The thesis explores the possibilites of involving users – students and teachers – into the design process for an interactive textbook for assisting the teaching and learning of mathematics at a secondary school level. Involvement of students and teachers is executed with participatory design methodology for the purpose of infrastructuring between different actors – developers, designers, students and teachers, in order to suggest and emphasize novel, in terms of the market, ways for ideating, creating and evaluating concepts in the field of digital learning. The design process is executed with the aim of producing a re-design proposal for an existing interactive textbook – namely Exponent 1b by Gleerups Utbildning AB - a renowned Swedish publisher of learning materials. The proposal is part of the ideation phase of Gleerups’ project and the design process is adressed accordingly.The initial sections introduce a theoretical framework for looking at interactive learning environments and present examples of such environments and their functionalities. Significant focus is dedicated to the preliminary analysis of the current state of Exponent 1b and the follow-up participatory analysis and re-design process. The author’s proposals for improvements in the core functionalities and the interactions are based on the initial research of the theoretical framework, presented examples of integrated learning environments examples and services, and predominantly on the outcomes from the participatory analysis and design process. At the end of the thesis the author summarizes the outcomes concerning involvement of students, teachers, designers and developers, and inclusion of digital tools to facilitate learning and variety in teaching.

As digital technology becomes increasingly integrated into educational systems worldwide, it is crucial to examine its impact on teaching methods and assessment practices. This study focuses on the views of English teachers in Swedish compulsory schools regarding the digitalization of national tests, providing valuable insights into their attitudes, preferences, and concerns. Surveys conducted with 66 teachers revealed a diverse range of perspectives on digitalization. While many educators expressed reservations about the ongoing efforts to digitize schools, particularly in relation to their alignment with educational goals in English language instruction, there was also a more positive outlook towards the digitalization of national tests. Teachers acknowledged potential benefits, such as the use of artificial intelligence for grading to reduce their workload, but also had concerns about how digitalization may affect student learning outcomes. Some teachers worried that students may comprehend texts more effectively in traditional paper-based formats than in digital mediums and expressed concerns about potential distractions during digital assessments. Preferences for the use of digital tools varied among teachers, with some advocating for minimal reliance on such tools to mitigate distractions and challenges related to time management. This research highlights the complex relationship between digitalization and teaching practices in Swedish schools, emphasizing the need for further research and targeted professional development. By addressing teachers' concerns and utilizing the insights gained from this study, educational stakeholders can effectively integrate digital tools to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in Swedish English classrooms.

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

This compilation licentiate thesis focuses on geography teaching in a digital teaching and learning environment in the Swedish secondary school. Departing from a subject-didactic perspective, the aim was to explore the relation between teachers’ knowledge base, choices and usage of digital tools and geography teaching. The preconditions to develop students geographical thinking has been of specific interest. The thesis consists of two joint studies: a regional survey (n=47) and a case study based on workshops. The results from the first study formed a basis for the design of the second study. The study draws on theories on teachers’ knowledge base, pedagogical content knowledge and TPACK.  The first study focused on teachers’ view of what secondary geography education implies in a digital teaching and learning environment. The second study explored secondary social science teachers’ curriculum thinking when constructing lesson plans containing geographical analyses with subject-specific digital tools (SSDT). The results reveal that handling geographical analysis in geography education stand out as a complex content that challenges teachers’ professional management competence. The usage of digital tools and SSDTs, such as GIS, varies. Subject specific games are commonly used in geography teaching. However, SSDTs that provide great amount of geographical data, for instance GIS, are not as commonly used. Moreover, results from the second study indicate that most participating teachers engaged in geographical thinking when planning their lessons, but there is an imbedded difficulty regarding transforming such thinking into student instructions. Also, integrating the SSDTs in the lesson plans proved to be challenging for some of the teachers. This implies developing each knowledge aspect is crucial alongside developing an integration of the knowledge aspects. / Den här studien utgår från ett ämnesdidaktiskt perspektiv och undersöker relationen mellan högstadielärares kunskapsbas, val och användning av digitala verktyg och geografiundervisning. Två delstudier ligger till grund för studiens resultat. Den första delstudien består av en regional enkätstudie med SO-lärare i årskurserna 7-9, vilken undersöker lärarnas val och användning av digitala verktyg i geografiundervisningen. Resultaten från den första delstudien gav underlag och uppslag för hur nästa delstudie skulle designas. Den andra delstudien är utformad som en fallstudie, och baseras på workshops med en grupp högstadielärare. Den fokuserar på lärares planering av undervisningen där elever får göra geografiska analyser med hjälp av ämnesspecifika digitala verktyg (ÄSDV) i syfte att utveckla det geografiska tänkandet. Studien vilar på teorier om lärares kunskapsbas, TPACK och ett geografididaktiskt forskningstema, geografiskt tänkande. Resultaten visar att geografiska analyser är ett komplext ämnesinnehåll och därmed även ett utmanande inslag i geografiundervisningen. Överlag används digitala verktyg i undervisningen men ÄSDV som innehåller stor mängd geografiska data (t. ex. geografiska informationssystem), används i markant lägre utsträckning. Studien visar även att integrationen mellan olika aspekter i lärarens kunskapsbas är central för att genomföra en undervisning som utvecklar geografiskt tänkande med hjälp av digitala verktyg.

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Denna studie syftar till att, ur ett multimodalt perspektiv, få kännedom om hur digitala verktyg används av lärare i undervisningssyfte på Södertörns högskola, samt studenters inställning till de medietekniska hjälpmedlen. Detta har gjorts med hjälp av observationer, intervjuer och enkätundersökningar som genomfördes med lärare och studenter. Det resultat som observationerna gav stämde överens med resultatet från intervjuer och enkätundersökningar. Studien visar att digitala verktyg används sparsamt av lärare på högskolan. Föreläsningar med PowerPoint-presentationer som i stort sett enbart innehöll text och bilder var i särklass det vanligaste undervisningsredskapet. Lärarna har generellt en positiv inställning till digitala verktyg men på grund av tidsbrist och begränsningar i hur och vilka digitala hjälpmedel som får användas i undervisningen hämmas de. Även studenterna ser fördelaktigt på digitala verktyg och önskar ett större utbud av medietekniska hjälpmedel i deras utbildning. / This study aims to ascertain how teachers use digital tools for educational purposes, seen from a didactic and multimodal perspective. It also aims to investigate students attitudes towards the digital technology used in their education. The study takes place at Södertörn University College. It has been conducted through observations, questionnaires and interviews with both teachers and students. The results of the observations yielded consistent with the results from the interviews and questionnaires. The study shows that teachers at the college sparingly use digital tools. Lectures with PowerPoint presentations containing merely text and images were by far the most common teaching tool. Teachers generally have a positive attitude towards digital tools, but due to time constraints and limitations in how and what digital inputs that may be used in teaching, they are limited in their choice of tools. The students also welcome the digital tools and want greater access to the range of media aids in their training, and would like to see it more frequently used in their education.

With the continuous development in computer and communications technology the use of computer aided design in design processes is becoming more commonplace. A wide range of virtual prototyping technologies are currently in development, some of which are commercially viable for use within a product design process. These virtual prototyping technologies range from graphics tablets to haptic devices. With the compression of design cycles the feasibility of using these technologies for product evaluation is becoming an ever more important consideration. This thesis begins by presenting the findings of a comprehensive literature review defining product design with a focus on product evaluation and a discussion of current virtual prototyping technologies. From the literature review it was clear that user involvement in the product evaluation process is critical. The literature review was followed by a series of interconnected studies starting with an investigation into design consultancies' access and use of prototyping technologies and their evaluation methods. Although design consultancies are already using photo-realistic renderings, animations and sometimes 3600 view CAD models for their virtual product evaluations, current virtual prototyping hardware and software is often unsatisfactory for their needs. Some emergent technologies such as haptic interfaces are currently not commonly used in industry. This study was followed by an investigation into users' psychological acceptance and physiological discomfort when using a variety of virtual prototyping tools for product evaluation compared with using physical prototypes, ranging from on-screen photo-realistic renderings to 3D 3600 view models developed using a range of design software. The third study then went on to explore the feasibility of using these virtual prototyping tools and the effect on product preference when compared to using physical prototypes. The forth study looked at the designer's requirements for current and future virtual prototyping tools, design tools and evaluation methods. In the final chapters of the thesis the relative strengths and weaknesses of these technologies were re-evaluated and a definitive set of user requirements based on the documentary evidence of the previous studies was produced. This was followed by the development of a speculative series of scenarios for the next generation of virtual prototyping technologies ranging from improvements to existing technologies through to blue sky concepts. These scenarios were then evaluated by designers and consumers to produce documentary evidence and recommendations for preferred and suitable combinations of virtual prototyping technologies. Such hardware and software will require a user interface that is intuitive, simple, easy to use and suitable for both the designers who create the virtual prototypes and the consumers who evaluate them.

Syftet med undersökningen är att bilda mig en uppfattning om skrivverktygens betydelse för elevers lärande. Jag har valt att undersöka två förskoleklasser som jobbar med olika verktyg i skrivandet. Den ena använder iPad och den andra penna. Huvudmålet med undersökningen är att få förståelse för om metoden loggboken och den process som sker vid skrivandet av den påverkas av det verktyg som eleverna får möjlighet att använda. Vidare vill jag se om eleverna kan utvecklas under skrivandet av loggboken och om även utvecklingen är beroende av det skrivverktyg som eleven använder. Metoderna jag har valt är kvalitativa intervjuer, strukturerade observationer och en form av textanalys kring materialet loggboken. Mitt huvudmaterial är loggboken. Jag har valt ut 2 elever från varje klass vars loggböcker jag studerat från början av höstterminen tills idag. Genom att gå igenom loggböckerna över skolåret som gått kan jag se om det går att utläsa en progression. Intervjuer genomfördes med klasslärarna från respektive förskoleklass. De två utvalda eleverna från varje klass deltog även i två intervjuer. Observationerna utfördes under 8 loggboks-lektioner med stöd av ett observationsschema. Resultatet blev att eleverna utvecklas oavsett vilket verktyg de skriver med. Det jag kommit fram till är att de två verktygen hjälper till att skapa grunden för skrivandet men med olika stil. Jag kom till insikt om att skrivverktygen iPad och penna var svåra att undersöka utifrån ett av kursplanens krav som undersökningen syftar till. Inget av verktygen är mindre bra utan det handlar om att få lärare att bli medvetna om att verktygen bidrar på skilda sätt till att lära eleverna skriva enligt våra ramar. Grunden till skrivandet anläggs under de tidiga åren och eleverna behöver bearbeta skriften med hjälp av olika verktyg. Detta innebär att eleverna ska ges möjlighet att öva och pröva olika skrivverktyg för att lära sig känna trygghet i flera sätt att skapa en text. / The purpose with this study is to find myself a perception if the tools that are being used in the writing process has any meaning for students' learning. I've choosed to examine two classes in preschool who are working with different tools for writing. One of them is using iPads and the other one is using pencils. The main goal with my survey is to get an understanding whether the logbook and the process that comes with it has any affects from the different tools that are being used in the process of writing in the logbook. Furthermore, I want to see if the students can develop during the writing of the logbook and if the development is dependent on the writing tool used by the student. The methods I have chosen are qualitative interviews, structured observations and a form of text analysis around the material logbook. My main material is the logbook. I have chosen 2 students from each class whose logbooks I studied from the beginning of the autumn term until today. Interviews were conducted with class teachers from each pre-school class. The two selected students from each class also participated in two interviews. The observations were performed under 8 logbook lessons based on an observation schedule. As a result, pupils developed no matter what tool they are writing with. What I also found out is that the two tools help to create the basis for writing but with different styles. I realized that the writing tools iPad and pen were difficult to investigate based on one of the syllabus requirements that the study aims at. None of the tools are less good, but it´s about getting teachers to become aware that the tools contribute differently to teaching students writing according to our frameworks. The reason for writing is placed in the early years. This means that students in pre-school have to exercise a lot and must be given the opportunity to try different writing tools to learn to feel safe in using them.

I denna studie beskriver sju förskollärare på lika många förskolor hur de tänker om hur de använder de digitala verktygen på förskolan med barnen. Vilka digitala verktyg och utrustningar har de på sina förskolor? Får barn användning av sina erfarenheter av digitala verktyg på förskolan? Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer har förskollärarna fått delge sina uppfattningar. Är de digitala verktygen en del av barns vardag på förskolan? Med pragmatismen som perspektiv har analysen genomförts. Resultatet visar att det finns icke påverkbara faktorer och påverkbara faktorer i förskolans verksamhet för användning av de digitala verktygen. Några av dessa faktorer är läroplanen, kollegor, föräldrar, förskollärarnas kompetens och hur verkygen används rent praktiskt. Dessa faktorer har stor inverkan på förskollärarnas arbete med de digitala verktygen. Förskollärarna är medvetna om att barn har tidigare erfarenheter av de digitala verktygen från hemmen men det är inget som lyfts i verksamheten.

During the past couple of years an extensive restructure towards increased digitization, has affected Swedish schools. Some investments aim towards teachers training, whilst others prioritise hardware. Some intend to transact radical, groundbreaking changes, whilst some care to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) successively in the current education model. The methods for digitization are many and contested. Previous research focuses on investigating what effects digitization has on student learning and how the digitization mission has been interpreted and executed in school context. Teachers and students attitudes towards digitization are too fields that have been explored, though most studies are made outside of Sweden, which causes a certain knowledge gap. Music education in Sweden lacks creative elements, which has been noted in research. According to previous research ICT is also considered missing the most within the creation field. Underlying causes for the slow progress of digitization in Swedish schools however, belong to a less researched field. Initially, this study seeks to chart both in what context and extent music teachers in secondary school tend to use ICT and to investigate if any connections show between ICT usage and personal or workplace related variables. The research questions define which variables that are being investigated by dint of the web-based questionnaire that constitutes the foundation for the research. The result indicates that the informants of younger age us ICT for other purposes than the older ones, to some degree. Some differences in ICT usage between men and women also showed, where women for example tend to search online for teaching inspiration more frequently than men. The result also showed that the music teachers that participated in this study use ICT mostly for simple tasks that support the traditional education, as opposed to more advanced functions that demands a higher level competence, which are used less frequently. As the title reveals, the result also show that the informants experience a lack of reources that affects the prequisites for implementing digitization, in various ways. The most missing resource is according to this study time. The end diskussion of this study report mentions that the question ”how?” ought to be relevant for making the implementation of ICT in school context as smooth as possible.