Digital Processes Study

Study Title: Secondary School Students' Digital Practices: Towards a Holistic Understanding Across Contexts

During Term 2, the University of Wollongong will be conducting a research study at our school as part of PhD research. The study focuses on how Year 11 students use digital technologies to support their learning outside the classroom.

Data Collection

Phase 1:

• Teacher Interviews: The University of Wollongong Research team be interviewing a small number of teachers to discuss their experiences with digital technologies in education.
• Student Survey: All Year 11 students will be invited to complete a survey, which will take less than an hour. The survey will be sent to students via email and will occur at school. 

Phase 2:

• Student Case Studies: The University of Wollongong Research team invite approximately 6 Year 11 students for detailed discussions. This will involve 
• Two 45-minute interviews
• and the collection of data from their laptop. This is similar to web tracking, but it captures less detailed information and is designed to be less intrusive. It focuses on general usage patterns rather than specific browsing history. The tracker will record:

• URL of websites visited (landing page or homepage of the site listed)
• Time spent
• Date

The tracker will only be installed on the laptop participants use for studying. It works with the Chrome browser and does not collect data in incognito mode. While the tracker runs continuously, participants can review and delete any data they don’t want to share. We will show participants how to do this during the interview. If participants don’t want to use the tracker, we can discuss other options.

Students can choose to engage in both phases or only participate in the survey. 

Risks: While we will not be asking questions designed to cause any distress, we recognise that digital technology use for learning can be a difficult subject and some participants may feel concern when discussing their use of technology.

Benefits: While there are no immediate benefits other than a small thank-you gift card for students who participate in the case studies, the research will contribute valuable insights to a relatively unexplored area and could help inform future educational policies.

Results: The findings will be published in a PhD thesis, journal articles and conference presentations. Your identity and the school’s identity will remain confidential.

The data from the study will also be compiled into a personalised anonymous report providing insights into students' digital practices at your school. This report can be used to help enhance digital literacy and refine digital education strategies.

Participation is voluntary, but we would greatly appreciate your support. Should you wish to opt out of participation in this research, please email the research team with your student's full name and homeroom class before <insert date>. This will not have any impact on their relationship with the school or the University of Wollongong. 

An email with additional information will be sent to all Year 11 students. For any other information about the study, please contact the research team at scaouette@uow.edu.au. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

This study has been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Wollongong (2024/265). If you have any concerns or complaints about how the research is conducted, please contact a UOW Ethics Officer, +61 2 4239 2191 or email uow-humanethics@uow.edu.au. 

Dr Aidan Johnson
Leader of Curriculum and Improvement