Supporting classroom dialogue through developing the Talkwall microblogging tool: Considering emerging concepts that bridge theory, practice, and design

Abstract

Digital technology has become increasingly central in curriculum plans during the last decade, but there is hardly any research about the curriculum in the digital age, nor about 'digital competence' as a new didactic area that has entered the educational field. In this article, we discuss and analyse two interrelated issues: first, on recent trends in curriculum developments in Norway, Sweden and Finland concerning digital competence; and, second, on related research initiatives of relevance for digital competence as an educational field. The article is based on a theoretically informed review of policy documents during the last decade and research initiatives in this field. The outcome of our study show that digital competence has become an increasingly complex concept, with a key emphasis in recent curricula, and is strongly linked to 21 st century education. The article contributes to the ongoing debate about digital competence as part of contemporary educational strategies.

A network approach to teachers’ interactional management in whole-class discussions

“…During the workshops that took place between September and December 2017, the teachers were also introduced to the microblogging tool Talkwall (Illustration 2). This particular tool is continuously being refined by a team of engineers and researchers at the University of Oslo, in collaboration with teachers (for a historical account of the development of the tool, see Smørdal et al, 2021). Talkwall is, as mentioned, a non-commercial browser-based microblogging technology.…”