Page 7 - R_EdQuire White Paper Nov 2017 v3.4

EdQuire White Paper: Computer learning behaviour in K-12
Nov 2017 V3.4
Page 7 of 15

Design of such a trial poses a number of privacy and ethical challenges yet to be resolved. In the meantime,
analysing and correlating logs of teacher’s use of the console for interventions may offer more insights.

Another potentially significant factor is that the four schools did self-select for our trials. The low Off-Task
times may reflect the highly motivated, skilled and resourced eLearning coordinators and IT staff who had
effective pre-existing processes for promoting responsible computer use. This is consistent with teacher ICT
advocacy and resources being well documented as important factors leading to the effective use of
computers in schools.

2.5 Computer usage behaviour for boys and girls

Method
To understand whether boys and girls have different computer usage behaviour, we analysed above
computer usage behaviour for boys (N=263) and girls’ (N=286).

Results
Computer use in lessons was similar for both genders (20.6 and 20.2 minutes for boys and girls, respectively).
Boys had statistically significant but modestly higher Off-Task time of 19% per lesson compared to 15% for
girls.

Figure 3 Proportion of On-Task and Off-Task for Boys (left) and girls (Right).

Discussion
While we found significantly higher Off-Task rates in boys, the amount was modest. Further analysis by age
and subject may reveal further, more relevant and useful differences.

2.6 Nature of On-Task and Off-Task activities

Method
To understand the nature of activities, including apps and websites used by students, we calculated the top
10 activities by duration in the On-Task and Off-Task categories for both genders.

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