Researching students voices:

The project grew out of our previous research on access and use of ICTs. We found we had alot of information about what students were and were not doing but could only guess as to why. So we set out to undertake an explanatory case study of different groups of students to find out more about  the how and why of their technology use.

We started with a survey StudentQuestionnaireFinal.doc at the start of the first semester where we asked students about how they had learnt to use ICTs, where they had access to to them and then how often they undertook various social and learning related activities. The aim was to expand our sample base but it turned out that this in itself was interesting.

It showed us that there was a group of students who had poor ICT skills, low access and low use YET they all had cell phones which the majority (72%) used often for texting and chat (eg Mxit) and for about a third of these students were the only form of computer and internet access off campus.

So whilst these students are not perceived as “computer literate” by universities they do have an established digital identity and set of practices.  This reminds us that access is increasingly being determined by connectivity and not location and that we are probably not anticipating the ways that students are using cellphones for their learning.

The resonates with research by Jonathon Donner and Tino Kreutzer which provide have links to some fascinating findings about cell phone use in South Africa

This blog is about Phase 3 of CET's Access and Use Project. Building on previous research on access to and use of ICTs for teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions in South Africa, phase 3 (funded by the International Development Research Centre - IDRC) explores students experiences in their own voices (through interviews and focus groups). We are particularly interested categories of students namely those

• who don't use ICTs much but have good access
• with moderate to high use but with poor conditions of access
• with a wide variation of use in high access conditions

The project started at the beginning of 2009 and we have almost finished the first two phases of our data collection phase. We are keen to share our research through this blog and hope to connect with people undertaken similar research and those that are interested in the issues facing students at universities (particularly in an African contexts).

Who is the "we"?

Well Laura Czerniewicz is the principle investigator and Cheryl Brown the project manager and researcher. And to date we have been assisted by very capable students assistants who are doing phone interviews (Mavourneen Street, Hayley McEwen and Zolani Kupe) as well as a hoard of students doing transcribing (Zolani, Sabah, Ekari, Nicolas, Thabisa, Leanne, Themba).