Technology and Learning Research (AARE)
This podcast series on the topic of technology and learning research aims to create a fun and engaging podcast series that is accessible to a wide audience, including those outside of academia. By producing high-quality, entertaining content, we hope to raise awareness of the value of technology and learning research and promote its importance to broader society.
Technology and Learning Research (AARE)
From Digital Doubt to Digital Confidence: Tracking Capability in Teacher Education
In between PhD data sets, teacher educator Katie Wilson took on a small reflective project with her first-year students — and what she found was bigger than expected.
In this episode, Katie (a lecturer at ACU in Brisbane) shares how tracking pre-service teachers’ digital confidence across a semester opened up unexpected insights about capability, curriculum, and identity. Grounded in ACARA’s digital requirements, framed through TPACK and the Digital Capability Continuum, this isn’t just a tech talk — it’s a powerful reflection on what it means to teach with intention in a digitally complex world.
With honesty, humour, and deep practical insight, Katie unpacks how small changes in delivery can lead to big shifts in confidence — and why teacher educators should never assume their students “just know how to use the tech.”
Further Reading: For Listeners Who Want to Dive Deeper
Digital Capability & Continuums
- Cain, M., & Coldwell-Neilson, J. (2020). Reviewing digital capability in higher education: A framework for benchmarking.
- The foundation of the Digital Capability Continuum used in this project.
- Jisc (2022). Building digital capability: The six elements framework.
- A practical model used widely in HE to map digital development for staff and students.
Pedagogical Frameworks (TPACK & PedTech)
- Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)?
- The core article introducing the TPACK framework, which underpins the pedagogical lens in the project.
- Aubrey-Smith, F. (2022). From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology in education.
- Katie’s favourite! A brilliant, accessible reflection on using tech with purpose, not just presence.
Digital Identity, Literacy & Confidence
- Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy?
- Unpacks the myth of the “digital native” and what real digital literacy requires.
- Couch, J. (2019). Rewiring Education: How Technology Can Unlock Every Student’s Potential.
- Accessible and practical, this text provokes deep thinking about designing learning in the digital age.