Investigating teachers’ perspectives : students’ experiences of collaboration, feedback and reflection using an educational technology tool

Abstract

The past decade has seen rapid development of, and engagement with, new educational technologies. Literature suggests online educational technologies can contribute towards the construction of knowledge by increasing opportunities for collaboration, feedback and reflection. This thesis explores the experiences of three university lecturers from the Netherlands using the educational technology FeedbackFruits to promote online learning opportunities for collaboration, feedback and reflection amongst their students. Online and face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the lecturers’ perceptions of student collaboration, feedback and reflection when using the FeedbackFruits tool. The benefits of the tool included increased time for students to reflect on their learning, and the provision of quality, in-depth peer feedback. Overall, this contributed to the application of higher-order thinking skills and deeper learning experiences of the students. The discussion then explores the ability of the FeedbackFruits tool to promote online collaboration, feedback and reflection amongst students. This thesis concludes that educational technology tools can be exploited by educators to achieve effective collaboration, feedback and reflection in order to enhance the learning experiences of their students. Specifically, educators blending online asynchronous and synchronous learning.