Smart Learning Affordances of Web Technologies from Future ICT Teachers’ Perspectives

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have led to the evolution of the Web (from 1.0 to 4.0 with trends towards 5.0), offering more and better services to users worldwide. New opportunities to optimize learning now exist thanks to the application of these technologies in the field of education. The concept of smart learning has become increasingly popular since advanced web technologies are aligned with modern, innovative pedagogical approaches to make learning environments smarter. From the perspective of ICT students, and future teachers in a Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment (TELE), this study explores the educational potential of web technologies. Toward this end, twenty-nine ICT students participated in an e-course lab during an academic course. The e-course lab was designed based on constructivist approaches (Project based learning and collaborative strategies) and then implemented by integrating, among others, fifteen prominent web technologies in the form of web tools in an e-learning platform. As part of their e-course lab experience, learners recorded the advantages and disadvantages of each tool, along with their pedagogical value. Even though the tools serve different educational needs, a comparative analysis of the potential smart learning affordances was conducted based on this recording. The results are encouraging, providing empirical data for future research in the field of educational technology, as well as good practices for the design of smart learning environments (SLEs).