The pedagogy of the impressed: how teachers become victims of technological vision

Whilst researching a teacher's use of miniature 'handheld' computers (PDAs) with students, it became apparent that the related research literature implied unwarranted benefits arose from using this technology in the classroom setting. Focusing closely upon one exemplar UK government-commissioned research study, this paper attempts to illustrate how such technological rhetoric is created and sustained, and how voices which promote the adoption of technology become privileged and established. These rhetorical claims espousing technology appealed to readers' 'vision' and consistently emphasised innovation at the expense of reflection on teachers' thinking and practices. Such studies appear to find a receptive audience from policy-makers whose own statements about educational technology display a similar foundation of faith and conjecture. However, these unrealistic expectations inhibit teachers' pragmatic attempts to integrate technology in classroom contexts, and the teachers subsequently become blamed for the failure of technology to fulfil its promise. This paper attempts to illustrate how dominant technological claims can be interrogated from a perspective that represents teachers' interests.