Article Sidebar
Keywords:
Article Details
All content is managed by a Creative Commons license 3.0 which allows readers to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Main Article Content
Actant affordances: a brief history of affordance theory and a Latourian extension for education technology research
Abstract
Affordance theory provides a useful lens to explore the action opportunities that arise
between users and technology, especially in education. However developments in the theory
have resulted both in confusion and misapplication, due partly to issues related to affordance
theory’s ontology. This paper outlines two competing perspectives on affordances by Gibson
and Norman, before arguing that Latour’s theory of ‘actants’ provides a useful middle way
between these competing positions. This ‘actant affordance’ provides new opportunities for
undertaking educational technology research that focuses on the network of negotiations
taking place between actants (student, teacher, technology, pedagogy, etc.) rather than
studying causality or simple binaries.
Keywords: actants, affordances, Actor Network Theory, educational technology
