A networked learning experience for starting HE students : starter professional practice research

Abstract

This case-study research investigated students’ accessibility to the Internet, their familiarity with a selection of internetworking technologies and the use they made of technologies in a formal learning setting. Questionnaire items, online activity logs and participant-researcher observation were used. Post-compulsory students taking the academic route into higher education and choosing to study computing at a pre-university level claimed relatively high connectivity in their wider life context but many missed opportunities provided during a formal course of study. This work highlights the need for further work investigating students’ experience of networked learning and their expectations of ‘living’ and ‘learning’ technologies, particularly the latter in terms of operability, functionality, presentation and inclusivity of access.