The digital transformation of instructional materials. Views and practices of teachers, families and editors

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the design and main findings of a three-year study analyzing the transition from printed to digital educational materials for primary education in Spain. Special attention has been given to the metamorphosis of didactic materials in the context of the digital society. The research focused on two issues: (a) the opinion of educational agents regarding digital educational material, and (b) the use made of digital educational materials in schools and classrooms. Two different but complementary studies were designed and carried out. The first explored the perspectives or subjectivities of educational agents—teachers, material creators and families. The second was a multi-case study involving several schools and analyzing the educational use of materials by teachers. Our findings indicate that the dissemination of digital educational materials is carried out through both paid commercial platforms and public access platforms promoted by educational administrations and that an expository teaching model underlies most online teaching materials. Educational agents have high expectations and a positive predisposition towards digital resources. Likewise, it has been found that teachers make functional and hybrid didactic adaptations of digital resources. Finally, it is suggested that the study’s approach and methodology have potential for extrapolation to other national contexts.