As a result of the increase of digitalisation in today’s society over the recent years, the Swedish school system requires a certain degree of digital competence amongst teachers. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated the digitalisation of schools it even forced teaching to become digital for some time. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how Swedish ESL/EFL teachers in secondary school utilise digital tools to support pupils with writing and reading difficulties and their awareness of these difficulties. In order to meet the formulated aim of this paper, the research questions have been separated into three sections. The first area involves writing and reading difficulties in English courses. The second aspect of this research will examine which digital tools English teachers use to support students that struggle with reading and writing in the classroom, and the third aspect is how they apply these tools to their teaching. In this qualitative study, four English teachers participated. The empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results show that the interviewees experienced that the use of digital tools supported and developed students in their reading skills. Moreover, previous research concludes that digital tools have a profitable effect on students’ motivation and learning. However, the interviewees’ struggled to present digital teaching strategies to support struggling writers and did not present an effective digital tool for students with writing difficulties. Additionally, we discovered that the teachers in this study lacked the knowledge to some extent regarding digital tools to support these students; hence, the importance of providing further education to teachers regarding our research topic to offer an equivalent and inclusive school environment for all students. Further, research on digital tools and how to support students were limited. Therefore, we suggest future research on the topic with a focus on digital teaching strategies.

This study has partly examined teachers’ opinions on why they do and why they do not use digital tools in mathematics teaching, and partly when teachers think that it is appropriate and not appropriate to use digital tools in mathematics teaching. The study was conducted by interviewing four mathematics teachers who are active in grades 4-6. The teachers explained that they lack access to the digital tools that they need and want. In addition, they lack the digital skills and education for using digital tools in teaching mathematics. They also do not get the time they need to familiarize themselves with how digital tools can be used. They stated that they mainly use digital tools for mass training tasks, which does not correspond to what they should use digital tools for based on the Swedish curriculum. The teachers thought that digital tools are best suited for whole-class teaching, to reach all students at the same time. In addition, the teachers explained that digital tools are suitable for individual work, as digital tools can often be adapted based on the students’ individual needs. The study also examined the reasons for the teachers’ opinions. The opinions were mainly influenced by the teachers’ self-created knowledge, which they created as they used digital tools in mathematics teaching. / Denna studie har dels undersökt lärares åsikter om varför de använder digitala verktygi matematikundervisning och varför de inte använder sig av det, dels när lärare anser att det passar och inte passar att använda digitala verktyg i matematikundervisning. Studien har utförts genom att intervjua fyra matematiklärare som är verksamma i årskurs 4–6. Lärarna förklarade att de saknar den tillgång till digitala verktyg som de behöver och vill ha.Dessutom saknar de digital kompetens och utbildning i hur digitala verktyg kan användas i matematikundervisning. De får inte heller den tid de behöver för att själva sätta sig in i hur digitala verktyg kan användas. De konstaterade även att de främst använder digitala verktyg för mängdträningsuppgifter, vilket inte motsvarar vad de borde använda digitala verktyg till utifrån den svenska läroplanen. Lärarna ansåg att digitala verktyg passar bäst för helklassundervisning, för att nå ut till alla elever samtidigt. Dessutom förklarade lärarna att digitala verktyg passar för enskilda arbeten, eftersom digitala verktyg ofta går att anpassa utifrån elevers individuella behov. Studien undersökte även orsaker till lärarnas åsikter.Åsikterna stöds främst på kunskaper som lärarna bildat i samband med att de använt digitala verktyg i matematikundervisning.

Premature newborns’ medical need for donor human milk surpasses the supply and the demand for it continues to increase. Lactating mothers with a surplus can help fill the gap and give fragile infants a better chance to grow by donating breast milk. This thesis project examines challenges in the human milk donation process and observes general milk donation operations. It seeks to answer what kind of tools and support are needed to streamline the human milk donation process for lactating mothers who voluntarily donate their extra milk supply. Looking closely at information and communication technologies, the project notes design implications for the development of donor-supported digital tools. Through a user-centered design approach, qualitative interview strategies, and feedback from a milk bank, mockups of a digital waiting room were created to provide informational and social support for donor mothers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate music teachers’ perceptions of digital tools. It also aims to investigate aspects that might be relevant in how music teachers describe their education. The nature of this study is qualitative and in order to collect data for this study the method of interviewing was chosen. The number of teachers that was interviewed was four. The theoretical perspective that is used throughout this study is phenomenography. Because of this the method for analyzing data was derived from a type of phenomenographic analysis method as described by Dahlgren and Johansson (2019). A central concept in phenomenography is that of perceptions, phenomena and variation. These three concepts were used throughout the course of this study. The result of this study shows that music teachers in one way or another limits their perception of what a digital tool is in relation to a digital audio workstation (DAW). Furthermore, music teachers using digital tools in their education was often seen in contrast of using instruments. This aspect was described as digital tools not being able to replicate the same feel of playing an instrument. A positive aspect shows that digital tools was easier to use and students could then start making music before actually learning an instrument. Male students that had differing sociocultural standings that related to being of immigrant descent often had an easier time making music with digital tools than instruments. This was because their perception of what music making really is about was connected to their taste in music which according to the music teachers was hiphop.

This qualitative case study investigates L2-teachers’ perceptions and integration of digital literacy. Two qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted, one group interview with two participants, and one interview with a single participant. The aim of the interviews was to find out about teachers’ pedagogical choices regarding digital literacy, practicality on digital issues, and the perception of the curriculum with digitality as an aspect and consideration. To answer these formulations three themes were adopted, these were pedagogy, practicality and curriculum. There was an indication that teachers were divided between different ideologies which affected them in their classroom regarding technology use. These ideological issues consequently affected factors such as beliefs, explicitness, responsibility of work, creativity and criticality, which were factors dividing the teachers apart concerning their view of digital literacy.

The use of digital tools such as Sketchup, Rhino, AutoCAD and others is now commonplace in the architectural design process. These tools have advantages for time management and support the iterative nature of design, while also providing an efficient connection to later stages of design development and construction documentation. However, it could be argued that the use of digital tools during the ideation and concept phases of designing limits the cognitive connection between thought and the hand that is present in freehand sketching. If we accept that this cognitive connection is foundational to the design process, then new digital sketching tools are needed that have features similar to freehand sketching while processing sketches to 2D and 3D representations that are translatable to 3D printing, digital fabrication, and eventually Building Information Modeling. What this new tool might be is currently unclear. The purpose of this research is to identify the characteristics of a next generation of sketching tools that could support ideation activities in the concept stage of architectural design. The results will help to design a roadmap for the implementation of digital technologies in the architectural design process. This research will contribute to a shift in the implementation of digital tools in the architectural design process. This research relied on multiple data sources. First, a logical argument tactic was used to develop the research design model through a comprehensive review of the scholarly work that addresses the design process in the concept stage and the role of sketching and digital tools throughout these processes. Second, case study observation and interviews were used to explore how architects and architectural students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) use sketching, 3D modeling, and existing digital tools to represent, develop, iterate, and communicate their design ideas in the concept stage and how the tools they used affect their design process. Third, two immersive case studies were conducted to identify and develop the characteristics of a digital sketching tool. The last step was to determine consensus for the appropriateness of the To-Be model through Delphi tactics. / Doctor of Philosophy / The use of digital tools such as Sketchup, Rhino, AutoCAD and others is now commonplace in the architectural design process. These tools have advantages for time management and support the iterative nature of design, while also providing an efficient connection to later stages of design development and construction documentation. However, it could be argued that the use of digital tools during the ideation and concept phases of designing limits the cognitive connection between thought and the hand that is present in freehand sketching. If we accept that this cognitive connection is foundational to the design process, then new digital sketching tools are needed that have features similar to freehand sketching while processing sketches to 2D and 3D representations that are translatable to 3D printing, digital fabrication, and eventually Building Information Modeling. What this new tool might be is currently unclear. The purpose of this research is to identify the characteristics of a next generation of sketching tools that could support ideation activities in the concept stage of architectural design. The results will help to design a roadmap for the implementation of digital technologies in the architectural design process. This research will contribute to a shift in the implementation of digital tools in the architectural design process. This research relied on multiple data sources. First, a logical argument tactic was used to develop the research design model through a comprehensive review of the scholarly work that addresses the design process in the concept stage and the role of sketching and digital tools throughout these processes. Second, case study observation and interviews were used to explore how architects and architectural students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) use sketching, 3D modeling, and existing digital tools to represent, develop, iterate, and communicate their design ideas in the concept stage and how the tools they used affect their design process. Third, two immersive case studies were conducted to identify and develop the characteristics of a digital sketching tool. The last step was to determine consensus for the appropriateness of the To-Be model through Delphi tactics.

This study proposes a framework for simultaneously addressing qualitative and quantitative decision-making criteria during the early stages of the design process. It investigates the features and characteristics in an architectural tool that enable an architect to simultaneously address qualitative and quantitative criteria during the early stages of the design process and the requirements for implementing these features and characteristics inside a tool/working environment. It adopts a four-step methodology based on the qualitative methods of inquiry. These steps include logical argumentation based on the literature review, interviews, immersive case study, and Delphi method. The proposed framework provides a map of the areas and the themes that need consideration when developing an architectural tool that is expected to simultaneously address qualitative and quantitative criteria at the early stages of the design process. It categorizes the themes in three main areas: the themes concerned with qualitative studies, the themes concerned with quantitative studies, and the themes concerned with bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative studies. The framework suggests that four major themes need consideration while developing architectural tools to support simultaneously addressing qualitative and quantitative criteria: Imagination Stimulation for qualitative studies, Knowledge Acquisition for quantitative studies, Architect as Toolmaker and Design Environment Coordinator, Hybrid Environment, and Interface for the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative studies. For practicing architects, the framework provides guidance to choose proper tools and form their design environment. Moreover, this study provides a new model of communication between the architecture community and the software developers. / Doctor of Philosophy / Any architectural project consists of numerous decisions that the architect must make. These decisions have different characteristics and can be categorized in many ways. One way to categorize them could be based on the nature of the criteria that the architects use to evaluate the results of their decision. In this manner, these criteria can be either qualitative or quantitative. Addressing these two different kinds of criteria demands entirely distinctive sets of skills. Architects are trained to address these two fundamentally different kinds of criteria, consciously or not. However, the reasoning process is much more complicated when the decision demands addressing qualitative and quantitative criteria, simultaneously. There exists the possibility that one criterion or one set of criteria may overshadow the rest if this complex task is approached without conscious planning by the architect. This study proposes a framework for simultaneously addressing qualitative and quantitative decision-making criteria during the early stages of the design process. It provides a map of the areas and the themes that need consideration when developing an architectural tool that is expected to simultaneously address qualitative and quantitative criteria at the early stages of the design process and uses several graphical representations to categorizes these themes based on the needs and objectives of the user.

Den aktuella empiriska studien syftar till att undersöka lärares användning av och inställning till digitala verktyg i litteraturundervisningen. Resultatet baseras på kvalitativt material från semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra svensklärare i årskurs 4–6. I resultatet framkom att lärarna ser digitala verktyg som en möjlighet i undervisningen generellt. Angående skönlitterär läsning ses verktyget snarare som ett hjälpmedel för elever i behov av särskilt stöd och med annat modersmål än svenska. De är överens om att digitala verktyg inte ska användas uteslutande utan att kombination med det traditionella är att föredra för en varierad och lustfylld undervisning. Resultatet belyser även att lärare anser att utbildning för digitala verktyg saknas och hur de kan använda dem vid skönlitterär läsning. Teknik som inte fungerar och specifika skolors tillgång till digitala verktyg för alla elever nämns som en svårighet

Digital technology has made great progress in a relatively short time, which has led to new needs emerging to take advantage of the opportunities provided thanks to the digitization of society. The digital progress has resulted in teaching conditions being changed. The curriculum standards that all pupils should have equal opportunities to be good democratic citizens, demand today that digital competence needs to be provided to pupils. In the revised curriculum for the subject of mathematics it is written that mathematical activities must be linked to digital progress. It also says in the aim of the subject that teaching should give pupils the opportunities to develope knowledge of using digital tools. The result of the study states that the pupils´digital competence is of great significance for their development in mathematics when using digital tools and digital learning recources. The result also shows that one needs to compensate for pupils´previous knowledge regarding digital competence. / Den digitala tekniken har på relativt kort tid gjort stora framsteg, det har lett till att det uppstått nya behov för att ta tillvara på de möjligheter som ges tack vare samhällets digitalisering. Den digitala utvecklingen har gjort att förutsättningarna för undervisning har förändrats. Läroplanskravet att alla elever ska få likvärdiga förutsättningar att vara fullvärdiga demokratiska medborgare gör att lärare idag behöver ge eleverna en digital kompetens. I den reviderade läroplanen för ämnet matematik står det att de matematiska aktiviteterna ska vara kopplade till den digitala utvecklingen. Det står också i ämnets syfte att undervisningen ska utveckla kunskaper i användandet av digitala verktyg. Resultatet av studien visar att elevernas digitala kompetens har stor betydelse för deras utveckling i matematiken vid användandet av digitala verktyg och digitala lärresurser. Resultatet visar även att lärare behöver kompensera för elevers olika förkunskaper gällande digital kompetens.

As a result of the increase of digitalisation in today’s society, the Swedish school system requires a certain degree of digital competence amongst teachers, affecting the foundation of how their teaching practice is structured. Therefore, this study aims to investigate to what extent Swedish EFL/ESL teachers in the primary years incorporate digital tools in their teaching practice, and more specifically how – and why – they are used to facilitate learners’ vocabulary acquisition/learning. In this qualitative study, five Swedish EFL/ESL teachers in the primary years participated. The five participants work at five different schools, in three different municipalities. The empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of these indicate that vocabulary drills, generally given as homework, are the primary method of teaching English vocabulary to the EFL/ESL learners, requiring them to learn consciously and intentionally. Moreover, the results imply that a variation of tasks and teaching tools, as well as a frequency in exposure of content, is necessary for beneficial vocabulary acquisition/learning. Further, it is evident that digital tools have a profitable effect on learners’ motivation and consequently their learning. Finally, it is clear that what matters when incorporating digital tools is how they are used, rather than that they are used.