‘Do we need to use a wiki, Miss?’

Student choice and preference for using technologies to support learning

Abstract

Blogs, wikis, nings, Google, del.icio.us, YouTube, Skype, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter… the list is endless. Social networking technologies have become an integral part of life – supporting our work, learning and social activities on a daily basis. As new technologies emerge, we make decisions about adopting these as part of the suite of tools we prefer to use to complete information, communication and learning tasks. As social networking technologies are integrated across the curriculum in schools, how do students cope with the introduction of these new technologies, particularly with regard to the development and management of their own personal technology toolkit? What features of new technologies are valued by students in supporting their learning? What factors influence students’ decision making in terms of adopting or rejecting a new technology as part of their personal toolkit? These questions are explored based on findings of a doctoral study which examined the use of Web 2.0 technologies to support students’ completion of an inquiry-based assignment.