Teachers’ Use of Argunaut System in the Classroom

In the present chapter we bring two case studies of two teachers who moderated discussions in Digalo through the Argunaut system employing two different styles. This intervention was conducted in the framework of a one-year professional development course that focused on the implementation of argumentative dialogue in the classroom using the Digalo tool. These case studies, as well as additional information on teachers' ideas and practices with moderating Digalo discussions using the Argunaut tool, shed light on the way teachers adopt new technology within their daily practices in the classroom. The present study allows us to cautiously point out to what influences teachers' use of new technology in their classroom. Considering the limitation of our study it seems that teachers have their own ideas on what is good for their teaching and they make use of the Arguaut system accordingly. The teachers’ use of the Argunaut tool in a different way than that envisioned by the tool developers doesn't mean that the tool was badly designed or that the teachers’ implementation in their classrooms was faulty. In some cases, discrepancies between envisioned use and use in practice can be the trigger for iterative discussions between teachers and pedagogical researchers, for the purpose of fine-tuning the use of the tools for teachers’ needs. I expect such discussions to be a vehicle that bridge between innovative (Computer Supporting Collaborative Learning) CSCL tools and their use in school under the umbrella of teachers’ professional development.

Keywords: Argumentation, teachers, professional development, classroom dialogue, pedagpgical practices.