dc.description.abstract | Nowadays, primary and secondary schools usually have to propose and excuse additional curriculum or educational projects for competitive funding to pursue their development. These projects quite often include developing educational information and communications technology systems (ICTs). However, not many outcomes can sustain after the end of the projects. The development of educational ICTs is accelerating, but their life circle are shortening. On the one hand, this should be expectable; on the other hand, it seems to be a waste.
This study follows the developing trajectory of an educational platform for the teaching and learning of plant structure and classification in an experimental interdisciplinary course of art and ecology. The author is interested in how both the course and the platform can earn teachers recognition and participate in the project; and thus, are able to keep working.
This study review the trajectory from the perspective of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Apart from the traditional humanistic and techno-deterministic point of view, ANT consider both humans and nonhumans, including physical (object, space…) and non-physical (policy, culture, concept…) matters, as critical actants although the latter are usually ignored. By following the interaction among the actants, the thesis explores the formation, continuation, and translation of the Actor-Network of the project, till the restructuring at the end of the plans. This approach studies more thoroughly the local factors in developing both the course and the platform. The followings are the findings of the study.
1.The development of both the course and the platform is a complicated process of negotiation, connection building, mobilization and expansion. It begins with the gathering of local actants around an obligatory passage point (OPP).
2.The design of both the course and the platform is a process of translation.
3.Promotion is a process of negotiation, reorganization, and localization between the courses, the platform and the local actants in a new situation. The result depends on the quality of the relationship among the actants and the network’s sustainability after the end of the project.
4.In addition to learners, studies of developing educational information systems should pay more attention to the other actants’ perceptions and experiences. This may better the development and promotion of a system. | en_US |