Work in progress: Reducing the Impact of Emergency Remote Teaching Through an Understanding of Personal Digital Ecosystems

Abstract

This work in progress research will interest educational stakeholders in the STEM area dealing with Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and researchers interested in the affordance of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for education and especially providing personalized learning opportunities. The first question of this research seeks to identify students’ general attitudes toward educational ICT. The second question is to identify any common usage patterns. And the third question is to identify affordances of the technology from the perspective of the students. The preliminary findings suggest that recent graduates in the United States have a sophisticated understanding of what educational technology is and how it can benefit their education. This is reassuring when considering the need for a sudden move to off-site teaching necessitated by an ERT. Several concerns were identified, including information quality and distractions from online entertainment. In addition, technical issues are a concern for many respondents. The qualitative questionnaire and coding have provided some insight into the perceived view of educational technology held by recent engineering graduates in the United States. This is an initial phase of this research which is ongoing and will be expanded to include a broader range of analysis techniques.