This essay examines the literature for examples of educational environments with technology that have used Activity Theory (AT) as a qualitative guideline to determine educational outcomes. The essay contains a similar literature review for technology enriched classrooms that have used Creative Inquiry (CI) movements as a guideline for educational data collection. Since, AT and CI use strategies of asking pivotal questions and using cooperative systems, an anchoring of AT and CI with distributed cognition starts off the discussion. Case examples of the effective use of AT and CI in technology rich classrooms is provided with a conclusion that lists similarities and differences of the two approaches.
