Browsing by Subject "technology uses in education"

The subject of this study was primary and secondary school pupils' use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim was to study pupils' technology attitudes, experiences and their mastery of ICT. These factors were then cross-referenced with each other as well as differences in pupils' gender, class and the amount of daily computer use. Attitudes towards ICT were defined as perceived self-efficacy, perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness. The mastery orientation in ICT was defined as mastery of ICT use and mastery of critical web research skills. These skills are often regarded as an important part of pupils' 21st century skills. The data was collected by web-based survey from two schools in the city of Vantaa. The participants (n=201) were a mix of fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade pupils. These schools are part of the "Finnable 2020" research project. The data from a web-based survey was analyzed by statistical methods. The differences in ICT attitudes, experiences and mastery were analyzed by using T-test and One-way analysis of variance. The relationships between ICT experiences and mastery were analyzed by correlations and linear regression analysis. The quantitative results from the survey were later supplemented by interviewing pupils. The interview data was analyzed by thematic analysis. According to the results, pupils use computer and internet on a daily basis. Boys play games more often than girls while girls search for information and communicate through web based applications. Majority of pupils like when computers are used at school. Pupils reflected in the interviews that using computers makes learning easier and more fun. Perceived usefulness increased with the amount of daily use. Also mastery of computer use increased with the amount of daily use, but only to a point. The mastery of computer use was best among pupils who used computers 2 3 hours a day. Boys' perceived self-efficacy was higher than girls , but there was no difference in ICT mastery, enjoyment or usefulness between genders. The results show that both ICT experience and mastery explain ICT attitudes, with higher experience and mastery reflecting in a more positive attitude towards ICT.