The research we have is not the research we need

Abstract

The special issue "A Synthesis of Systematic Review Research on Emerging Learning Environments and Technologies" edited by Drs. Florence Martin, Vanessa Dennen, and Curtis Bonk has assembled a noteworthy collection of systematic review articles, each focusing on a different aspect of emerging learning technologies. In this conclusion, we focus on these evidence-based reviews and their practical implications for practitioners as well as future researchers. While recognizing the merits of these reviews, we conclude our analysis by encouraging readers to consider conducting educational design research to address serious problems related to teaching, learning, and performance, collaborating more closely with teachers, administrators, and other practitioners in tackling these problems, and always striving to make a difference in the lives of learners around the world.

Trends in Educational Technology: What Facebook, Twitter, and Scopus Can Tell us about Current Research and Practice

“…Notably, many of the benefits provided by the groundwork noted above are dependent upon individual educators’ and institutions’ existing social capital, networks, and literacies (Veletsianos and Kimmons 2012 ). Also, though much research may have already been done on the topics that were needed to address the challenges of the pandemic, whether such studies were sufficiently accessible, practical, or situated in authentic contexts to realistically be of help to struggling schools and educators is another matter (Reeves and Lin 2020 ). Indeed, the ability to benefit from existing work and research in our field may largely depend upon local social capital and economic resources and will therefore require close partnerships with educators and youth and their families moving forward (Greenberg et al 2020 ).…”

Virtual reality in K‐12 and higher education: A systematic review of the literature from 2000 to 2019

“…Consequently, there is a pressing need for systematic reviews of the VR literature to consolidate, evaluate, and communicate research evidence that can inform both the theory and practice of VR‐based educational instruction. According to Reeves and Lin (2020), evidence‐based reviews are especially important in light of the explosion of research reports on educational technologies since they can provide a contemporary portrayal of technology implementation, key directions for future research, and useful implications for practitioners.…”

Activity-Centred Analysis and Design (ACAD): Core purposes, distinctive qualities and current developments

“…1 and 2 is that they become enmeshed together in students' activity at learn-time. This is a useful corrective to habits of design and research thinking that privilege one kind of component over others -such as prioritising technological 'things' over educational problems (Reeves and Lin 2020). For example, much of the writing about innovative learning spaces privileges the physical, giving it undue autonomy or causal power, and fails to appreciate that rearrangement of physical space, on its own, will not produce beneficial educational change (Carvalho et al 2017;Ellis and Goodyear 2016;Goodyear et al 2018;Yeoman and Wilson 2019).…”