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This paper describes the application of Activity Theory to considerations of enhancing learning through the use of technology in Higher Education. The theory is reviewed and its extended version which uses the idea of an activity system to help analyse the use of technology in context described. Two case studies of teaching and learning in Higher Education are described: one exploring the use of ICT in a postgraduate study of science communication and the other a history course using the web to provide a range of resources and communication facilities for students. These two case studies represent different uses of technology in different disciplines and lead to a consideration of how the use of Activity Theory informs understanding of these learning experiences.

This paper examines current practice in the evaluation of learning technology in the UK and proposes a new approach informed by Activity Theory. It is based on our experiences of using Activity Theory to understand students' and lecturers' experiences of technologybased teaching environments. We discuss the activity of evaluating learning technologies in higher education, and some frameworks currently in use that assume an efficiency criteria for their evaluations. We use the evaluation criteria proposed by Breen et al. (2001) as a starting point for alternative criteria to review a number of examples of technology based teaching in Higher Education. We identify a need for a broader view of the outcomes and value of using learning technologies and relate this activity to a new approach based on an Activity Theory augmented view of evaluation.

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