Faculty frequently express concerns about students’ personal use of information
and communication technologies in today’s university classrooms. As a requirement
of a graduate research methodology course in a university in Ontario,
Canada, the authors conducted qualitative research to gain an in-depth understanding
of students’ perceptions of this issue. Their findings reveal students’
complex considerations about the acceptability of technology use. Their analysis
of the broader contexts of students’ use reveals that despite a technological revolution,
university teaching practices have remained largely the same, resulting in
‘cultural lag’ within the classroom. While faculty are technically ‘in charge’, students
wield power through course evaluations, surveillance technologies and
Internet postings. Neoliberalism and the corporatisation of the university have
engendered an ‘entrepreneurial student’ customer who sees education as a means
to a career. Understanding students’ perceptions and their technological, social
and political contexts offers insights into the tensions within today’s classrooms
