Internet <> SchoolConcepts and Habits of Internet Useamong Students and Teachers in Austria

Research: Axel Maireder, Manuel NaglSupervision: Thomas A. BauerDepartment of Communication, University of Vienna

Research Questions• Terms, forms and consequences of

Internet use in schools• Impact of the school on

Internet practices of students (& teachers)

Method• Exploratory Study• Group Interviews

– 47 teachers– 117 students (aged 13 - 17)– 10 Austrian schools

• Grounded Theory oriented analysis andgenerating of hypothesis

Results• Valuation of the Internet by Students and Teachers• Internet Practices of Students:

– Information Research & Evaluation– Social Communication– Entertainment

• Internet Practices of Teachers in School Contexts• Competences of Students and Teachers• Thesis on particular social phenomena in the area

of Internet and school

Exclusion ofInternetActivities inEvaluationProcesses

• Internet activities arehardly ever rated by teachers

• No impact of evaluationon school reports

• As long as information works in tasks, itis ‘good’ information.

• As ‘everything‘ seems to work, almost allthe information is assessed as ‚good‘.

• Students learn that the quality ofinformation is not ‘that’ important.

Content follows form:Less effort is put into informationresearch & evaluation compared to theappearance of assignments.

„Wenn die Schüler Hund eingeben [in Google] und aufHund kommen, dann drucken sie sich die Seite aus. Abersie haben nichts anderes gelernt als das Wort Hund.“

“If the students type ‚dog‘ [into Google] and come to a dogpage, they print the page. But they have not learnedanything else than the Word ‚dog‘.”

Trust inInformation

• Teachers put trust in informationoriginating from institutional contexts.

• Students put trust in the‚Wisdom of the Crowds‘

„Ja, aber wenn zehn Leute sagen sie [eine bestimmteFelswand] ist 200 Meter hoch und zwei Leute sagen, sieist zwei Meter hoch, dann glaub ich den zehn Leuten.“

“Yes, but if ten people say it [a particular rock wall] is 200meter high and two people say it is two meter high, Ibelieve the ten people.“

„Wenn es in Google vorne ist, muss es ja praktischstimmen.“„If it‘s ahead on Google, it virtually must be right“

Misjudgementof time

Students lose track of timedue to distraction:> Longer internet use> Signs of Fatigue

„Es ist schon nervig, wenn dauernd wer was will. Ich willimmer die Hausübung machen, dann schreibt wer aufMSN, dann leuchtet‘s und ich muss zurück schreiben -dann bin ich wieder bei der Deutsch Hausübung. Dannkommt eine Nachricht, dann leuchtet‘s wieder und dannhabe ich keine Deutsch Hausübung.“

„It is quite annoying if there is always someone who wantssomething. I always want to do my homework, thensomeone writes on MSN, the light flashes and I have towrite back - Then I am working on my Germanhomework again. Then a message comes in, it flashesagain. And finally I don‘t have a German homework“

Students do not assessinternet activitiesas ‚spare time‘!

• Misjudgement of gross-time as net-time• Loss of motivation to work on

Support andInhibitionNetworks

• Students are using online-networks fordoing homework.

• Through permanent informationtransfer they know the ‘task-status’ oftheir classmates.

• Need for finishing homework becomeslower if ‘task-status’ is ‘not finished’.

„Wenn die anderen nix lernen, muss ich auch noch nicht.Zum Beispiel man fragt: ‚Hast du die Hausübung schon?‘- ‚Nein, kenn mich nicht aus‘ - O.K, dann mach ich sieauch nicht und schreib sie ab.“

„If the other‘s still don‘t learn, I don‘t have to. So I ask:‘Have you done the homework yet?’ - ‘No, I don‘t knowwhat‘s it about’ - Okay, thus I don‘t do it either and Itranscribe it from someone else“

• Students establish consensus of passivity• Inhibition of task-related processes

Loss of Control

Teachers feel a loss of controlon different levels:• Technique• Student’s Attention• Knowledge Transfer

• Loss of control is associated withloss of authority

• Fear of losing control becomeseven stronger

Teacher’sKnowledgeGap

• Awareness of relevance of ICT-knowledge

• But lack of practical knowledgein didactics

• Teachers have applied knowledgethrough experience

• But have no trust in their ownknowledge

• Strong insecurity in transferingknowledge to students

Conclusion

Different concepts on themechanisms, principles and potentialof the Internet among teachers and studentsresulting in different strategiesof Internet use.

• Teachers lack ICT knowledge• Teachers lack organisational and

didactical competence• Need for redefining teacher’s role

perception

Thanks for your attention.

Exclusion of Internet Activitiesin Evaluation Processes

Trust in Information Misjudgement of Time Support- and Inhibition Networks Loss of Control Teacher‘s Knowledge Gap

Axel Maireder, Manuel NaglDepartment of CommunicationUniversity of Vienna