RSUSSH 2020
IN20-061 A Survey of International Students’ Opinions on Digital Technology at the Master of Education Level at a Thai Private University
Presenter: Thanyapatra Soisuwan
Rangsit University, Thailand
Abstract
This study aimed to find out what the surveyed respondents thought of digital technology and how they used it to support their learning and to identify the strategies that they used in helping them learn at the master’s level. The survey was conducted in Term 1, Academic Year 2019, with a group of 41 international students in the Master of Education Program at a Thai private university. Four open-ended questions with an IOC analysis score of 1 were used in the survey. The responses collected from 41 filled-out surveys were then categorized into themes, of which their frequencies were counted to show the preference level. It was found that students used digital technology currently available to support their learning. They enjoyed the fast speed, convenience, and real-time of the Internet through Google delivers, although caution was given that digital technology should be used for the right purposes. The most common IT gadgets students used were mobile phones and laptops, while the most often employed search engines were Google and Chinese websites and applications. YouTube came in the third. The learning strategies adopted by the participants were group discussion, reading literature (theories and books), and watching YouTube videos. Learning by memorization was found at the bottom of the list. In conclusion, the respondents were using the right learning strategies; however, they could not maximize the use of digital technology because of difficult access to the library databases. It is suggested that the students should be trained to use the resources available and that the academic resource systems should become more accessible.
Citation format:
Chayanuvat, A., Soisuwan, T., & Goenchanart, P.. (2020). A Survey of International Students’ Opinions on Digital Technology at the Master of Education Level at a Thai Private University. Proceeding in RSU International Research Conference, May 1, 2020. Pathum Thani, Thailand.QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Dear Ms. Thanyspatra,
1. Which device of digital technology did participants in your research use most and its benefits?
2. From the popular digital technology serveyed, will it be apllied in theretical or practical field of study?
3. What are respondents' perceptions on the use of these tools and your expectations in your Master students' future implication?
Thank you
Dear Khun Cong Dan,
Thank you for your questions. Here are my answers as below:
1. The resposes both from the questionnaires and the interviews show that the most common IT gadgets students used were: Mobile phones and laptops and its benefits of them are fast and convenient that means it is available for them any place, any time and any way. They know that they can obtain knowledge from all over the world and in real time, especially all that they want from various search engines and applications.
2. From this survey, it will be applied to answer the objective 2 which the result showed that students did use online resources a great deal and they got their computer gadgets that made the search for information easy. This result reflected to the use of library database that the students rarely to use as it is complicate to get through the data and when they are outside the library, they found that it is even more difficut to get the data from the library database.
Moreover, the students showed a tendency to learn from one another in group discussions more than studying alone trying to memorize information. Thus, as teachers, we believe that they are on the right track. Learning cannot or should not be an activity for one person as we now go for collaborative and cooperative learning. Collaborative learning involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task or create a product (Laal and Ghodsi, 2012, p. 486).
3. For the responents' perceptions on the use of these tools, as I explained on question 1, thus I can conclude and give the suggestions for the future research as below:
- More in-depth studies in this area of the various uses of IT to benefit students and their learning
- Identification of the various actions or strategies students adopt while they are doing their master's degrees
-The teachers' perspectives on what they think about whether students effectively use the university library databases
Please note that the limitations of the study is only group was studied in the survey, thus generalizations of this findings cannot be made with other groups of students in other contexts.