Design Principles for Usable and Sustainable Research in Technology-Supported Learning

This paper makes the case for methodological design principles to increase the usability of research evidence regarding the impact of educational technology. Given, inter alia, the disruption and cost associated with their use, the desire to demonstrate value added is clear. The difficulties in isolating digital technologies as (independent) variables, ensure capturing their impact is inherently problematic. It is exacerbated by the continually developing nature of digital technologies and their crossing of boundaries. Based on a meta-narrative review, we posit methodological design principles sympathetic to the fact that evidence of the pedagogical application of digital technologies is both borne out of, and brought to bear in, complex and dynamic contexts mediated by, the complexities to be expected from human agency.