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Understanding web activity patterns among teachers, students and teacher candidates
Author(s) -
Kimmons R.,
Clark B.,
Lim M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of computer assisted learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.583
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2729
pISSN - 0266-4909
DOI - 10.1111/jcal.12202
Subject(s) - the internet , entertainment , variety (cybernetics) , perception , web resource , psychology , resource (disambiguation) , educational technology , selection (genetic algorithm) , mathematics education , world wide web , computer science , multimedia , art , computer network , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , visual arts
This study sought to understand generational and role differences in web usage of teachers, teacher candidates and K–12 students in a state in the USA ( n = 2261). The researchers employed unique methods, which included using a custom‐built persistent web browser to track user behaviours free of self‐report, self‐selection and perception bias. Results revealed that all three groups utilized a variety of resources daily, but with some noticeable differences. For instance, (1) teachers and teacher candidates used the Internet on school devices much more than students; (2) they accessed general, multimedia, search, entertainment, shopping and social resources at a higher rate than students; (3) students visited a higher proportion of educational websites than their teachers; and (4) teachers visited a higher proportion of search pages than teacher candidates. Results may be useful for researchers (1) to better understand generational differences between groups; (2) to expand educational technology research to better include non‐pedagogical support tools for educators; and (3) to serve as a counterpoint for self‐report data on web resource frequency of use, which may provide different results.