Student Perceptions, Roles and Engagement

When ICT is used to support learning it is intended that this should increase the engagement of students and in most cases increase their independence, so that students are not only required to use ICT competently but may also be required to adjust to changes in their role. That is, using ICT has implications for students beyond their ICT literacy into their perceptions of and preferences for their roles as learners. Early discussions have highlighted that in many cases the students’ role becomes more:

•     Independent and responsible

•     Cooperative and collaborative

•     Directive and negotiative

Students need to develop skills associated with time and resource management, concentration, self-discipline, attention to task and ability to follow instructions. Any changes in role and requirement for new sets of skills needs to be introduced and supported carefully with consideration for those students with opposing perceptions and inadequate previous experience. In a recent Western Australian study with a Year Eight class using computers it was found that while almost all of the students had good ICT skills and positive attitudes there was a tendency for students to want to work by themselves and depend on the teacher (approximately 50%), that was not conducive to computer supported project work and independent online activities.

An important issue is that students respond to and use computers in different ways. It is clear from research that most students like using computers although usually at least 5% do not. In a 1991 survey of the MLC students using laptop computers, 95% liked using their laptops, and most students preferred the appearance of work completed on a computer, with 85% preferring it to paper and pen, dependent on the task (Loader, 1993). Rowe (1993) found that children differed markedly in their use of laptops and the effectiveness of that use. She defined two groups of students, the top and bottom 20% in terms of computer expertise based on student and teacher rankings. She also developed a set of indicators of effective laptop use that were used for profile matching to create four groups of students: orchestrators, amplifiers, machinists, perseverators. Orchestrators were seen as those whointertwine learning and computer use and were confident computer users.  Amplifiers regarded the computer as a separate area of learning while  machinists viewed the computer as non-essential, mainly for use in calculation and word processing. Finally, perseverators made limited use of computers, mainly copying others and using drill and practice packages.

The sense of personal identity is an important issue for learners, particularly for children. There is no doubt that most educators would see value in students being able to personalize the tools they use and this is very much the case with computer systems. In parallel with other forms of literacy, Rowe (1993) emphasizes the importance of computer literacy and that a student “make the computer part of oneself” (p. 71). This is more readily accomplished where the user interface can be customized by the student and the array of tools available can match the needs of the student. However, this means that in a class every student’s system will be different, making it more difficult for teachers and support personnel to provide technical and operational support to the student. This means that the student must be more independent in the use of the computer. In many school situations students are not permitted to customise their own interface, and that may lead to less engagement and empowerment for students.

The provision of more flexible access to ICT requires greater personal responsibility which may be lacking in some students. For example many studies have shown that students will use their computer systems for inappropriate activities from downloading offensive material to playing games during class activity time. This problem was highlighted by a report by SRI International (Crawford & Vahey, 2002) on the use of Palm Pilots in schools where teachers reported some problems with “game playing and off-task beaming” (p. i). On the other hand the report found that some teachers reported positive unplanned uses of the PDAs due to student “discovery of additional software” (p. 41) which is more likely when the students are given more flexible and responsible access.

Does the use of ICT lead to greater engagement and thus improved learning outcomes? Reiger and Gay (n.d.) conducted research on the value of handheld computers to collect data and provide multimedia information on field excursions for students. Their findings were preliminary and inconclusive. Walker, Rockman, and Chessler (2000) found that the students using laptops had improved writing skills and confidence in computer use in comparison to other students, but results on standardized tests were inconclusive. Some students may become frustrated when they perceive that their ICT skills are being underestimated and under-utilised (Becta, 2002).