Smart classroom preferences and information literacy among college students

Abstract

In recent years, smart classrooms have been widely constructed in colleges and universities. To help the design of student-centred smart classroom in compliance with students’ information literacy levels and enable all students to adapt to the smart classroom smoothly, this study utilised a quantitative method to investigate the information literacy and preferences for smart classroom learning environments (PSCLE) of 873 Chinese college students. The results indicated statistically significant effects of college students’ information literacy on the eight dimensions of students’ PSCLE (student negotiation, inquiry learning, reflective thinking, usefulness, ease of use, multiple sources, connectedness, functional design). In addition, three profiles could be identified regarding students’ information literacy. Students with a high level of information literacy obtained significantly higher scores on four of the critical dimensions of PSCLE (student negotiation, inquiry learning, reflective thinking and functional design) than those students with medium or low levels of information literacy. Based on the results, we suggest that college students’ information literacy and their PSCLE should be considered by researchers and education practitioners when designing, constructing and evaluating smart classroom learning environments. Implications for practice or policy: Schools should evaluate students’ information literacy and equip smart classrooms with various information communication technology devices to cater to students’ varying levels of information literacy. Instructors or curriculum designers should develop differentiated instruction strategies and activities for students, in alignment with different levels of information literacy. Institutions and organisations should reconsider evaluation criteria for smart classrooms and incorporate the improvement of students’ information literacy as an important indicator.

College students’ learning perceptions and outcomes in different classroom environments: A community of inquiry perspective

“…Therefore, students would have better perceptions of the smart classroom, interact more in the smart classroom, and ultimately, achieve better performance in the smart classroom in contrast to the “quasi smart” classroom ( Xu et al, 2018 ). Although Yu et al (2022) reported no significant difference in either the interpersonal interaction or the human–technology interaction between the smart and “quasi smart” classroom environments, students were significantly more engaged in the smart classroom than in the “quasi smart” classroom.…”

“…Previous study showed that the effective interaction such as the interpersonal interaction between the instructor and students, peer to peer interaction, human-tech interaction supporting instructor's presentation and management were enhanced in the smart classroom, and the classroom atmosphere 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1047027 was also more harmonious (Yu et al, 2022). Intelligent devices provide more opportunities for the instructor to provide timely and effective guidance to students, and promote individualized and differentiated communication between students and the instructor in the smart classroom.…”

“…Research also indicated that students’ preferences for the learning environments could affect their learning outcomes ( Fraser, 1998 ; Hwang et al, 2017 Zhang et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). Students’ preferences for smart classroom indicated their attitude towards specific technology tools and digital learning resources in a smart learning environment ( Zhai et al, 2016 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). Students’ preferences for the smart classroom could improve the effectiveness of the learning environment ( MacLeod et al, 2018 ; Yang et al, 2018 ).…”

Utilizing the push–pull–mooring framework to explore university teachers' intention to switch from traditional classrooms to smart classrooms in China

“…According to the literature review, the research on the perceived learning efficiency of Chinese college students in smart classroom environment has received more attention (Hu et al. , 2022; Yu et al. , 2022b).…”

How Information Literacy Influences Student’s Online Risk Mitigation

“…Information literacy is the ability to locate, access, assess and use information from variety sources, and represents a key dimension of digital and media literacy [10]. Information literacy is more than the ability to find and present information, but about high-level analysis, synthesis, critical thinking, and problem solving [11]. Therefore, information literacy may be perceived and experienced in a variety of ways.…”