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Although eye-tracking technologies such as Tobii-T120/TX and Eye-Tribe are steadily becoming ubiquitous, and while their appropriation in education can aid teachers to collect robust information on how students move their eyes when reading and engaging with different learning objects, many teachers of Luganda language are yet to gain experiences of utilizing these technologies in their teaching. This paper emerges from a semester-long (17 weeks) study which followed a Design Based Research (DBR) approach and deployed qualitative techniques to cultivate the experiences of 68 Luganda language teacher-trainees in utilizing different emerging Educational Technologies (ETs) in their teaching. The study was guided by Kolb (1984)’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and Reeves (2006)’s model of conducting research in authentic e-learning contexts. During the study, trainees concretely experienced, abstractly conceptualized and made observational reflections about their own active experimentations of different ETs in teaching Luganda language. In this paper, we describe how we supported the trainees to conduct an active experimentation of Tobii-T120 to track how students moved their eyes when reading and engaging with learning objects on an emulated smart phone. Following the observational reflections, which the trainees made about their active experimentation, this paper also presents a discourse analysis thereof.

While many young learners of the 21st century have grown up with, and generally prefer to learn using Emerging Technologies (ETs), a few teachers of Luganda language graduate with learning experiences of integrating ETs in their teaching. One of the most crucial stages of gaining experiences in any subject or object of interest is making Abstract Conceptualizations (ACs) about it (Kolb, 1984). Whereas scaffolding ACs has potential to expand teacher’s knowledge of integrating ETs in teaching, it is difficult to enact in a pedagogically sound manner. This paper emerges from a Design Based Research in which 68 Luganda language teacher-trainees at Makerere University were enrolled into a semester-long (17 weeks) blended learning course aimed at cultivating their experiences of integrating ETs in teaching. The study was informed by Kolb (1984)’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and Reeves (2006)’s model of conducting research in authentic e-learning contexts. Six distinct abstract conceptualisations of ETs emerged from trainees’ responses. This paper discusses the implications of such abstract conceptualization in the revitalisation of Luganda language.

Every country desires and aspires for an education system that caters for learners' physiological needs, belonging, love, self‐esteem, security and self‐actualisation at the top, which are rarely provided by a few countries. With a review focus on the Ugandan education system, several challenges related to the education borrowing suggestions as proposed by John Dewey have been attributed to creating an environment that has seen most graduates ending up unemployed, and with leadership challenges, inadequate funding, poor teacher perception, low research and innovations in higher institutions of learning, less involvement of the informal sector in development, low literacy levels, political interference among others. Thus this exploratory analytical‐qualitative review focuses on John Dewey's teachings in his book Education and Democracy—specifically chapter 1, 'Education as Necessity for Life'—with attention on how education as an engine that empowers life, ensures independence through self‐reliance, sustenance, freedom, and is syndrome‐free to enhance appreciation of the contemporary trends in education—critical aspects that are extremely lacking within the current Ugandan education system and can impact on the future of education to the future of education as recommended in National Development Plan III (NDP III). Thus the review recommends that while reflecting on the state of the Ugandan education system, there is a need to revitalise the research and innovations in higher institutions, especially catering for an integral‐education system with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from primary school to university, involvement of the informal sector through skills education as proposed by the Ugandan Vision 2040 and NDP III, as well as addressing low literacy levels and providing adequate teaching and learning through quality and balanced funding from all relevant government agencies and development partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]