Summary CaseStudy

CLARIFICATION OF CASE STUDY TOPIC 
In order to determine the impact of interactive technologies on learning in the primary classroom 
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important domains were identified: cognitive, pedagogic and administrative. Educational 
psychologists Maria Montessori (2013) and Jean Piaget (1964) consider age as well as ability 
important factors. The OECD (2015) and Mathews et al (2009) recognise gender as having 
significance in education. The former views gender as a social construct, an environmental factor 
influencing access to computer technology, the latter suggests there are measurable, gendered 
behavioural differences in cognitive process.
Core objectives were to discover how interactive technology is deployed in a primary school setting, 
what impact the technology has on knowledge transfer, and existence of evidence to support the 
hypothesis that multimedia learning is enhanced through the use of interactive technology in 
multimedia instruction. 
The perspectives of both teachers and students were considered equally important in making 
determinations about the process of knowledge transfer in the classroom. The sampling frame 
included three key actors: teaching staff, primary school students and school administrators 
represented by the school Principal and ICT Co-ordinator. It was deemed out of scope to seek input 
from parents for a study of this focus and size. 
During the course of the case study, the focus shifted from the use of tablet-based technology in the 
primary classroom, to focus on the wider use of interactive technology. This broader remit came to 
include whole class learning via interactive boards (IB), either interactive Whiteboard (IWB) or 
Fig. 2 Cognitive process in multimedia learning. Source: Mayer & Moreno, 2003

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interactive Smartboard (ISB) as well as self-directed or teacher-lead learning on individual interactive 
devices: iPad and laptop.
This shift in focus arose from observations and conversations with key informants (students and 
teachers) about interactive technology in the classroom. Often the relevance of interactive technology 
on pedagogy or cognition was first described in relation to whole class learning with IB technology.