Searching for Information on-Line and off-Line: Gender Differences among Middle School Students

Abstract

There has been a national call for increased use of computers and technology in schools. Currently, however, little is known about how students use and learn from these new technologies. This study examines how students search for, browse, and learn specific information when performing an on-line (Web) versus an off-line (Library) search. Twenty-eight eighth grade students between the ages of 13 and 14 were randomly assigned to one of the two search conditions (Web or Library), each balanced by gender. All participants significantly improved their knowledge of the target question ("How do mosquitoes find their prey?") from pre-test to post-test. The Web was superior to the Library in supporting students search for target-specific information. There was an interaction in which boys in the Web condition learned more target-specific and target-related information than the girls. Several related findings are explored which may help explain this result.

Gender Patterns in Hypertext Reading

“…Additionally, females did not use the serial overview strategy whatsoever, while they used the serial strategy much more (33.33%) compared to males (13.33%). Roy et al [37] found differences in the use of search strategies with females demonstrating proportionally more vertical movement. They noted that such results suggest that young females were much more linear and thorough navigators than young males.…”

“…Some found that females are more successful in web-based learning [33], while others found that males performed better [34][35][36], and some others reported that there was no significant difference between genders in their learning ability [12,[17][18][19][20]. However, little is known about how users are able to make use of and learn from new technologies [37].…”

Factorial invariance across gender of a perceived ICT literacy scale

“…Or is it because the males are able to employ more effective information seeking strategies such as searching, scanning, and browsing than the females? (Roy, Taylor, & Chi, 2003). From a broader Note: CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit.…”

“…Digital competence in their study was defined as students' ability to access, process, evaluate, produce, and communicate information with the aid of technology. Using the self-assessment scale about ICT use in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys in 2003and 2006, Zhong (2011 found that boys reported higher digital skills than did girls in the two years and digital skills here referred to students' perceived ability to finish some designated tasks on computers and the internet.…”

Gender and information processing in electronic age

“…Some found that females are more successful in web-based learning [30], while others found that males performed better [31,32], and some others reported that there was no significant difference between genders in their learning ability [11,[16][17][18][19]. However, little is known about how users are able to make use of and learn from new technologies [33], and because of that there is a need for further research in the field in order to take full advantage of their use.…”