The purpose of this thesis is to examine in what aspects the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has contributed to the digitalization of our schools, and how it may have changed the actual teaching in the classroom. This research explores this question from a didactic perspective, as well as from the perspective of the teachers’ reflections. The main research questions are: What do teachers use the IWB for? How do teachers use the IWB? Why do teachers use the IWB? These questions have been analyzed within a didactic framework, which is based on the expanded didactic triangle (Hudson & Meyer 2011) and the logic of events (von Wright 1983). Data was collected by interviews and surveys. The analysis was done abductively, based on a mixed methods approach. The results show that the IWB has the function of a digital hub in whole-class teaching, being mainly used as a computer projector, film projector and digital whiteboard. The main value of the IWB according to the study is that it provides the teacher access to digital information during a class. In their response, teachers express a wish to vary and adapt the teaching to include the IWB, in order to increase student motivation and participation. The study shows major differences with regards to the extent and the ways that the IWB is used in relation to teacher and school, leading to differences in pupils’ learning. Moreover, the complexity of teaching increases with the introduction of the IWB, as it requires the development of the teacher’s knowledge and skills. The study indicates that the use of the IWB implies a shift of the norm in school’s whole-class teaching to become more digital. The results are further discussed through four aspects of education: classroom practice, teachers, the school as an organization and society as a whole. The results imply that in order to develop teachers’ didactic repertoire, teachers need to be given clear assignments as well as opportunities for investigating the possibilities and limitations of digital tools, including developing and describing different methods and their advantages and disadvantages. This is proposed to be an area for further research in general and subject didactics, through action and participatory research.

Virtual learning environments supply us with new tools for learning. The conditions for communication are likely to affect the knowledge process. In this paper, we present the study of a collaborative knowledge process with the aim of identifying factors that can affect collaborative learning in a web-based environment. Underlining the study is an assumption that student teachers will be better equipped, if they have experienced and discussed methods of collaborative learning while in training. A tool for analysing the communication process in a knowledge production perspective was developed and used with a collaborative web-based method in a teacher-training programme. Results identified two critical factors affecting the level of collaboration connected to the knowledge process. Social interaction, to establish a group culture and the exchange of experiences, as a foundation for knowledge production is in this study a key factor for designing a web-based collaborative learning context. The insight into these processes is central for planning and choosing methods for collaborative courses, and the analysing tool can be used for evaluation of group work and assessments.

This paper describes work with student collaboration in a distance education teacher-training program at Växjö. A previous study on collaborative strategies was presented new students in order to test possible effects on their learning process. What possible effects could this have on how students used and designed their learning in a Virtual Learning Environment? Were there any signs of an enhanced meta-cognitive awareness compared to previous year? Students’ evaluation of assignment and results from a web-enquiry was analysed. Results showed an increased reflection upon work process and more references to future praxis as teachers shift from a knowledge process to a learning process. Results also show a more strategic use of the tools in the VLE. By giving students some reflective tools prior to their assignment, we have tried to use meta-cognitive thinking as “a way to teach” and not as a “subject” itself.