Near future practices of interaction analysis: technology-mediated trends in educational research
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Date
2024Metadata
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Abstract
Methodological advancements for the study of learning processes are
both shaped by and drivers of technology developments. Interaction
Analysis (IA), as a core methodological approach over the past three
decades is reflective of this relationship and can be understood by
examining moves from analogue video tapes, to digital media,
computational and algorithmic technologies, and through recent
advances in sensory data and perceptual recordings. It is vital though,
that we reflect on the epistemological and ontological implications of
these changes as the relationship between researcher, technology, and
learning event is changing. In this paper, we identify two techno-
methodological trends in education research: computational and
immersive approaches, and we discuss what they mean for IA.
Computational approaches draw on algorithmic and computational
support to identify, capture, and render patterns of learner behaviour
found in a variety of interactional data. Immersive approaches on the
other hand, invite researchers directly into learning events through
technologies like 360° video and virtual reality (360VR). We identify and
discuss six implications for these trends and suggest more broadly that
researchers should embrace a reflective and entangled relationship
between method and technology in their educational research.