Browsing by Author "Porkka, Tytti"

Technology affects our daily lives. The university also needs to change its practices to adapt to today's technological demands as it prepares students for the working life of the future. Instructional technology can be given multiple meanings. Teachers have pedagogical freedom and with it the possibility to influence the technology used in teaching. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the meanings that university teachers gave to their technology choices and the successes and challenges associated with their digital pedagogical development experiments. The research data consisted of thematic interviews with 11 higher education teachers. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The result showed that the primary goal for technology was that students would learn the course content with technology. A secondary objective was to influence students' technological competence. Technology was also hoped to promote collaborative learning. The digital pedagogical learning tools was to promote the pedagogy of teaching and develop teachers' technological skills. The results showed that the successes of the experiments were linked to the students' course outputs. Lack of technical support and the incompatibility and multiplicity of technical tools was perceived as a challenge. The results suggested that the digital pedagogical technology used in teaching should be easy to use and effortless. Social environment and organizational structure support the teacher´s use of technology. Teachers need sufficient time and technological support for digital pedagogical development. Colleagues and resources from the project and technological support helped with digital pedagogical development.