Activity Theory, Authentic Learning and Emerging Technologies: Towards a transformative higher education pedagogy

Although emerging technologies are becoming popularised for teaching, learning and research in higher education, the relationship between use and transformative effect on higher education remain largely unexplored. Thus, many of the current conceptions view emerging technologies as tools in ‘how to’ manuals, remain at the level of simplistic discussions that are generally under theorised. This edited collection seeks to fill this gap by providing a more nuanced view, locating higher education pedagogical practice at an intersection of emerging technologies, authentic learning and activity systems.

Although emerging technologies are becoming popularised for teaching, learning and research, the relationship between their use and transformative effects on higher education remain largely unexplored. This edited collection seeks to fill this gap by providing a nuanced view, locating higher education pedagogical practices at an intersection of emerging technologies, authentic learning and activity systems.

Providing numerous case studies as examples, the book draws from a wide range of contexts to illustrate how such a convergence has the potential to track transformative teaching and learning practices in the higher education sector. Chapters provide the reader with a variety of transformative higher education pedagogical practices in southern contexts, theorised within the framework of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and tool mediation, while using authentic learning as a pedagogical model upon which this theoretical framework is based.

The topics covered in the book have global relevance, with research paying particular attention to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, where the authors are based. The book will be of interest to educators, researchers and practitioners in higher education, as well as those interested in emerging technologies in education more generally.