Using information and communication technologies

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the need to address the disconnect between middle years students’ personal use and formal classroom use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for learning. It stimulates thinking about how, when, where and why Australian middle years students use ICT in their increasingly connected worlds. The chapter conceptualises a framework that can guide teachers to enable middle years students to learn about ICT and learn through using ICT. Middle years students are now living in a world where access to the internet and a range of digital devices is considered to be a necessity in their personal lives. Various researchers have investigated middle years students and their use of ICT in a range of curriculum learning areas. There is a growing body of research literature related to concerns about middle years students and their use of ICT, such as the more public identification of the problem of cyberbullying.