Learners as users, and users as learners

This paper explores how users´ relationships to technology may impact processes of learning. In e-learning contexts, it is not only students´ educational experiences which are being designed, but also their interaction with technology. Students have dual identities, as both learners and users. The paper reviews principles of usability in the discipline of human-computer interaction and its recommendations for facilitating ease-of-use in systems. It compares this with educational literature on learning styles which suggests that ´deep´ learning is not necessarily easy. The paper discusses the difficulties which arise in the context of e-learning, when the processes and practices of educational and technological design are conflated. That is, what happens when the user and learner are one and the same, when systems are designed for learning, not just for use? Reviewing and juxtaposing literature from the disciplines of technology and educational design, the paper highlights differences in pedagogy and practice. In turn, it examines how these are manifest in IT students´ perceptions of the role of technology in their own education