You are here:

Learning outside the walls of the classroom: Engaging the digital natives
ARTICLE

, St. Vincent Girls' High School P.O. Box 1057 Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies. ; , The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus School of Education St. Michael, BB11000 Barbados ; , The University of the West Indies Open Campus Cave Hill St. Michael, BB11000 Barbados

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 30, Number 2, ISSN 0814-673X Publisher: Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education

Full Text

Abstract

This study investigated the response of students and teachers to the use of ICTs to promote teaching and learning outside of the classroom and regular school hours in a Caribbean secondary school. Following an action research design, Grades 10 and 11 Biology students were given access to subject content and learning support through online discussion groups (Google and Facebook), a website that hosted information and an accompanying blog. Data were collected by questionnaire, interviews, and observation. Initially, the students were reluctant to use the discussion groups, though they eventually reported that these facilities provided useful learning support outside of the classroom. They however rejected the Google group in favour of the more familiar Facebook group. Students were so enthusiastic about these resources that they requested that more subject areas be added. Teachers were somewhat reluctant to answer this call, citing the lack of access to equipment and time as deterrents. One year later, the initiative had expanded to the point where the school had acquired additional equipment, had devised a policy for ICT use, additional resources were added to the website and increasingly, students were using their portable devices for academic purposes both in and out of school.

Citation

Veira, A., Leacock, C. & Warrican, S. (2014). Learning outside the walls of the classroom: Engaging the digital natives. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30(2),. Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. Retrieved August 12, 2022 from .

References

View References & Citations Map
  1. Barbados Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (2003). Brief on the GOB/IDB/CDB Education Sector Enhancement Programme. Retrieved from http://www.reform.gov.bb
  2. Bennett, S. & Maton, K. (2010). Beyond the ‘digital natives’ debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students’ technology experiences. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26, 32331.
  3. Burgess, R., Brathwaite, N., Raffoul, J., Vera, T., Fano, A.C., & Legall, G. (2011). Secondary School Modernization Project (SEMP): Project completion report. Report on IADB Project TT00023. Retrieved from http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=36422789
  4. Calvani, A., Fini, A., Ranieri, M., & Picci, P. (2012). Are young generations in secondary school digitally competent? A study on Italian teenagers. Computers & Education, 58, 797-807.
  5. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education(5th ed.). London, UK: Routledge Falmer.
  6. Davis, M.R. (2010). Social networking goes to school. Digital Directions, 3 (June 2010). Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/06/16/03networking.h03.html
  7. Eynon, R. (2009). Harnessing technology: The learner and their context. Mapping young people’s uses of technology in their own contexts – A nationally representative survey, A report for BECTA. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110130111510/http:/research.becta.org.uk/uploaddir/downloads/page_documents/research/reports/ht_learner_context_survey.pdf
  8. Frei, S., Gammill, A., & Irons, S. (2007). Integrating technology into the curriculum. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Educational Publishing Inc.
  9. Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
  10. Gaffer, K., Singh, L., & Thomas, T. (2011). Are we ready for Web 2.0? Evidence from a Caribbean University. Caribbean Teaching Scholar, 1(2), 129-146.
  11. Gaible, E. (2009). Survey of ICT and education in the Caribbean: A summary report, based on 16 country surveys. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank. Retrieved from http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.441.html
  12. Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
  13. Gilbert, P.K., & Dabbagh, N. (2005). How to structure online discussions for meaningful discourse: A case study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(1), 5-18.
  14. Helmer, J.W., & Bloch, N. (2010). Teaching Geography from the blogsphere. The Geography Teacher, 7(2), 73-76.
  15. Hung, H.T., & Yuen, S.C. (2010). Educational use of social networking technology in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(6), 703-714.
  16. Hunter, A.B., Laursen, S.L., & Seymour, E. (2006). Becoming a scientist, the role of undergraduate research in students’ cognitive, personal and professional development. Science Education, 91(1), 3674.
  17. Leacock, C.J., Warrican, S.J., & Veira, A.K. (2013). Knowledge and practices relating to netbook use: The Voices of Primary School Children in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In R. McBride & M. Searson (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2013 (pp. 3260-3266). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
  18. Warrican, S.J., Leacock, C.J., Veira, A.K., & Thomas, K. (2012). Interim report. An unpublished evaluation report to the SVG Ministry of Education.
  19. Li, Y., & Ranieri, M (2010). Are ‘digital natives’ really digitally competent?-A study on Chinese teenagers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(6), 1029-1042. .
  20. Maton, K., & Bennett, S. (2010). The use if ICT’s at the University of Sydney: A report on the experiences of students and teaching staff. Office of the DVC(E), University of Sydney, Sydney.
  21. Matthews, K.E., Andrews, V., and Adams, P. (2011). Social learning spaces and student engagement. Higher Education Research & Development, 30(2), 105-120.
  22. McMullin, B. (2005). Putting the learning back into learning technology. In G.O’Neill, S. Moore & B. McMullin, (Eds.), Emerging Issues in the Practice of University Learning and Teaching. Dublin: AISHE, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-1/mcmullin-D01-M10-2004.pdf
  23. Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago. (2010). Strategic report (Final). Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.tt/spotlightPDFs/MOE_Strategy_Report_Nov_2010.pdf
  24. Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago. (2012). ECal ICT in education innovative award 2012. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.tt/ecal_ict.html
  25. National Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. (2011). Statistics. Retrieved from http://ntrc.vc/index.php/ Statisticspg
  26. O’Donnell, M. (2006). Blogging as pedagogic practice: artefact and ecology. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 17(3), 5-19.
  27. Oludipe, B.D. (2009) Secondary school teachers’ perceived benefits of ICT to science teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/14572475/Secondary-School-Teachersperceived-benefits-of-ICT-to-Science-Teaching-And-Learning
  28. Papp, R. (2010). Virtual worlds and social networking: reaching the millenials. Journal of Technology Research, 2, 1-15.
  29. Pearson, M., & Naylor, S. (2006). Changing contexts: teacher professional development and ICT pedagogy. Education Information Technology, 11, 283-291.
  30. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
  31. Reeves, T.C. (1998). The impact of media and technology in schools: A research report prepared for the Bertelsmann Foundation. Athens: The University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://itech1.coe.uga.edu/~treeves/edit6900/BertelsmannReeves98.pdf
  32. Schlechty, P. (2001). Shaking up the school house: How to support and sustain educational innovation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
  33. Schrum, L., & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st century schools: harnessing technology for engagement and achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  34. Selwyn, N. (2009). The digital native – Myth and reality. Aslib Proceedings, 61(4), 364 – 379. Retrieved from www.emeraldinsight.com/0001-253X.htm
  35. Trucano, M. (2005). Knowledge maps: ICT in education. Retrieved from http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.8.html
  36. Warrican, S.J. (2006). Action research: A viable option for change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(1), 1-14.
  37. Watson, D.M. (2001). Pedagogy before technology: rethinking the relationship between ICT and teaching. Education and Information Technologies, 6(4), 251-266.
  38. Wheeler, S. (2001). Information and communication technologies and the changing role of the teacher. Journal of Educational Media, 26(1), 7-17.
  39. Zaidieh, A. (2012). The use of social networking in education: Challenges and opportunities. World of Computer Science and Information Technology Journal, 2(1), 18-21.

These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.

Suggest Corrections to References

Links

Also Read

Related Collections