Kathryn MacCallum
Introduction
Seamless learning supports the integration of “learning experiences across various dimensions including formal and informal learning contexts, individual and social learning, and physical world and cyberspace” (Milrad, et al., 2013, p. 298). While the concept of seamless learning is still emerging, especially within the New Zealand (NZ) context, its potential, to support better engagement with digital technologies, is high. Within NZ, there is a strong emphasis on supporting teachers to integrate digital technologies in a more meaningful way. Recently, NZ redeveloped the Digital Technologies areas of the NZ Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017). This redevelopment has reframed the use of digital technologies to be more integrated, throughout the curriculum to drive diverse learning outcomes. The repositioning of digital technologies, as a fundamental and integrated topic throughout the schooling curriculum, will mean that teachers (from schooling and upwards) need to explore new ways to integrate digital technologies into their teaching. By exploring the relative affordances (MacCallum, 2019) and principles of seamless learning (Wong & Looi, 2012), highlights opportunities for effective learning driven by digital technology.
This chapter explores the results of a small explorative study conducted with a group of education staff at a polytechnic institute in a regional center in NZ. While the study explores the attitudes of these educators towards seamless learning, it captures the context and issues faced by educators in NZ as we start to explore the wider issues and opportunities of supporting a more engaged and connected educational system facilitated by digital technologies. To frame this research, a literature review was undertaken exploring EBSCO-database to explore the NZ-based literature and related policy documents on seamless learning.
The New Zealand Context and policies on integrating digital technologies
Before exploring the NZ-based literature of seamless learning the following section provides a brief overview of NZ as a country and the issues we face which would drive the successful integration and adoption of seamless learning.
NZ is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two significant landmasses, the North Island and the South Island. There are also around 600 smaller islands, covering a total area of 268,021 square kilometres. Overall, NZ enjoys relatively good Internet services, and as a result, NZ has recently been recognised as being one of the top digital economies in the world (Chakravoriti & Chaturvedi, 2017). While NZ enjoys relatively good Internet connectivity, the geography of the country as being remote and hilly has meant that digital access is not always consistent. Though most New Zealander has access to the Internet in some form, the quality of this connection can vary considerably (Internet NZ, 2017). Compounding this is, NZ also has extremely high po