The use of Information Technology in science teaching: implications on student learning

There is a drive to promote the use of Information Technology (IT) in teaching and a number of innovations have been made in science teaching. Science learning and teaching have been informed by learning theories that advocate the construction of science concepts in the minds of the individual. Moreover, there are theories that emphasize the importance of the support of the social environment in science learning. With the use of IT in science teaching, it is important that teachers are aware of how science learning has been influenced. This paper aims to explore the influence on students' science learning as a result of these innovations with reference to the learning theories that support the construction of science concepts and the impact of the social environment. Three types of innovations, namely data logging experiments, the use of web technologies in science projects, and the use of IT in science assessment are analysed. The paper finally concludes with a conceptual framework that may be applied to analyse the influence of IT on the teaching and learning of science.