eLearning Papers • www.elearningpapers.eu •
1
Nº 20 • July 2010 • ISSN 1887-1542
An inquiry-oriented approach for making the best use of ICT in
the classroom
Roser Pintó Casulleras
Director of the Centre for Research on Science and Mathematics Education (CRECIM)
Digna Couso Lagarón
Researcher at the Centre for Research in Science and Mathematics Education (CRECIM)
María Isabel Hernández Rodríguez
Research assistant at the Centre for Research in Science and Mathematics Education
(CRECIM)
Summary
Many decades after the introduction of ICTs into science classrooms, there are still many
unanswered questions about the impact technology has in students’ learning. This article
addresses the general question: “What ICTs are the most useful, and how can they contribute
to better learning in the science classroom?” We conceive ICTs as tools that can enhance
particular learning situations or environments, and in this sense, this article elaborates on the
most appropriate technologies for particular learning environments and discusses in what order,
and with what purpose, these technologies should be used.
The first part of this article highlights the most commonly used technologies in science
classrooms, reviewing the unique opportunities they offer that would not be possible otherwise.
After discussing the potential (or lack thereof) of these technologies, the second part of the
article presents a proposal for using some of them in a specific pedagogical context: an inquiry-
based learning cycle for laboratory work. The main aim of the proposal presented here is to
discuss how a certain teaching and learning approach, such as inquiry-based learning, and a
certain teaching and learning situation, such as school laboratory work, can be enriched by the
use of ICTs. Finally, a detailed example of how specific ICTs are used in laboratory work
sessions with an inquiry approach is also explained. This practical case comes from a res