The Impact of Digital Technology on Female Students' Learning Experience in Partition-Rooms: Conditioned by Social Context

• Published in: IEEE transactions on education 2018-11, Vol.61 (4), p.265-273
• Main Authors: Elhussein, Mariam A., Dustegor, Dilek, Nagy, Naya, Alghamdi, Amani K. Hamdan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Classroom Environment; Communication Strategies; Communications equipment; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer science; Computer-based instruction; Conditioning; Cultural differences; Cultural Influences; Digital technology; Education; educational institutions; Educational Technology; Electronic devices; evaluation of CAL systems; Females; Focus groups; Foreign Countries; Global communication; Grade Point Average; Handheld Devices; Influence of Technology; Information technology; Interaction; Islam; Laptop Computers; Learning; learning environment; learning technology; Mobile handsets; pedagogical issues; Pedagogy; Physical Environment; Portable computers; Qualitative analysis; Self Efficacy; Social Environment; Student Attitudes; Student Satisfaction; Student Surveys; Students; Tablet computers; Teacher Student Relationship; Teachers; Technology Uses in Education; Telecommunications; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 0018-9359; 1557-9638
• DOI: 10.1109/TE.2018.2840501

Abstract-Contribution : As expected, a partition-room environment negatively affects students' learning. An unexpected result of this study is that female students occasionally choose not to use the technology available in partition-rooms, to avoid undesirable facial exposure. Background: The main purpose of partition-rooms is to prevent male instructors from seeing female students' faces. In learning environments where instructors and students are physically separated, technology is expected to play an integral role in bridging the gap. In one side of partition-rooms, female students use their own mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones, for course activities and communication; in the other side, the instructor has various digital teaching equipment provided by the institution. Research Question: What effect does a partition-room's physical environment have on female students' academic performance, satisfaction, technology efficacy, and perceived learning? What effect does a partition-room's social environment have on female students' academic performance, satisfaction, technology efficacy, and perceived learning? Methodology: Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were followed. Quantitative results were obtained from a student questionnaire. Qualitative data was gathered in a focus group session. Findings: The communication benefits offered by technology are impaired by both the physical context and the cultural-social context. The latter emerged during focus group discussions where students said that their faces might by revealed in the light emitted by their devices. Thus, local culture and social context limit the benefits of using digital technology in the classroom.