Inquiry based teaching through innovative ICT technology: augmented reality and place-based technology

In our current information-rich society, it is important to adapt approaches to teaching and learning to characteristics of this society. We believe that digital tools adapted to learning goals combined with socio-cultural thinking, are promising approaches with which to meet future challenges. In this article, we bring together three different approaches to these cross-subject challenges. We present literature reviews and empirical data from three different research groups working with augmented reality in lower secondary schools, geographical information technology (GIT) in field courses, and from classroom studies on science teacher students using GIT. The analyses from the three presentations are based on several methods, such as questionnaires, interviews with students and lecturers, students' written reflections, and recorded dialogues between students. Our results suggest that students value technology adapted for learning; that the facilitator role of the teacher is important; and that subject matter knowledge is very important in order to be able to produce relevant content for learning with GIT.