Access and use of technologies in the home in the UK: implications for the curriculum

Abstract

This article reports on research undertaken as part of the government initiatives to transform educational practices and raise standards through new technologies. In particular, it focuses on differences between home and school experiences of ICT use and formal/informal learning opportunities. First, the issues arising from the growing body of research-based evidence in this field are considered. Second, a discussion of the analysis of three sources of data from the ImpaCT2 project is presented: a pupil log of ICT activity undertaken at home and at school over a period of one week (including a weekend); an internet questionnaire about home and school uses for both school work and leisure pursuits; and a concept mapping task to ascertain pupils' understanding of computers in their world. The article concludes by considering the implications for the curriculum of home experiences of ICT and the benefits of informal learning with ICT.

Primary school students' perceptions of interactive whiteboards

“…As has been shown by research in other countries (DETYA 2001;EC 2003;DEST 2004) independent access and self-directed learning play key roles in improving the quality of students' experiences and learning. This suggests that realising the benefits of ICTs requires more flexible curricula and changes in teacher and student roles (EC 2003;Lewin 2004).…”

On using concept‐maps to study school‐children’s understanding of leisure‐time

“…Hough argues for the use of concept-maps in knowledge assessment as being 'respectful' and 'non-intrusive'. Lewin (2004) asked pupils to draw 'concept-maps' of their understanding of the role of computers in today's world (following Mavers, Somekh, & Restorick, 2002). Stoyanov and Kirschner (2004) used concept-maps to produce useful results in a shorter time compared with using questionnaires and interviews.…”

Is School a Better Environment Than Home for Digital Game-Based Learning? The Case of GraphoGame

“…Earlier studies suggest that home computers typically are used for entertainment, especially for playing games (Harris, Straker, & Pollock, 2013;Hofferth, 2010;Kerawalla & Crook, 2002;Lewin, 2004;Selwyn, Potter, & Cranmer, 2009;Valentine, Marsh, & Pattie, 2005;Vekiri, 2010) or for Internet access, email correspondence, and social media use (Harris et al, 2013;Selwyn et al, 2009;Valentine et al, 2005). School computers, on the other hand, commonly are used for writing and word processing (Harris et al, 2013;Kent & Facer, 2004;Selwyn et al, 2009), learning via educational software (Harris et al, 2013;Kent & Facer, 2004), or looking for information on the Internet (Kent & Facer, 2004).…”

“…In more formal environments such as schools, there are more restrictions (Barendregt & Bekker, 2011;Harris et al, 2013;Lewin, 2004;Valentine et al, 2005). Based on earlier research, it seems that educational computer games are not able to compete with other activities when the child has the freedom to choose which activities to engage in.…”