Factors Influencing Attitudes towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Amongst Undergraduates: An Empirical Study Conducted in Kuwait Higher Education Institutions (KHEIs)

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has largely been explored in relation to undergraduates’ attitudes to ICT usage at university. However, the success of ICT in any learning institution, including higher education institutions (HEIs), depends on the attitudes of undergraduates to using ICT in their daily learning. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the critical factors impacting on ICT use amongst undergraduates in their learning at Kuwait universities. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was appliedto achieve this study aim. A sample of 717 undergraduates was subsequently selected from both a government (state-funded) and private university in Kuwait. The critical factors examined here include the type of university (government or private), the language (medium) of the learning and ICT support. Mixed methods, namely quantitative and qualitative methods, were implemented for the corresponding data collection. The quantitative results suggested that ‘usefulness’ and ‘ease of use’ of ICT are key dimensions of undergraduates’ attitudes to its utilisation in learning. Another result showed that the factors examined had a direct impact on undergraduates’ attitudes. Moreover, the qualitative results suggested that th

Factors Influencing Attitudes towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Amongst Undergraduates: An Empirical Study Conducted in Kuwait Higher Education Institutions (KHEIs)

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has largely been explored in relation to undergraduates’ attitudes to ICT usage at university. However, the success of ICT in any learning institution, including higher education institutions (HEIs), depends on the attitudes of undergraduates to using ICT in their daily learning. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the critical factors impacting on ICT use amongst undergraduates in their learning at Kuwait universities. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was appliedto achieve this study aim. A sample of 717 undergraduates was subsequently selected from both a government (state-funded) and private university in Kuwait. The critical factors examined here include the type of university (government or private), the language (medium) of the learning and ICT support. Mixed methods, namely quantitative and qualitative methods, were implemented for the corresponding data collection. The quantitative results suggested that ‘usefulness’ and ‘ease of use’ of ICT are key dimensions of undergraduates’ attitudes to its utilisation in learning. Another result showed that the factors examined had a direct impact on undergraduates’ attitudes. Moreover, the qualitative results suggested that th

School performance: New multimedia resources versus traditional notes

Con la creciente masificación de las tecnologías de información y comunicación entre los jóvenes, es cada vez más común que los estudiantes de secundaria incorporen el uso de múltiples dispositivos y plataformas en sus hábitos de estudio, lo que sería una fuente de apoyo y motivación, pero también de constante distracción. Esta investigación compara el impacto que tiene estudiar con apuntes escritos a mano, WhatsApp, YouTube y navegando por Internet, en el rendimiento académico, a través de un método mixto que combina 31 grupos focales y una encuesta a 7.217 estudiantes de 12 a 18 años en Chile. El análisis de los grupos focales muestra que el buen uso de tecnologías al estudiar dependería de la capacidad de los estudiantes para controlar y hacer un uso eficiente de los recursos digitales disponibles, de sus motivaciones individuales y de la habilidad que tienen para buscar y evaluar la información en Internet. Por su parte, los resultados de la encuesta concluyen que aquellos jóvenes que estudian con mayor frecuencia con sus apuntes presentan un promedio de calificaciones más alto y los que estudian frecuentemente con YouTube y WhatsApp, un promedio de calificaciones más bajo, sin encontrar diferencias significativas en el caso de los navegadores de Internet. Esto reforzaría la necesidad observada por académicos de generar políticas que promuevan la alfabetización digital tanto dentro como fuera del colegioWith the increasing adoption of information and communication technologies among youngsters, it has become common for high school students to incorporate the use of multiple devices and digital platforms in their study habits. Although these digital resources support and motivate them to learn, these are also a source of continuous distraction. This research analyzes the impact of studying with handwritten notes, WhatsApp, YouTube and searching the Internet in academic performance, through a mixed method that combines 31 focus groups and a survey of 7,217 students from 12 to 18 years of age in Chile. The results of the focus groups show that the positive impact of technologies in learning would depend on the students’ motivation for learning, their ability to efficiently control and manage the available digital resources, and their capacity to search and evaluate information on the Internet. The survey concludes that those who study with their notes more frequently have better academic performance, whereas those who frequently study with YouTube and WhatsApp have a lower GPA, with no significant differences when it comes to internet browsing. These results reinforce the need raised by scholars to generate policies that promote digital literacy both inside and outside the schoo

Movies and TV series fragments in mathematics: Epistemic suitability of instructional designs

There are plenty of books, journals and online sites devoted to the relationship between mathematics and cinema, and its educational applications, whose interest is to explore the pertinence of the instruction processes that can be designed around this resource. Instead of watching a full production, mathematics teachers that include movies and TV series in their classroom sessions, usually show short fragments, so the first step should be to consider these fragments alone to identify the mathematical objects and the involved meanings and representations. For this purpose, we use some theoretical notions from the Onto- Semiotic Approach to research in mathematics education, applying them to three excerpts from a movie and to some typical tasks designed based on them. The analysis of the involved mathematical content allows to reflect about the epistemic suitability of the instruction process, in terms of how aligned they are with the institutional meanings. The results show that it is possible to achieve a high suitability level but, most importantly, that this kind of analysis promotes teacher reflection to design teaching and learning processes

‘New Directions for Traditional Lessons’: Can Handheld Game Consoles Enhance Mental Mathematics Skills?

This paper reports on a pilot study that compared the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) handheld game consoles (HGCs) with traditional teaching methods to develop the automaticity of mathematical calculations and self-concept towards mathematics for year 4 students in two metropolitan schools. One class conducted daily sessions using the HGCs and the Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training software to enhance their mental maths skills while the comparison class engaged in mental maths lessons using more traditional classroom approaches. Students were assessed using standardised tests at the beginning and completion of the term and findings indicated that students who undertook the Brain Training pilot study using the HGCs showed significant improvement in both the speed and accuracy of their mathematical calculations and self-concept compared to students in the control school. An exploration of the intervention, discussion of methodology and the implications of the use of HGCs in the primary classroom are presented

What factors impact on primary students' online engagement for learning and entertainment at home

Informed by the difference of children’s Internet use in formal and informal contexts, this study aims to move away from studying children’s more predictable Internet use in school settings to learning how children use the Internet at home, and what factors impact their online behavior in such contexts. Students from grade 3 to 6 from a school in a medium sized city in China participated in the study. The data reveals that children use the Internet for both entertainment and learning purposes and these two factors are correlated. However, factors influencing Internet use for the two purposes are to some extent different. The study suggests that there is a need to zoom in and analyze children’s Internet use in informal contexts, rather than assume that learning at home is just an extension of learning at school. Policy makers and educators may use information about how children use the internet at home to improve pedagogy to bridge the gap between school and home.postprin

Focus on the journey, not the destination: Digital games and students with disability

The way in which technologies support students with disability has been widely explored in recent times. Much of this research has focused on computer programs specifically designed to teach social and academic skills to students with disability. In the research reported in this paper we examined how students with disability could use technology designed for the general market. The impetus for the study was the principle of normalisation, which espouses that people with disability should have the opportunity to share in experiences of their same-aged peers. In previous research we demonstrated the benefits of using the commercially available hand-held games console Nintendo DS with Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training program with students in mainstream classrooms. This finding led us to consider how this technology could be used to meet specific academic and social outcomes for students with disability in the same settings. We implemented a small-scale study in an Education Support Centre [1] as this setting provided us with the opportunity for a detailed examination of how students with disability might use this technology. We found that students with disability can benefit from using the Nintendo DS with Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training program and have identified how they may use this type of technology in inclusive classrooms. © 2016, Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. All rights reserved