Editor’s Note: This is an interesting paper in that it moves forward from studies of homework before the computer era, and draws focus to options available for an increasing number of students today. Computer offer certain efficiency and motivational opportunities, but parental and environmental influences continue to play an important role. The authors have taken great care in setting up the experimental conditions, and are cautious in analysis and verification of testing conclusions.

A Study of the Attitudes Use of Information Technology
and Multimedia Tools by 8^th Graders in Realisation of
Homework Purposes and Techniques

Erdem Ongun, Dilek Altas, Askin Demirag

Turkey

Abstract

This study aims at measuring the attitudes of secondary school students towards the use of information technologies ranging from the Internet, editing and multimedia tools while they are doing their homework in the light of the Turkish Ministry of National Education’s regulation related to elementary and secondary school students’ extra-curricular activities. The centre of the research is 8^th graders from five randomly chosen schools and similarly 435 students in the city of Istanbul. This study gathered quantitative data on gender, parental education, students’ attitudes towards and efficiency in the use of computers and the Internet tools while doing homework. The findings indicate that learners enjoy using computer and the Internet tools and they developed a positive attitude towards doing homework on the computer and the Internet.

Keywords: homework, education, motivation, information and communication technologies, multimedia, Internet, young learners, statistical analysis

Introduction

Involvement in a learning practice is a multi-faceted dimension that encircles learners’ both internally and externally. Universally, actors of the learning process are mainly known to be learners and teachers. The other two essential parts of that complicated process are the setting where learning and teaching are realised and the materials used. So what about homework? Homework, as an intermittent medium, has often been a matter of discussion as to whether it can be regarded as a reinforcement or extra load on students’ shoulders that they have to carry home and which they often the sake of their parents or teachers’ contentment. In this regard, homework needs to be studied more closely in terms of its role in the learning process and whether it should be inside or outside the learning and teaching circle. Developing technologies offer a wide range of use of facilitators in many disciplines as well as in education. Today’s learners no longer visit concrete libraries to prepare their homework or projects. On the contrary, they just click on the entrance of virtual libraries where they can find millions of downloadable or copyable sources. As a result, the new trend in doing homework has evolved with great changes and influences from past to present. The issue bears essential focal points to study regarding students’ changing perceptions and attitudes and importance and style of new homework trends especially with young learners.

Literature Review

Technological advances also permit us to ascertain whether new instructional methods modify or even magnify children’s learning style. Some studies report change in learning style as a function of computer-assisted learning. As the Internet and other computer-based communication tools become prevalent in homes, students’ use of these tools for their homework will rise. Researchers have already begun to examine the ways that families make use of computer technology for educational purposes. Students have already been using computer technology in completing their homework assignments, for example, by searching web sites and using CD-ROMS for research projects, communicating with peers and experts through the Internet, and using the computer as a tool for writing and graphing. A systematic use of computer technology for homework design offers other exciting possibilities for individualizing homework for students.

Homework is often regarded as an outside activity. Homework is a kind of out-of-school learning that has not yet received the serious attention that it merits in the research literature. Learning at school and at home are similar in several ways. The student’s ability to learn does not change. The same level of intellectual ability is used to learn at home and at school. Learning at school and at home are also different in several ways: e.g.: the quality of the teacher– learner interaction, the dynamics of the classroom group, and other characteristics of the school in which learning takes place. Similarly, out-of-school learning at home is affected by a myriad of additional and unique factors not found in school: The characteristics of the home environment; the influence of parents, siblings, and friends; and the existence of other activities that compete for the children’s time, attention, and effort. However, the major difference between learning at school and at home is that the learner has choices not only about whether to do the homework at all, but also about the circumstances and surroundings in which to do it.

Homework is a powerful tool that can contribute to the advancement of children’s education and knowledge or it can do more damage than good to these enterprises. Proper use of homework can lead to significant improvement in academic achievement. Homework is an ongoing enterprise in all academic settings, it is there to be used and does not have to be discovered or invented. However, in its current form it is often part of the problem and not part of the solution. In order for homework to become a positive and powerful force in education, change will have to take place about how homework is understood, how it is used in schools, and how it is done at home. On the other hand, results from a related study show that overall, more students wanted to and actually do their homework well to satisfy parents and teachers, although some students commented that they do their work for themselves but not to please others; these students represented a minority in the classes tested.

Marzano (2001) states that homework and practice are instructional techniques are well- known to teachers. Both techniques provide students with opportunities to deepen their understanding and skills relative to content that has been initially presented to them.

School systems need to give serious attention both to increasing awareness of homework motivation and preferences in children and in parents and to providing them with the information and techniques required to accommodate homework assignments to these preferences as well as their motivation levels and sources (Roberta M., 2000).

Individual differences play an important role in assigning homework.  As far as visual and auditory tools are concerned, Milgram (2000) suggests a wide variety of ways that perceptual-physical preferences can be taken into account while assigning homework to students. A few examples of these can be given as auditory and visual. Some children prefer homework assignments that require them to listen to tapes or CDs that contain material to be used in doing the homework, and also prefer to hear homework instructions. Other learners prefer assignments that involve reading or watching films, and prefer to see written homework instructions. Computers, in that sense, provide a rich environment supporting both auditory and visual aids.

In his study related to age differences in understanding the social complexity of the Internet, Yan (2003) suggests that children begin to understand the Internet as a complex artefact cognitively and socially during the 9–12 age range. Again, the older students get the more they develop positive attitudes towards exploiting new media technologies such as the Internet and computer mediated tools in doing or perhaps organizing homework. In addition to this, Kupperman and Fishman (2001) state that as more and more K—12 students gain access to the Internet at home and at school, the potential exists for students, families, and schools to use this resource in new ways.

The Internet offers a direct, effective, and novel method for communicating varied information that can be accessed at the convenience of its users: it can serve as an interactive tool for individualizing homework and supporting the involvement of families in the homework process (Salend, 2004).

In the study carried out by Allain and Williams (2006), four sections of introductory astronomy were compared in various homework situations, from no graded homework to graded homework online. Results show that there are no significant differences in conceptual understanding or test scores. Students did report spending more time studying course materials outside of class when online homework was graded. Aksüt et al. (2008) in their study state that students are having difficulties in doing homework at Internet cafés, their teachers are incompetent in using information technologies and public and school libraries don’t meet the needs for “performance homework” that was recently put forward by the new regulation. Along with technological renovation of schools, Aksüt (2008) and colleagues also suggest that students’ homework performance will be positively affected if teachers are given intensive training on information and education technology use.

In their study, Cakiroglu et al. (2008) state that although students defined it as plagiarism to use another person's idea or a part of their work and pretend that it is your own, they still did not hesitate to copy and paste from the Internet while preparing homework and projects.

Risks might appear at an excessive and uncontrolled use of such tools on both students’ and parents’ side as ministry’s regulation over generalises homework preparation instruments without any specifications regarding rapidly changing up-to-date technologies. Such risks are also described in Kodippili and Senaratne’s (2008) study where they have some interesting findings that should be considered as shortcomings when drawing inferences from a comparison of computer-generated interactive mathematics homework being more effective than traditional instructor-graded homework. The risks are: lack of complete random assignment of participants, small sample size, failure to control for extraneous influences such as ‘students receiving tutorial support from the school and, finally, the effect of intervening variables such as gender, age, etc. These shortcomings may raise questions as to whether computer-generated homework preparation can be recommended by teachers and parents without any limitations as students seem to enjoy and exploit not only innovative tools but also fun ones. Similar to Kodippili and Senaratne’s (2008) study, Smolira (2008) examined student perceptions concerning online homework assignments in an introductory finance class. In general, students felt that online homework was preferable to traditional homework assignments that are turned in to the instructor. In addition, students reported that the homework assignments increased their understanding of the material and the time they spent in preparing for the class. Finalising the issue of online versus traditional homework, Mendicano (2009) found that students learned significantly more when given computer feedback than when doing traditional paper-and-pencil homework. Given the large effect size, it may be worth the cost and effort to give web-based homework when students have access to the needed equipment, such as in schools that have already implemented one-to-one computing programs.

On the other hand, parents’ role in their children’s involvement in homework should not be disregarded. Wight (2009) and colleagues state that education may facilitate positive parenting practices. Accordingly, parents with higher levels of education negotiate the demands of work and family more successfully—enhancing their ability to be present during high-risk periods for teens. They conclude that teenagers from these better-educated parents might be expected to spend more time engaged in educational-related activities such as homework.

As a final point to consider in terms of sexual differences regarding type of homework performances, findings in a study carried out by Eralp (2008), show that 70% of students had positive attitudes towards online homework assignments (OHS). Males tend to use online homework assignments (OHS) more effectively and practically than females, however, in terms of ethical issues female students are more careful. Computer ownership and increasing proficiency in computer and Internet use affects students’ attitudes towards OHS positively. Mothers’ and fathers’ educational background appears to have an effect on students’ attitudes in terms of practicability and ethics.

Current studies point out that homework is not a single activity that is assigned to students. It is rather an involvement covering many other actors in the process. Instruments used, parental interest and background, teachers and sexual differences are some of these factors that researchers have drawn greater attention to.

Method

The study aims at measuring the relationship between the attitudes of 8^th graders towards the use of information technologies ranging from the Internet, editing and multimedia tools (visual and auditory) and to what extent variables such as punctuality, quickness and better performance affect students’ organizing their homework in the light of the Turkish Ministry of National Education’s regulation related to elementary and secondary school students’ extra-curricular activities. For data analysis, Chi-Square Test was used as the variables were qualitative.

Data Collection Technique and Sample Properties

Students responded to a questionnaire consisted of 13 questions. While preparing the questions, Part III of the Turkish Ministry of National Education’s regulation was taken into consideration. The regulation related to elementary and secondary school students’ extra-curricular activities overall has six parts with 31 articles. Part III of the regulation specifically includes statements related to objective (Article 8) and importance (Article 9) of doing homework and homework preparation techniques (Article 21). Article 8 has 13 paragraphs clearly defining the main objectives of homework. These basically include statements such as promoting the habit of doing homework more attentively and punctually, developing necessary knowledge and skills for planning, being able to collect required sources and materials for homework and use them accordingly and develop different perspectives about homework, building self-confidence, communication and cooperation along with attitudes towards observation, research, exploration and creativity in homework. Regarding the importance of doing homework Article 9 clearly defines homework as a part of the teaching and learning process which students enjoy doing it on their own or in groups which have the will and excitement for achievement and study. Finally, Article 21, which deals with homework preparation techniques, states that homework can be prepared using techniques such as reading course books and readers, observation, presentation, employing different forms of interviewing and application of questionnaires. The questionnaire questions in the study included respectively sex, parents’ educational background, Internet use goals and settings (home, school, Internet café or so.), and online and offline multimedia tools used for organizing homework. Thus the questionnaire was developed to suit the associate grade students and the above mentioned articles of homework regulation in the present study. The first item was about students’ sex. The next two questions were mainly about their parents’ education level and finally, in last 10 questions participants responded on a 2 and 5 point scale (a) Yes; (b) No and multiple choice) as to the efficiency, frequency and possible benefits of the use of online and offline tools while editing and organizing their homework.

The sample for this study included 435 students who were randomly chosen from 8^th grades in five elementary and secondary schools in the city of Istanbul. The reason for choosing an advanced grade for the study lies in the fact that those students have more and better computer literacy skills compared to lower grades and these students are more likely to exploit benefits of technological tools.

Statistical Analysis

After the questionnaire data were collected, they were recoded and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 17. Relationships between variables were analysed using Phi coefficient as some variables were dichotomous. If the Phi-coefficient happens to have a nominal scale, only in 2*2 dimensional Tables, it is a coefficient that helps determine the level of unity between variables (Ozdamar, 1999). This coefficient (Cilan, 2009) is calculated as Ø =f₁₂(f₂₁)-f₁₁(f₂₂) /f_.1f_.2f_1.f_2.

Findings

Frequency Analysis

Participants in the study were 48.7% male and 51.3% female. This ratio provides an equal targeted balance in data assessment process regarding gender. As for the parental education percentages of participants, it was found that 11% of mothers were primary school dropouts; 34% had primary school diplomas; 17% had secondary school diplomas; 26% had high school diplomas and, finally, and only 12% were university graduates. The collective data related to fathers’ educational background shows that 6% of fathers were primary school dropouts; 25% had primary school diploma; 23% had secondary school diploma; 26% had high school diploma and 20% were university graduates. Although it is not directly related with our study, we wanted to look into the data to see whether mothers or fathers, regarding their educational background, could be of any help to their children with their homework in terms of their guidance. The related data shows that fathers are more educated than mothers. Still overall, only 32% of parents are university graduates, which may signify an indirect relationship between a higher education level versus higher computer literacy. Data regarding computer and Internet use according to frequency and place starting with home use shows that 32% of students used their computers and the Internet frequently; 41% did so moderately; 18% used them little; 9% of students didn’t use their computers at home at all. Data concerning computer and the Internet use at school shows that 0,5 of students used their computers and the Internet at school frequently,  7,6 % used moderately; 60% used little and finally 32% of students did not use their computers and the Internet at school at all. Data concerning computer and Internet use at Internet cafés shows that 4% of students used them frequently; 15% moderately; 60% of them used little; 28 % of students didn’t use them at all. Apart from this, 12% of students answering the questionnaire stated that 4% of them used computers and the Internet moderately in other places apart from those listed above while 12 % used them little.

Ninety-four % of students stated that they had an e-mail address while 6% reported not to have one. This data shows that students greatly tend to prefer written communication on line. In addition to this, 64% of students reported that they used chat programs in general while 36% did not, which signifies that students prefer snd enjoy online texting. As far as students’ attitudes towards the goals of benefiting from computers and the Internet are concerned, results from the related question are as follows.

From Table 1 below showing for what purposes computer and the Internet are used by students, it can be inferred that a majority of students used computers and the Internet mainly for doing homework (67,6%) followed by those who used them for fun and gaming ( 64,1%); doing research ( 50,3%) ; for chat ( 49,2%). This means students are inclined to use technology for fun as a secondary choice.

Table 1

Question 8: Goals of using computers and the Internet

Correlation Analyses

As to whether there is an independence between “organizing homework better” and “doing homework more quickly and punctually” and “planning homework better” by using computer and the Internet tools while doing homework was evaluated through Phi-Correlation coefficient as the data were dichotomous. Obtained findings are displayed in the Table below.

Table 2

Using computer and the Internet tools while doing homework

According to the results in Table 2, no significant relationship was found between the Internet tools (browsers, e-mail, texting services-MSN etc) and variants.

Table 3

Using MS Office Tools

In Table 3, a relationship was found between MS Office tools and “I can organise my homework better” (sig. =0.003) and “I can plan my homework better” (sig. =0.004)

Table 4

Using Visual Tools

Table 4 shows that a significant relationship was found between the use of visual tools and “I can organise my homework better” at 5% (sig. =0.000).

Table 5

Using Auditory tools

In Table 5, a significant relationship was found between the use of auditory tools (players and recording tools) and “I can organise my homework better” (sig. =000).

Table 6

Crosstab for Gender -Question 10: “I can organise my homework better
by using visual and auditory tools on the computer and the Internet”

As seen in Table 6,. 48.7 % of students answering the questionnaire are male and 51.3 % are female. 47.8 % of female and 43% of male students reported that they could organize their homework better by using related tools on the computer and the Internet.

Table 7

Chi-square Test

Table 7 shows that as the sig. value related with Chi-square test is 0.068, it was found that there is a significant relationship between gender and “I can organize my homework better using computer and the Internet tools” statement at 5% significance level.

Table 8

Gender – Question 11: “I can organise my homework more quickly and
punctually by using the tools on the computer and the Internet” Crosstab.

As seen in Table 8, 46.2 % of female students and 40.2 % of male students stated that they could do their homework more punctually and quicker by using the tools on the computer and the Internet.

Table 9

Chi-square Test

Table 9 shows that as the sig. value related with Chi-square test is 0.021, it was found that there is a significant relationship between gender and “I can do their homework more punctually and quickly by using the tools on the computer and the Internet” statement at 5% significance level.

Table 10

Gender – Question 12: “I can plan my homework better
by using the tools on the computer and the Internet” Crosstab.

As seen in the Table 10, 46.9 % of female and 41.1 % male students stated that that they can plan their homework better by using the tools on the computer and the Internet.

Table 11

Chi-square Test

Table 11 shows that as the sig. value related with Chi-square test is 0.024, it was found that there is a significant relationship between gender and “I can plan my homework better by using the tools on the computer and the Internet” statement at 5% significance level.

Conclusion

As specified in the related parts of the National Education Ministry’s regulation related to elementary and secondary school students’ extra-curricular activities, homework, an essential tool in education, is meant to serve as a basic educational medium that helps students develop and improve personal and academic skills. Our results regarding the attitudes towards the use of information technology tools by elementary and secondary school students in realisation of homework purposes and techniques show that parents’ educational background plays an important role in homework performance. This reminds us of studies of parental involvement in homework with negative and positive effects on parents and children. Although all parents might have the best intentions when they try to help children with homework, some parents have more skills or advantages than others do. They may, for example, have more education, better understanding of how to break a problem into parts, or more effective motivational techniques (Voorhis, 2003). In addition to this, results from Xu’s (2010) study suggest that parents can exert positive influences on homework purposes as perceived by children. They further suggest that the kind of direction parents give to children matters more than if parents have a higher education. This is good news for families from diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Families of all kinds can play a role in helping their children develop positive attitudes toward homework during the secondary school years.

Overall, data concerning frequency and spatial use of computers and the Internet by students show that there is little reinforcement at school for students to use computers and the Internet. Whereas, they more often use them at home use and use them little at Internet cafés. This brings the issue to a controversial point whether there is a control or supervision over students’ home use of computers and the Internet while doing homework. As suggested by Milgram, (2000), the goal of a computer in every home is not yet realized, but teachers should recognize that computers can be the homework tool of choice for many learners and should use them in planning individualized homework assignments.

While our participants regardless of gender widely enjoy online communication through either text messaging or chatting, they also state that their main objective in using computer and the Internet is to do research and homework. This shows that as young learners they are quite aware of possible and effective tools available on their computers and the Internet. As computer technology offers a comprehensive content of visual and auditory tools, teachers and families need to take this into consideration when assigning homework to students.

Although most children like participants in our study feel more comfortable with the use of online and offline tools in their engagements, it should be kept in mind that apart from their enhanced efficiency, computer technologies alone should not be prescribed as a unique cure for extra-curricular educational activities such as homework. Our study is meant to shed light on what attitudes students in the study have towards computer mediated homework performance and preparation techniques in comparison to what is stated in the school regulation. Obtained results in general put forward a positive but still attentive approach concerning students’ use of computers and the Internet tools in doing homework. The line between education and entertainment is so delicate that objectives and tools stated in the Ministry’s regulation regarding homework can change lines depending on how computers and the Internet enter the scene. We hope that this study has managed to draw attention to highlighted theory and changing practice of students’ homework preparation attitudes and techniques for the present and for future applications.

References

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Additional  Reference

Turkish Ministry of National Education (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı)
 http://mevzuat.meb.gov.tr/html/20336_0.html  (visited: 20.06.2010)

About the Authors

Erdem Ongun (PhD in IT) is an instructor and also Level Coordinator at English Preparatory School in Kadir Has University in Istanbul. He teaches skills in English and coordinates computer assisted language practices at the Prep. School. He is also the co-designer of Prep. School’s web-page. His research interests are CALL, Distance Education and Applied Educational Technologies.

E-mail: erdem.ongun@khas.edu.tr

Dilek Altas is an Association Professor at Department of Econometrics in Marmara University in Istanbul. She teaches subjects as Statistical Analysis, Data Analysis and Probability. Her research interests are Multivariate Statistical Techniques, Applied Statistics and Bootstrapping.

E-mail: dilekaltas@marmara.edu.tr

Askin Demirag is an instructor in the Faculty of Commercial Sciences in Yeditepe University in Istanbul. He teaches Data Structures and Database Applications courses at the Information Systems and Technologies Department. His research interests are e-Transformation, Data Warehousing and Data Mining.

E-mail: ademirag@yeditepe.edu.tr