The Evolution of Digital Media in Elementary School Learning: A Historical Case Study in an Indonesian Urban School

Abstract

This study examines the historical evolution of digital media use in learning within an Indonesian elementary school from the perspective of educational policy development. The continuing challenges in Indonesian educational outcomes provide a broader context for examining changes in technology-supported learning at the classroom level. Using a qualitative approach with a retrospective case study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 2 teachers of grades IV and V, 6 students, and an analysis of education policy documents, lesson plans (RPP), and school archives from 2013 to 2025. Data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews, participatory observation of current practices, and document studies. Validation used source triangulation, method triangulation, and member checking. Data analysis employed Miles and Huberman's interactive model with chronological thematic coding. The findings indicate three phases in the evolution of digital media use within the school examined: the initiation phase (2013–2019), characterized by the introduction of basic technologies as supplementary teaching equipment; the adaptation phase (2020–2022), marked by crisis-induced compulsory digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic; and the integration phase (2023–2025), distinguished by a shift from compulsory use toward pedagogical selection under the Merdeka Belajar (Freedom of Learning) policy. The study contributes an empirically-grounded periodization of technology adoption in a single school case, demonstrating that digital change is non-linear and shaped by the interaction of policy, crisis, infrastructure, and teacher agency. Practical implications include the need for systematic documentation of educational technology history and the development of learning designs responsive to the historical context of basic education development in Indonesia.