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Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher
education: what is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A
critical literature review
Journal Item
How to cite:
Kirkwood, Adrian and Price, Linda (2014). Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education:
what is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A critical literature review. Learning, Media and Technology, 39(1) pp.
6–36.
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2013 Taylor Francis
Version: Accepted Manuscript
Link(s) to article on publisher’s website:
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1080/17439884.2013.770404
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Technology-enhanced Learning and Teaching in Higher
Education: What is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A
Critical Literature Review.
Adrian Kirkwood and Linda Price
Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Address for correspondence: Adrian Kirkwood adrian.kirkwood@open.ac.uk
Accepted for publication in Learning, Media and Technology 2013
Available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2013.770404
Abstract
The term Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is used to describe the application of
information and communication technologies to teaching and learning. Explicit statements
about what the term is understood to mean are rare and it is not evident that a shared
understanding has been developed in higher education of what constitutes an enhancement
of the student learning experience. This article presents a critical review and assessment of
how TEL is interpreted in recent literature. It examines the purpose of technology
interventions, the approaches adopted to demonstrate the role of technology in enhancing
the learning experience, differing ways in which enhancement is conceived and the use of
various forms evidence to substantiate claims about TEL. Thematic analysis enabled
categories to be developed and relationships explored between the aims of TEL
interventions, the evidence presented, and the ways in which enhancement is conceived.
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Introduction
In education it is often taken for granted that technologies can ‘enhance learning’ and the
term ‘Technology Enhanced Learning’ (TEL) is increasingly being used in the UK, Europe and
other parts of the world. Referring to the application of information and communication
technologies to teaching and learning, TEL subsumes the older term ‘e-learning’, which was
used with a confusing variety of meanings (Guri-Rosenblit & Gros 2011). However, it is rare
to find explicit statements about what TEL actually means. Most frequently, TEL is
considered synonymous with equipment and infrastructure. For example, the UK
Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association provides only a technical
definition of TEL as “Any online facility or system that directly supports learning and
teaching” (Walker, Voce and Ahmed 2012, 2). No clarity is imparted by the UK’s Technology
Enhanced Learning Research Programme (TELRP) (http://www.tel.ac.uk/), which received
funding of £12 million for the period 2007–12 and involved education in both schools and
universities. In a recent document presenting some brief findings (TELRP undated, 2) the
Director of the research programme provides little elucidation in his introductory
statement:
Does technology enhance learning? It’s not unreasonable to ask this question, but
unfortunately it’s the wrong question. A better question is: how can we design
technology that enhances learning, and how can we measure that enhancement?
This raises questions about how technology enhances learning and what value is being
added to learners’ experiences. Unlike other terms, TEL implies a value judgement:
‘enhanced’ suggests that something is improved or superior in some way. Oxford
Dictionaries Online (2011) defines enhancement as “an increase or improvement in quality,
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value, or extent”: but exactly what will be enhanced when technology is used for teaching
and learning, how will enhancement be achieved, and how can an enhancement be
determined? Is the enhancement concerned with
increasing technology use?
improving the circumstances/environment in which educational activities are
undertaken?
improving teaching practices?
improving (quantitatively and/or qualitatively) student learning outcomes?
Since the 1990s there has been considerable growth in the adoption of technology within
higher education. Using technology can be costly, not only in terms of the financial
investment made by institutions for infrastructure, equipment and technical support staff,
but also in relation to the personal investment made by staff and students in using the
technology for teaching and learning. In western universities institutional ‘learning
environments’ are almost ubiquitous and their use by teachers and students can no longer
be considered a novelty or the domain of enthusiasts alone. Despite the widespread growth
in practice, concerns continue to be expressed about the extent to which effective use is
being made of technology to improve the learning experience of students (Cuban 2001;
Guri-Rosenblit 2009; Kirkwood and Price 2005; Zemsky and Massy 2004).
The sharing of ‘good practice’ and ‘lessons learned’ among members of the higher
education community can help academic teachers to concentrate on effective uses of
technology and to avoid the unnecessary duplication of effort and expense. Although most
TEL projects are relatively small-scale and context-specific, the cumulative lessons learned
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from a number of similar interventions can provide a useful indication of benefits that might
be achieved.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in their revised e-learning
strategy (2009) define TEL as ‘Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of
technology’. While this is unclear in its characterisation of enhancement, the document
does identify three levels of potential benefits that TEL might bring (HEFCE 2009, 2):
Efficiency – existing processes carried out in a more cost-effective, time-effective,
sustainable or scalable manner.
Enhancement – improving existing processes and the outcomes.
Transformation – radical, positive change in existing processes or introducing new
processes.
Senior managers and decision-makers are likely to be interested in efficiency benefits that
contribute to the reduction or containment of costs, increasing student numbers,
competitive advantage, or meeting student expectations. Those more directly involved in
teaching and supporting students are likely to be interested in potential transformational
benefits. However, what is more commonly found in practice is that technology is used to
replicate or supplement traditional activities (Blin & Munro 2008; Eynon 2008; Roberts
2003). After investigating the adoption of technology for education in California, Cuban
(2001, 134) observed that
the overwhelming majority of teachers employed the technology to sustain existing
patterns of teaching rather than to innovate … [and that] … only a tiny percentage of
high school and university teachers used the new technologies to accelerate student-
centred and project-based teaching practices.
