Christian Labbé

Traditional and Emerging IT Applications for Learning

This chapter examines current research about traditional and emerging Information Technology (IT) applications for learning. In order to do this we first present a general background of the introduction of IT in education. After that we discuss the range of possible impacts of IT on students. The third section of this chapter deals with the complexity of selection and design of IT applications for learning. We focus on context related variables, the pedagogical approach in use, the instructional instances in which IT will be used and the variety of technology. In the next section we will discuss trends regarding emerging technologies that are being explored to expand learning opportunities, create new learning scenarios in schools and improve the teaching and learning process. Finally, the paper concludes with discussing possible pathways for research on the use of IT for teaching and learning.

Factors (not) affecting what students do with computers and internet at home

This paper presents the results of an analysis of secondary students’ computer use, aimed at understanding how different factors influence the profile of activities carried out by students with computers. The analysis is based on the data from a national study aimed at measuring students’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills for learning. A factor analysis was carried out to categorize students’ activities with computers and several indexes were constructed to define the comparison groups. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explain the frequency of the activities. Results show that students with access to computers at home mainly perform activities categorized as Socializing, Academic, Gaming and Production and that although the absolute frequency of these activities differs across groups, the profiles of computer use are surprisingly similar for groups based on students’ socio-economic group, experience with ICT, and self-confidence in the use of ICT. The only variable that discriminates user profiles is gender. Based on these findings, it can be claimed that Chilean secondary students with access to computers at home tend to show a rather homogenous computer-use profile, once access is equated.

Characterisation of teachers' use of computers and Internet inside and outside the classroom: The need to focus on the quality

Teachers’ use of ICT has mainly focused on their use in classroom context and few studies have focused on their use elsewhere. Attempting to fill this gap, this paper presents a case study of 12 secondary teachers characterising their use of ICT in and out-of-the-classroom. Results show that teachers use these tools inside the classroom for presentations and support some instructional strategies and outside the classroom for lesson preparation, administration and communication, and design of students’ assignments with ICT. However, the analysis of the specific characteristics of these activities shows that beyond these apparently good purposes of ICT use, the quality of the characteristics of the activities is heterogeneous, which can have implications in the effectiveness of the use of ICT in teaching and learning. Based on this, we suggest that in order to take full advantage of the teaching and learning opportunities associated to use of digital tools in education, there is a need to develop teachers’ and students’ digital skills, specifically those associated to searching and selecting information available in the Internet, and developing and presenting information products.

The role of the Internet in teachers’ professional practice: activities and factors associated with teacher use of ICT inside and outside the classroom

Abstract Evidence shows that teachers’ use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom is still limited in variety and frequency. However, their use of ICT outside the classroom, while more frequent, has been less studied. Our research aims to identify personal factors associated with teachers’ ICT use inside and outside the classroom. Data from a questionnaire administered to a nationwide sample of 6932 teachers in Chile was used to characterise their activities and perceptions associated with ICT. Multiple regression analyses were applied to determine relationships between them. The findings show first, that teachers use ICT more frequently outside the classroom for class preparation; second, that their perceptions of ICT impact on professional practice is the main factor associated with their use of ICT inside and outside the classroom; third, that less experienced teachers use communication tools with colleagues and students more often; and finally, that there is a need to examine teachers’ use of (ready-made) Internet resources.

Browsing the internet to solve information problems: A study of students’ search actions and behaviours using a ‘think aloud’ protocol

Many studies show that a large percentage of students lack the digital competencies to solve information problems using the internet. To address this problem, researchers have developed models to structure the process. However, we maintain that it is first necessary to understand how students actually search for information online when solving an information problem and compare their behaviours with the available literature. To do this, we collected and analysed the data on a laboratory setting of 41 students while they solved 16 information problems using the internet and expressed aloud what they were thinking whilst solving them. We identified 21 categories of actions, grouped into 9 activity types associated with four information search processes, showing that some of the students’ stereotyped search behaviours are in fact conscious decisions based on the requirements of the task and the answers found. The results also show that searching for information on the internet can not only vary depending on the task’s requirements, but also on the number of iterations students need to perform to reach an answer. These findings provide some evidence that challenge the assumption that students simply lack the competencies to search for information on the internet; rather, it seems that they show an awareness of different strategies, which they decide to use based on the context and purpose of the task, making their search behaviour more elaborated and complex than is usually portrayed by researchers in the field. Based on this, implications and further research lines are also discussed.