Understanding students' use and value of technology for learning

Abstract

Despite significant research in the field of educational technology, there is still much we do not fully understand about students' experiences with technology. This article proposes that research in the field of educational technology would benefit from a sociological framing that pays attention to the understandings and lives of learners. Within a broader study that aimed to investigate students' use and value of technologies guided by Bourdieu's sociological theory, this article reports on qualitative embedded case study data of 12 students in years 9 and 10 from two Australian secondary schools. The article provides detailed accounts of students' experiences with technologies in various contexts with consideration of the milieu in which technology use occurred, illustrating the heterogeneous and complex network of influencing factors on students' technology practices. The findings and discussion augment the application of Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus and capital as a tool to view and understand students' varied and complex experiences and relationships with technology. Despite significant research in the field of educational technology, there is still much we do not fully understand about students' experiences with technology. This article proposes that research in the field of educational technology would benefit from a sociological framing that pays attention to the understandings and lives of learners. Within a broader study that aimed to investigate students' use and value of technologies guided by Bourdieu's sociological theory, this article reports on qualitative embedded case study data of 12 students in years 9 and 10 from two Australian secondary schools. The article provides detailed accounts of students' experiences with technologies in various contexts with consideration of the milieu in which technology use occurred, illustrating the heterogeneous and complex network of influencing factors on students' technology practices. The findings and discussion augment the application of Bourdieu's con-cepts of field, habitus and capital as a tool to view and understand students' varied and complex experiences and relationships with technology.

Use of tablets in primary and secondary school - a case study

“…Another important perspective that is raised by this case study is that several pupils say they learn better by writing in longhand than on a keyboard when taking notes from a lesson. These findings are supported by researchers such as Beckman, Bennett and Lockyer (2014), James and Engelhart (2012) and Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014). More research is needed here, not least because an increasing number of municipalities have been providing tablets for their pupils from the very first year of school.…”

“…These findings are also confirmed by other researchers (Fisher, Lucas and Galstyan, 2013;Burden, Hopkins, Male, Martin and Trale, 2012;Hultin and Westman 2013;Beckman, Bennett and Lockyer, 2014) who show that pupils use technology far more often after receiving a personal digital tool than when they have had to stick to the school classroom or computer lab. Teachers did the same when they were also able to use a range of different technologies to present teaching content, such as different tablet apps or a smart board.…”

“…Frønes and Narvhus (2011) note that the results of PISA 2009 show that Norwegian pupils' use of computers is only minimally linked to performance in reading, natural sciences and mathematics. Research by Beckman and Lockyer (2014) also shows that there is no correlation between the frequency of data use in schools and pupils' performance in tests or examinations, and the PISA 2012 (OECD 2015) confirms this. This is also supported by the SMIL study (Krumsvik, Egelandsdal, Sarastuen, Jones and Eikeland, 2013;Krumsvik, Jones, Øfstegaard and Eikeland, 2016), which highlights the fact that the degree to which the use of ICT increases pupils' learning outcomes depends on access to digital resources in the subject area, and the teacher's digital literacy and ability to adapt lessons to pupils' requirements.…”

“…But is increased use enough when we talk about pupils' learning? For example, Beckman et al (2014) bring up an interesting point when they note that some pupils (aged 14-16 years) said they felt that writing on a keyboard had a negative impact on their own learning. As one pupil put it:…”

Are social media applications a facilitator or barrier to learning for tourism and hospitality management students?

“…For example, Brill and Park (2008) argue that emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and mobile technologies make ubiquitous learning and engaged learning possible. However, researchers struggle to find concrete evidence to prove this proposition (Beckman, Bennett, & Lockyer, 2014). Some authors have drawn upon these studies and concluded that despite the technological revolution, the nature of university teaching and learning remains unchanged (Henderson et al, 2015).…”