Interest-driven digital practices of secondary students: Cases of connected learning

Liping DENG*, Jan CONNELLY, Miki Lau

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The study examines Chinese students' interest-driven practices outside of the classroom setting, and in particular how such practices are mediated by digital technologies and connected with school-based learning. It reports on the cases of connected learning extracted from a large research project that explored students' engagement with digital technologies. Drawing on the data collected through in-depth interviews and online artifacts, this paper portrays the digital practices of three secondary students in pursuit of their hobbies. The results show that students' interest-driven practices are manifested through four inter-connected dimensions: information consumption, sharing and production, interaction and participation, and problem-solving. Furthermore, their interest-based practices facilitate extra-curricular activities and complement formal in-school learning. There are also indications that teachers can play a guiding and supportive role in bringing together interest-based and school-based learning.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)45-54
Number of pages10
JournalLearning, Culture and Social Interaction
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2016

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Education

User-Defined Keywords

  • Connected learning
  • Informal learning
  • Interest-driven learning
  • Youth digital practices

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