted in three classrooms during project work at three
schools at the lower secondary level in Norway (Postholm, 2003). In this connection
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

the classroom is defined both as the classroom itself, with a computer corner, and the
computer lab as an extension of it.

Mediating artefacts
ICT as a mediating artefact
Because I will use the concepts of ‘internalization’ and ‘mastering’ or ‘knowing how’
when defining ICT as a mediating artefact, I will define these terms here. The
concept of internalization, according to Wertsch (1998), is used in situations in which
processes that were first carried out on an external plane are later conducted on the
internal plane and thus made invisible. This corresponds to Vygotsky’s general
genetic law of cultural development, which states that every function in the child’s
development appears twice (Vygotsky, 1978). For example, counting can at first be
conducted with the help of an artefact such as sticks or fingers. These artefacts or
tools later disappear when the activity has been internalized. When internalization is
embedded in an analysis of mediated action in which the mediating artefacts do not
disappear, Wertsch (1998) names the process ‘mastery’, which means ‘knowing how’
to use mediational means or artefacts with ease.
Computers may be regarded as mediating artefacts which pupils learn to use during
activities in the classroom. It should be mentioned here that most children also learn
to use computers in other places than school, but the question we may ask in connec-
tion with the school situation is whether this cultural tool can help pupils to learn
more. Another question is whether pupils have a kind of ‘cognitive residue’ or ‘effects
of’ using computers (Salomon, 1990, 1992; Salomon et al., 1991; Salomon & Almog,
1998). In this connection it is appropriate to use the concept of internalization since
it indicates that knowledge that was learnt in front of the computer also can be used
in other contextual situations without a computer. If we approach this from another
angle, the ICT equipment can also help pupils to accomplish activities that would
have been impossible without it, which means that there are ‘effects with’ the use of
it (Salomon, 1990, 1992; Salomon et al., 1991; Salomon & Almog, 1998). This
means that knowledge of how to use the equipment will help pupils cope with other
situations. I will examine this aspect when I present empirical data later in the text.
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 589

Alternative tools, ICT and pedagogy

Alternative tools as those that have traditionally been used as tools in the classroom:
the teacher, the board, the chalk, the textbook, the pencil, the workbook and the
eraser. In settings both with and without ICT equipment, the pedagogical stance that
propels the work can be the same. The pupils can either be treated as passive receivers
of established knowledge or they can be looked upon as active participants in creating
or constructing knowledge. This latter view represents the main perspective of socio-
cultural theory. The classrooms in this research were guided and framed by the theory
of project work in which teachers viewed pupils as active learners using language as a
tool in their working processes (Berthelsen et al., 1987).
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

Theoretical viewpoints
Vygotsky, on whose thoughts and ideas socio-cultural theory is founded, wrote in his
Thought and Language that thought is not just expressed in words, but that it also
comes into existence through them (Vygotsky, 1986/2000). This means that we can
develop our consciousness in dialogues with others. Vygotsky conducted his research
mostly using dyads between teachers and pupils, and his focus was on how adults and
also more capable peers can guide a person (p. 86). Bakhtin’s (1981, 1986) theory on
language and learning is regarded as a contribution to Vygotsky’s theories. He
believed that meaning and understanding come to fruition only in the response.
Thus, meaning and understanding are created in dialogues between people in which
the various utterances, questions, answers, suggestions and requests that are uttered
can develop the understanding of all the interlocutors, that is both the teacher and a
pupil talking together, and pupils working and talking together in groups.
Within the framework of socio-cultural theory and, within this, Bakhtin’s concepts
on language and dialogue, learning and understanding, Mercer (1995) has typified
three distinct types of talk. Each type of talk represents a way pupils in a dialogue can
engage in the joint construction of knowledge (Wegerif & Mercer, 1997). These types
of talk are ‘disputational talk’, ‘cumulative talk’ and ‘exploratory talk’.
Disputational talk is characterized by disagreement and individualized decision-
making. Pupils using such a type of talk seldom offer constructive criticism of sugges-
tions or try to pool resources. Some characteristic features of this type of talk are
short exchanges that consist of assertions and challenges or counter-assertions.
Cumulative talk is a mode in which speakers build positively but uncritically on what
the other has said. During discourse, the interlocutors construct common knowledge
through a process of accumulation. The cumulative discourse mode is characterized
by repetitions, confirmations and elaborations. Exploratory talk is a talk in which the
interlocutors engage critically but also constructively with each others’ ideas. In this
mode of talk, statements and suggestions are jointly considered. These statements or
suggestions may be challenged and counter-challenged, but the challenges are justi-
fied and other alternative hypotheses are presented. Exploratory talk can lead to
competition between ideas instead of between people, that is finding the argument
 590 M. B. Postholm

that is considered to be the best, with it winning over the other arguments. In this
mode of talk, knowledge is made more publicly accountable and the reasoning is
more visible in exploratory talk than in both disputational and cumulative talk
(Mercer, 1995; Wegerif & Mercer, 1997). Exploratory talk is characterized by critical
thinking, and it is, therefore, essential for people to successfully participate in
educated communities of discourse (Mercer & Wegerif, 1999).

Related research
Some researchers report a shift towards a less didactic and more open style of teach-
ing and learning when computers are used. This means that the teacher’s role is to
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

stand back and allow the pupils to develop their own ideas. In this way the teacher
takes on the role of a co-worker or a facilitator (Jones & Mercer, 1993). In such a
setting, it is suggested that computers should be treated as a context for social inter-
action (Crook, 1994). The talk between teachers and pupils and between pupils is
regarded as important; the computers are simply mediating this.
Below I will present some of the research findings from the Open University
SLANT (Spoken Language And New Technology) project. This project looked at
the way in which primary school children in 12 schools in south-east England talked
and worked together when they were working on the computer. These were natural-
istic studies in which researchers collected the data material by observing and record-
ing the talk of the groups of children engaged in activities at the computer (Wegerif
& Scrimshaw, 1997).
Phillips and Scrimshaw (1997) focused on talk around adventure games. In the
Concept Kate game, the children have to help the eponymous Kate escape from the
country in which she is trapped. The pupils can decide which of the roads they think
is best for Kate to take, but they cannot plan what route they will help her through
because the players do not know anything about the potential threats that might arise
along the way. When playing this game, the conversation between the pupils was
primarily structured by quickly closing instruction exchanges. The researchers
concluded that the majority of the discourse was characterized by short exchanges
and repeated closure, and that exploratory talk was almost completely absent.
During the game, the pupils’ talk was often centred on the physical mechanics of
pressing keys.
Viking England is a different type of game that attempts to create an imagined real-
ity based on other times, places or cultures. This programme is as open-ended as
possible, the only constraint being that all subsequent decisions are contingent upon
the first one. The programme offers the players the opportunity to explain why they
make their choices and to enter this into the game. When playing this game, the pupils
need to undertake holistic planning, first, because they need to decide what choices
they will make as the choices are contingent on their actions, and the pupils thus need
to think of what the outcome might be. Second, as the story develops, it also creates
a more complex context for the events that take place later in the narrative. Thus, the
pupils have to plan well ahead, and therefore they also have reasons for explaining
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 591

their choices to each other. Studies of pupils using this game also show that their talk
is exploratory (Mercer, 1995; Wegerif & Mercer, 1997), with the emphasis on plan-
ning and reflection upon the possible outcomes their choices might lead to. This
shows that programme structure may be an important determinant for the talk that is
created among the collaborators when working on the programme.
The studies in the SLANT project focus on how ICT can encourage verbal inter-
action between pupils and how software programmes can elicit various modes of talk.
Säljø (2002) maintains that it is important to be aware of the possibilities and diffi-
culties ICT as part of the context brings into the classroom. I take this consideration
into account when I present my own research. First, I will introduce the method used
to conduct the classroom study.
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

Methodological approach
I decided to collect data from three classrooms in three schools. By collecting data
from three classrooms, I expected to find common patterns and variations on how
ICT was used during the studied project periods. These classes are two eighth-grade
classes and a tenth-grade class. I have named the institutions with the two eighth-
grade classes as Applebee and Bridgeford Schools, while I have called the school with
the tenth-grade class Cooper School. I approached the classroom processes by using
the qualitative case-study method (Stake, 1995; Creswell, 1998; Bassey, 1999;
Hammersley & Gomm, 2000; Postholm, 2005), and the data material was collected
from the start to the end of the project periods in these classrooms.
I gathered the material through observations, tape-recordings, video-recordings
and logbook entries. I tape-recorded interviews with the key informant, the teacher,
the team he or she was a member of and the headmaster. All the recordings have also
been transcribed. Moreover, I asked the teachers and the pupils to write answers to
open questions and included the school’s activity plan, the class’s periodic plan and
the teachers’ syllabus for the school year in the material.
I used the constant-comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss &
Corbin, 1990) to analyse the data material. In qualitative studies the researcher starts
the analyses as soon as he or she enters the research field (Creswell, 1998; Postholm,
2005). The focus of my research was whether ICT could be an advantage or disad-
vantage compared to traditional tools. This focus both framed and guided my analy-
ses during the data-collection process and when the transcriptions were analysed.
The processes at the three schools all showed that various conditions have to be met
if ICT can be an advantage at all. Throughout the research process, ‘Maintenance
of the equipment’, ‘Teacher support’, ‘Necessary equipment’, ‘Placement of the
equipment’ and ‘Knowing various programmes’ developed as sub-categories under
the main category ‘Conditions to be met’. During the research process, I also
observed both the possibilities and the challenges in the learning situations.
‘Learning situations: possibilities and challenges’ became the main category for the
sub-categories ‘Searching for information’ and ‘Using the I-movie programme’
during the analyses.
 592 M. B. Postholm

To ensure the quality of the study, three verification procedures were used. Using
member-checking as the first strategy, I tried to create knowledge that is not just
bound to my own interpretations and understanding of the activities in the classroom.
The informants in the research study and I together created an understanding that is
presented in this article. The collection of data in three classrooms, and various data-
collection strategies, paved the way for triangulation, which was the second strategy
for ensuring the quality of the study. The various sources used during data compila-
tion made it possible to write thick descriptions of the studied processes. The thick
descriptions function as a third strategy for ensuring the quality of the study. These
descriptions also allow the reader to ascertain if there is a fit between his or her situ-
ation and the world presented in the article that makes transferability possible
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

(Lincoln & Guba, 1979/2000; Guba & Lincoln, 1989).

In the following section, I will present a description of conditions that seem to have
to be met in order for ICT to be a useful tool. I then examine learning situations and
their possibilities and challenges. The developed categories and sub-categories consti-
tute the structure for this presentation.

Conditions to be met
Maintenance of the equipment
This first point is extremely important if there are to be any advantages in using ICT
compared to alternative tools. The ICT equipment has to be in working condition,
otherwise much time can be lost in the teaching and learning processes due to tech-
nical problems. One of my teacher informants says: ‘I see the danger of being forced
to use more time on technical problems than on guiding the pupils’. She adds that
she has indeed learned from experience that it is quite common to encounter techni-
cal problems with the ICT equipment. A teacher at another school also says that she
ran into more technical problems than she had imagined beforehand during the
activities I observed, and that this disturbed or hindered the pupils’ and the teachers’
work (Postholm, 2003). In this way it is a prerequisite that the ICT equipment is
maintained regularly so that the teaching and learning processes are not disturbed
and even sabotaged by technical problems. If not, it would be an advantage to use
alternative tools.

Teacher support
One reason why teachers work in teams in Norwegian schools is that together they
can better meet and deal with the challenges in their work. It is then the headmaster’s
duty to establish teams in which the members have complementary competence. One
requirement for the choice of schools in my research study was that the teachers had
used ICT in their teaching for some time. One of my key informants agreed to be a
research participant because she knew that one of the other teachers in the team could
satisfy this requirement. In the research process the teacher perceived as being an ICT
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 593

expert also required support from the deputy head when guiding some pupils. What
I found was that computer literacy is necessary, as is the need for money and thus
time to manage to give the pupils the help they need if they are to use ICT in a func-
tional and beneficial way (Postholm, 2003).

Necessary equipment
This aspect indicates the importance of having the necessary ICT equipment. In
this connection it is natural to ask what is meant by ‘necessary equipment’. The
answer should be found within an educational perspective so that educational rather
than technical reasons are the underpinning of the work. The next question is then
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

if there is enough money to buy the necessary equipment. The teachers and the
headmasters in my research study informed me that they received much of their
ICT equipment from the private sector, but it did not appear to me that they had
that much equipment in these three schools. For example, one of the schools had
22 computers which 140 pupils had at their disposal. The situation at these three
schools also indicates that teachers have to be trained to find sources in the private
sector that can support them with equipment, as much of the equipment was given
to them by private organizations (Postholm, 2003). On the other hand, it appeared
that the way the teachers organized the work at these schools was much more
important than the number of computers. Part of this organization work is that the
teachers also have to pay attention to where this equipment should be placed to
support their educational intentions (Postholm, 2003).

Placement of the equipment

The teachers at the three schools have concurrent opinions on the placement of the
ICT equipment. The teachers at Applebee and Cooper Schools feel that the ICT
equipment should be placed both in the pupils’ work area and in computer labs.
The teachers at Applebee School argue that in this way the pupils will be able
to integrate ICT in their various subjects, and the teachers will also be able to give
the pupils joint training in the use of ICT in the computer labs. The teachers at
Bridgeford School feel that the ICT equipment should be placed nearby the pupils’
workplaces, not helter skelter, thus indicating that the equipment should be placed
together so that several pupils can work at the computers at the same time. At this
school, groups of pupils also receive training in the use of the ICT equipment when
it is necessary.

Knowing various programmes

In their planning, teachers have to pay attention to what software they want the pupils
to use in their learning processes. As part of the socio-cultural tradition, Säljø (1999)
defines learning as the process in which you learn to use artefacts or tools to think
and act. According to Vygotsky’s and Bakhtin’s theories on language and learning
 594 M. B. Postholm

(Bakhtin, 1981, 1986; Vygotsky, 1986/2000), discussions at the computer can help
the pupils to develop their consciousness with respect to collaboration and the use of
the computer, thus developing their competence in thinking and acting. As we have
seen from the studies conducted in the SLANT project, various software programmes
can elicit conversations using various modes of talk.
One goal stated in the plan ‘ICT in Norwegian Education’ (2000–2003) is that
pupils are to learn to use computers as a preparation for future jobs. Another goal in
this plan is that pupils shall use ICT to learn. This means that what they are working
on also has to have some relevance to the content they are to develop in accordance
with the goals for the various subjects. Thus, teachers have to know about relevant
ways of using ICT and software programmes the pupils can work on so that they can
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

develop their methodological, social and academic competence, which constitutes

holistic development, which is the overall goal in Norwegian schools (Læreplanverket
for Kunnskapsløftet 2006 [Curriculum 2006]). This means that teachers have to
know about or be given the time to learn about various software programmes and thus
develop their own competence in how to use ICT in their teaching. Teachers at both
Applebee and Bridgeford Schools were allotted time to study and assess the useful-
ness of various software programmes. Salomon (1990) states the importance of this
clearly when he says: ‘Children’s cognitions are not affected by “Television” or by
“Computer”; they are affected by specific kinds of programs with which they carry out
specific kinds of activities, under specific kinds of external and internal conditions for
specific kinds of goals’ (p. 27, italics in original).
I have now presented conditions that have to be met if ICT on the whole is to be a
useful tool. In the following, I present concrete activities in which pupils use ICT to
solve various tasks.

Learning situations: possibilities and challenges

Searching for information
The dialogue rendered below shows how pupils can come up short when trying to
find information on the net. When the pupils at Bridgeford School were working on
the topic ‘buildings and settlement in their local community’, some of them tried to
find a map of the area they were working on by searching the net. Rebecca, Jenny and
Lisa are sitting in front of the computer screen trying to find this map. Before this
brief exchange, the pupils have been trying to find maps at the computer for a while.
Rebecca starts:
Rebecca: Tour-map, write, scroll to the top again. Tour-map + Trondheim, write that.
Jenny: No, it doesn’t work (Jenny has done exactly what Rebecca told her to do, but
no map pops up on the screen).
Lisa: There has to be a tour-map for sure.
Rebecca: Do you know what? We’ve used a lot of time just to find a map.
Lisa: Yes, but when we’ve found it, then we’ve got it, you see. Try to write ‘Statens
vegvesen’ [Public Road Administration] + map.
Jenny: Okay (she sounds a bit resigned, but writes the words that Lisa has suggested).
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 595

Lisa: You have to write Trondheim then, there’s a ‘Statens vegvesen’ [Public Road
Administration] in all municipalities.
Rebecca: I’ll go and look in an atlas (she gets up and walks away from the group).
Jenny: Oh, it’s so difficult to find maps, like (they have still not managed to find a
map). Do you know what? We can draw one (Jenny has tried Lisa’s sugges-
tion, but fails to find a map).

During this conversation, the pupils work together trying to help each other. According
to Mercer (1995), they are working at both the cumulative and the exploratory level.
The pupils make suggestions that they share with each other, and they inform the
others in the group about different ways of conducting their search. One of them also
tries to encourage the others to continue the work, and in addition argues for how they
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

should continue their search for information. In this way the pupils can develop their
methodological competence as part of their holistic development, a process that
includes gathering information. Thus, the dialogue can enhance learning (Bakhtin,
1981, 1986; Vygotsky, 1986/2000). On the other hand, the pupils did not find what
they were searching for on the net. Actually, the pupils ended up drawing a map
together.
According to Wegerif (1997), the mastering of complex interfaces is a common
problem when using open-ended software. Such a problem may also cause the pupils
to focus more on mechanical, procedural matters rather than on tasks they are to
solve, as in the Concept Kate game (Phillips & Scrimshaw, 1997). When searching on
the net, the pupils encounter problems that force them to use alternative tools, such
as a pencil and paper. In this way the interface turns out to be a hindrance to the
pupils’ activity in trying to solve the task. This shows that the pupils must learn search
techniques where the use of ICT can then be an advantage. This means that teachers
also have to learn to use the ICT equipment if they are to manage to help the pupils
exploit the possibilities it can offer.
In other situations, it could also be wise to advise the pupils not to use ICT in their
work. At Cooper School, the pupils were working on a project called ‘Emigration
to America’. While most of the pupils in a lesson rush to the computer lab, one of
the pupils said a little sardonically: ‘I can’t find my grandma on the internet’. The
pupils were trying to find some material for the topic. Obviously this pupil believes
that he can obtain more information for his topic from his grandmother by talking to
her face to face than on the internet. It turned out that many of the pupils encoun-
tered problems finding the information they needed on the internet (Postholm,
2003). Thus, this project shows that not all information is necessarily found on
the net and that alternative tools, such as human beings, may be better sources for
gathering data.

Using the I-movie programme

At Applebee School, the pupils planned to make two films, one about their town and
the other about their school, each with a duration of one and a half minutes. As these
films were to be put on the web, the length of the films had been restricted to facilitate
 596 M. B. Postholm

downloading. Before the pupils edited the films they have also been trained in editing
work. In the following text, I render a sequence from a dialogue between the pupils
in a group while they are editing their film about their school using the I-movie
programme. Jack says:
Jack: So, we just cut it then (talking about the sequence of the posters in the auditorium).
Mary: We have to have something from the auditorium too. We can just take this one
(they are looking at one of the posters in the auditorium).
Jack: Yes, that seems ok.
Molly: We can’t cut all that because it’s like each poster is a symbol of a performance.
During the process of editing the film, the pupils encounter each other in different
modes of talk. Most of the time the pupils are working on the practical level using the
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

cumulative mode of talk while trying to edit the film. They ask for and give sugges-
tions and orientations, and agree on what is said. However, when the school’s audi-
torium is brought into focus, as rendered in the sequence above, Molly argues that
they should have included more than one poster in the film because each poster repre-
sents a different performance. In this way she gives her opinion and also argues why
she thinks it is important. Thus, the exploratory mode of talk is brought into the
pupils’ conversation when there are different opinions in the group. The pupils try to
defend or promote their interests as in disputational talk, but the task, making a joint
video film, also demands that they pool their interests together. This means that they
can articulate their opinions and thoughts and produce arguments for them, but these
interests also have to be coordinated.
The restrictive duration of the films forces the pupils to move between the specific
situation and the whole when they edit the films. When they decide how long one of
the sequences is to be, this will have immediate consequences for the duration of the
other sequences in the film and thus the whole product. In this way the structure of
the task forces the pupils to think holistically (Postholm, 2003); in other words, the
realization that one decision will have consequences for the process as a whole
(Wegerif, 1997), as in the Viking England game (Phillips & Scrimshaw, 1997). This
dialogue shows that the pupils can edit and make a film with the help of the I-movie
programme. In addition to the pupils learning how to edit a film when using this soft-
ware programme, they can also develop a conversational and collaborative compe-
tence that can be used later in similar situations. Thus, there can be both ‘effects with’
and ‘effects of’ (Salomon, 1990, 1992; Salomon et al., 1991; Salomon & Almog,
1998) the actions performed with the use of the I-movie programme. In this situation
it is certainly an advantage to use ICT.
In this classroom the teachers organized and structured the editing task in a way
that required the pupils to collaborate and think holistically. Used in such a setting
the editing programme can elicit discussions that can enable the pupils to use
the exploratory mode of talk and thus learn more about collaborative processes.
Furthermore, the pupils had the opportunity to extend their competence in using
this programme and to learn more about their school. In this way the conversation
at the computer can affect the pupils’ holistic development and thus their under-
standing (Bakhtin, 1981, 1986; Vygotsky, 1986/2000).
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 597

Conclusion
The study shows that the ICT equipment needs to be maintained and that teachers
must help each other in managing the challenges ICT brings into the classroom.
Furthermore, teachers need to have opinions about what ICT equipment they would
like to use, when to use it and where this equipment should be placed to support
their pedagogical work. Moreover, the teachers have to know about various
programmes, in what settings they can be used, how they shall organize the work and
what goals they can serve. It is not enough for teachers to know about the task or the
problem, the qualities of the pupils and how to scaffold pupils as in a classroom
where only alternative tools are used. When ICT is used, teachers also need to have
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

computer literacy to manage to create and thus organize good learning situations and
to be able to help pupils in these settings. This means that while ICT offers many
possibilities for teaching and learning, it also places heavy demands on the teacher to
fully manage to exploit these possibilities in the classroom. Thus, the computer
cannot replace the teacher, as anticipated by Bork (1980). However, the teacher’s
role in the classroom has become even more demanding and important after ICT
entered the picture.
In conclusion, the answer to the question of whether it is an advantage or a disad-
vantage to use ICT as a mediating artefact in the classroom compared to alternative
tools is that it depends on the teachers and the pupils and what skills and opportuni-
ties they have to exploit and the possible ways of using ICT as a mediating artefact in
the classroom. As we have seen, pupils can edit films when using ICT equipment, and
this activity can lead both to ‘effects with’ and ‘effects of’ the activity (Salomon, 1990,
1992; Salomon et al., 1991; Salomon & Almog, 1998). Indeed, it is impossible to edit
films with alternative tools. Pupils also have every opportunity to download informa-
tion, and maps as the pupils described in this article, but they have to manage the
search process, otherwise they can end up drawing a map, as the pupils decided to do
in this study. Furthermore, situations may arise that exceed the possibilities ICT
offers, as when the pupil wanted to find information about his grandmother. The
question is not whether ICT can offer the teaching and learning activity, but rather
how teachers and pupils can approach and use this mediating artefact and benefit
from it in their work.

References
Bakhtin, M. (1981) The dialogic imagination (Austin, TX, University of Texas Press).
Bakhtin, M. (1986) Speech genres and other late essays (Austin, TX, University of Texas Press).
Bassey, M. (1999) Case study research in educational settings (Philadelphia, PA, Open University
Press).
Berthelsen, J., Illeris, K. & Poulsen, S. C. (1987) Innføring i prosjektarbeid [Introduction to project
work] (Oslo, Forlaget Fag og Kultur A/S).
Bork, A. (1980) Learning through graphics, in: R. Taylor (Ed.) The computer in the school: tutor,
tool, tutee (New York, Teachers College Press), 67–82.
Creswell, J. W. (1998) Qualitative inquiry and research design. Choosing among five traditions
(Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage).
 598 M. B. Postholm

Crook, C. (1994) Computers and the collaborative experience of learning (London, Routledge).
Cuban, L. (1986) Teachers and machines: the classroom use of technology since 1920 (New York,
Teachers College Press).
Glaser, B. G. & Strauss, A. L. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative
research (Chicago, IL, Aldine).
Guba, E. G. & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989) Fourth generation evaluation (Newbury Park, CA, Sage).
Hammersley, M. & Gomm, R. (2000) Introduction, in: R. Gomm, M. Hammersley & P. Foster
(Eds) Case study method. Key issues, key texts (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage), 1–16.
ICT in Norwegian Education (2000–2003) IKT i norsk utdanning [ICT in education in Norway],
Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs.
Jones, A. & Mercer, N. (1993) Theories of learning and information technology, in: P. Scrimshaw
(Ed.) Language, classrooms and computers (London, Routledge), 11–26.
Læreplanverket for Kunnskapsløftet (2006) Curriculum for the 13-year school, Ministry of Education
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014

and Research, Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training.

Light, P. (1997) Computers for learning, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 1–8.
Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (2000) The only generalization is: there is no generalization, in: R.
Gomm, M. Hammersley & P. Foster (Eds) Case study method. Key issues, key texts
(Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage), 27–40. (Original work published 1979).
Mercer, N. (1995) The guided construction of knowledge. Talk amongst teachers and learners (Clevedon,
Multilingual Matters).
Mercer, N. & Wegerif, R. (1999) Is exploratory talk productive talk?, in: K. Littleton & P.
Light (Eds) Learning with computers. Analysing productive interaction (London, Routledge),
79–101.
Phillips, T. & Scrimshaw, P. (1997) Talk around adventure games, in: R. Wegerif & P.
Scrimshaw (Eds) Computers and talk in the primary classroom (Clevedon, Multilingual
Matters), 65–80.
Postholm, M. B. (2003) ‘I can’t find my grandma on the Internet!’ A study of project work using ICT as
a mediating artefact. Doctoral dissertation, NTNU Trykk, Trondheim.
Postholm, M. B. (2005) Kvalitativ metode. En innføring med fokus på fenomenologi, etnografi og kasus-
studier [Qualitative method. An introduction focusing on phenomenology, ethnography and case
studies] (Oslo, Universitetsforlaget).
Säljø, R. (1999) Learning as the use of tools. A sociocultural perspective on the human-technology
link, in: K. Littleton & P. Light (Eds) Learning with computers. Analysing productive interaction
(New York, Routledge), 144–161.
Säljø, R. (2002) Lärande i det 21:a århundret [Learning in the 21st century], in: R. Säljo & J.
Linderoth (Eds) Utm@ningar och e-frestelser, it och skolans lärkultur [Challenges and e-temptations,
IT and the school’s learning culture] (Stockholm, Bokförlaget Prisma), 147–165.
Salomon, G. (1990) Cognitive effects with and of computer technology, Communication Research,
17(1), 26–44.
Salomon, G. (1992) Effects with and of computers and the study of computer-based learning envi-
ronments, in: E. De Corte, M. C. Linn, H. Mandl & L. Verschaffel (Eds) Computer-based
learning environments and problem solving (Berlin, Springer Verlag), 249–265.
Salomon, G. & Almog, T. (1998) Educational psychology and technology: a matter of reciprocal
relations, Teachers College Record, 100(1), 222–241.
Salomon, G., Perkins, D. N. & Globerson, T. (1991) Partners in cognition: extending human
intelligence with intelligent technologies, Educational Researcher, 20(3), 2–9.
Stake, R. E. (1995) The art of case studies (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage).
Strauss, A. L. & Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques
(Newbury Park, CA, Sage).
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in society. The development of higher psychological processes (Cambridge,
MA, Harvard University Press).
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986/2000) Thought and language (Cambridge, MA, MIT).
 Advantages and disadvantages of using ICT 599

Wegerif, R. (1997) Factors affecting the quality of children’s talk at computers, in: R. Wegerif & P.
Scrimshaw (Eds) Computers and talk in the primary classroom (Clevedon, Multilingual
Matters), 177–186.
Wegerif, R. & Mercer, N. (1997) A dialogical framework for researching peer talk, in: R. Wegerif
& P. Scrimshaw (Eds) Computers and talk in the primary classroom (Clevedon, Multilingual
Matters), 49–61.
Wegerif, R. & Scrimshaw, P. (1997) Introduction: computers, talk and learning, in: R. Wegerif &
P. Scrimshaw (Eds) Computers and talk in the primary classroom (Clevedon, Multilingual
Matters), 1–9.
Wertsch, J. V. (1998) Mind as action (New York, Oxford University Press).
Downloaded by [North Dakota State University] at 02:17 14 October 2014