Characteristics of pedagogical change in integrating digital collaborative learning and their sustainability in a school culture: e-CSAMR framework

Collaborative learning is perceived as an important component of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) integration in schools. The purpose of this study was to examine an initiative of the Ministry of Education that promoted intra-school and inter-school digital collaborative learning projects. The participants were 159 district ICT leaders, who designed 37 digital collaborative projects containing 73 learning activities to promote inter-school student interactions. The study was conducted within the qualitative research paradigm through analysis of digital collaborative learning activities. Additionally, the participants were required to share their experiences regarding digital collaboration through an open-ended online questionnaire. The thematic analysis revealed all four levels of the SAMR model, rating pedagogical changes during technological integration; the most common were the model's two middle levels: Augmentation and Modification. Moreover, we explored the degree of teamwork (information sharing, cooperation, or collaboration), complexity of collaboration (intra-school vs. inter-school) and sustainability of collaborative learning within the school culture. Most of the activities reflected the cooperation level of teamwork, while in the highest level—collaboration was less common. Surprisingly, complexity of collaboration and its sustainability in school culture were negatively interconnected. Regarding the extent of collaboration, some activities were categorized as “Islands of innovation,” the majority were comprehensive and conducted on the organizational level, while only few involved the wider community-parents or other stakeholders. Based on the bottom-up analysis of pedagogical changes in digital collaboration activities, we suggested a comprehensive e-CSAMR framework. The implications for educational theory and practice are discussed.