Using technology in Higher Education: an Activity Theory perspective

Abstract This paper describes the application of Activity Theory to considerations of enhancing learning through the use of technology in Higher Education. The theory is reviewed and its extended version which uses the idea of an activity system to help analyse the use of technology in context described. Two case studies of teaching and learning in Higher Education are described: one exploring the use of ICT in a postgraduate study of science communication and the other a history course using the web to provide a range of resources and communication facilities for students. These two case studies represent different uses of technology in different disciplines and lead to a consideration of how the use of Activity Theory informs understanding of these learning experiences.