z+Prior+Proposal


 * This is the research proposal submitted with my application for admission to the doctorate program (once accepted, deferred for a year to finish Masters first), however would like to change/shift the focus as per the new Research Proposal page.

__ RESEARCH PROPOSAL TITLE: __ ** The extent of Australian adolescents’ technology use outside of the secondary classroom in an examination preparation context. The problematic I would like to investigate is as follows: To what extent do Australian adolescents use technology outside of the secondary classroom to prepare for an examination? What then is the role of technology in an effective home learning environment for these students? 2.1 Background ** Working in secondary school education, initially as a secondary school teacher and now running my own educational consulting business where I develop study skills resources and programs for schools, I have noticed a marked trend in the issues that are troubling the school community with respect to adolescents’ ability to learn effectively outside of the classroom and to prepare for their assessment activities. In particular parents are concerned about formal written examination assessments. Although students are assessed through a variety of different activities during the year, it is the written examinations - both internally and externally administered exams, often held at the end of a semester, that are of most concern. Parents are concerned about how students are preparing for this type of assessment and the role of technology in the preparation process. As to whether this particular form of assessment is worthy or effective is a debate for a different paper; it is enough to accept that it is a reality in this current educational climate in Australia where schools are expected to at least partially assess adolescents in this manner. Concerns about technology in general are also high on the school community’s agenda. Parents and teachers are concerned that adolescents are studying with their iPods blaring and are concurrently using other technologies and want to know whether these affect their ability to learn. There are concerns about the amount of time adolescents spend on the Internet and the activities they are undertaking during this time. Adolescents are not only constantly struggling with how to deal with more common distractions such as TV and music, but now also the increasing range of computer-mediated communication technologies and environments: multi-user domains, social networking sites, media sharing and personal publishing opportunities, instant messaging applications as well as constant communication and sharing on non-computer technologies such as mobile phones. This creates continual conflict with parents. The current generation of adolescents has grown up engulfed and immersed in all forms of technology. They are connected 24/7 and have moved on from the Generation Y label to be called the ‘Millennium Generation’ or ‘Net-Geners’ or the ‘Digital Generation’ (Huntley, 2006). These are students who have never known a world without remote controls, CDs, cable TV, mobiles and computers. ‘Technology’ is of course a broad term. Rather than then limiting the forms of technology to communication technologies or computer based technologies, the scope of technology covered is limited only by what is actually used, or not used, by adolescents in their preparation for this type of assessment activity. Therefore initially all forms of technology will be considered but with the focus being on computer based technologies, personal communication technologies such as mobile phones and MP3 players and in particular the use of social software, defined by Futurelab (2006) as the creation of communities and resources in which individuals come together to learn, collaborate and build knowledge. Social software is software that supports social interaction. The key problematic to examine then becomes: //‘How and to what extent do Australian adolescents use technology outside of the classroom when preparing for an examination?’// By understanding the effect of the technological society adolescents live in and the way these adolescents learn and interact with technology, all members of the school community can make changes as needed to ensure that the learning experiences outside of the classroom are effective for these adolescents – especially as adolescents are given more and more responsibility for their own learning. What techniques, styles and approaches to preparing for examinations should adolescents be using at home in order to ensure their success at school and where does technology fit into this equation? To determine: To what extent do Australian adolescents use technology outside of the secondary classroom to prepare for an examination? // SUBSIDIARY EXPLORATORY QUESTIONS: // -  What are the characteristics of the digital generation and how do they interact with technology when not in a formal classroom learning situation and in particular when they are working independently to prepare for an examination?
 * __ 1. TOPIC AND PROBLEMATIC __**
 * __ 2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT __**
 * 2.2 Aims **

-  What positive and negative effects is this lifelong immersion and increasing usage of technology actually having on adolescents? Have they developed new sets of skills? Are other skills or abilities then being sacrificed or devolved? -  What are the stakeholders’ (students, parents, teachers) perceptions of these technologies and their perception of how students use them? -  Is the technology presenting new challenges for adolescents when preparing for an examination and how can technology be used to support adolescents in the process of preparing for an examination? By understanding the ways in which students interact with technology when not in a formal classroom learning situation and in particular when they are working independently to prepare for an examination, all members of the school community can make changes to ensure that technology use during the learning experience at home is effective for students. Technology usage is only going to increase as are the concerns about the effects of living in such a technology rich environment. An understanding of the effects of ‘growing up digital’ can ensure the school community is informed as to the implications for students. By providing students, parents and teachers with ideas on uses of technology outside of the classroom environment we may be able to inspire students to study and learn in a more effective way.  Much of the literature available examines students’ use of technology in a generic sense, in research or homework based processes or as a tool for supporting non-specific learning, not as a tool for examination preparation. Therefore in the following brief literature review, first the characteristics and use of technology of these adolescents are examined, then the concerns about adolescents, technology and learning, and the potential advantages of technology use in learning. Prensky (2004) divides the world into digital natives, those who have grown up in the digital world, and digital immigrants, those who did not grow up in the digital age and either do not speak the language or perhaps speak it with a distinct accent. Prensky states that due to technology, digital natives are experiencing life in ways that are different from digital immigrants in so many aspects of their experiences: in the way they are communicating, sharing, buying and selling, exchanging, creating, meeting, collecting, coordinating, evaluating, gaming, learning, searching, analyzing, reporting, programming, socializing, evolving, and growing up. This is quite a comprehensive list and certainly gives an indication of the extent to which technology has evolved and changed for today’s adolescents. 5 key characteristics of technology use by adolescents today are discussed below. For the Net-Geners (or Generation Y as the subset Huntley is examining) their personal technologies are more than just functional tools used to perform particular tasks. Huntley believes that for these adolescents, these devices symbolize and are a reflection of their own personality and individuality. The irony is that this is the same for all adolescents, a case of ‘we are all individuals in the same way but different’. They all want to be seen as individuals but they are essentially conformist as they all want their individuality to be expressed in the same way. In the end, they all want to fit in. Further evidence of the importance of technology in adolescents’ identity development is given by Huffaker and Calvert (2005) who examine a specific use of technology, ie how adolescents use weblogs to explore their identity. While their study supports the social interactionist perspective that adolescents can take on different roles and create alternative public selves and perspectives to explore their own identity, particularly given the potential for anonymity in virtual worlds, their data suggested that adolescents tended to create a consistent public face and a cohesive set of representations of who they actually are, or who they perceive themselves to be. In this sense, the Internet has provided a new approach for adolescent identity exploration. By thinking, considering, defining and attempting to articulate their attitudes, thoughts and beliefs, adolescents are undergoing a valuable experience in the process of determining who they really are and what they stand for. Bensmiller (2005) in a report commissioned by Yahoo and OMB on global youth, media and technology, states that a defining characteristic or primary motivation of the way adolescents approach socialization is their desire to be part of a community and the value they place on the relationships in their life. This then is a driving force in their desire to be connected 24-7. Huntley points out that this is the world’s first generation to grow up thinking itself global and benefiting from this outlook. Despite the initial fears that computers and the Internet would turn adolescents into solitary friendless geeks with technology swallowing culture, viewpoints expressed forcibly by Talbot (1995), Huntley explains that adolescents are actually benefiting from the use of the Internet to connect to and build online communities and interact with others. This form of communication has not, as it was feared, replaced face to face experiences but is simply allowing adolescents to communicate more often and in different ways with their peers. Communication tools are essential for adolescents to maintain friendships and co-exist in social networks and ensure they are not isolated socially. It is the connectedness of technology that appeals to them – they are able to communicate at all times and receive immediate responses. They don’t mind structure within this context on condition that their freedom and flexibility are not compromised. Boyd (2006) explains that it is this structured and organized mechanism of interaction that has led to the huge popularity of social networking sites. The participants want to be public in a way that allows others to view their presence and to allow them to interact directly with those with similar interests. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2001) examines a number of trends that are contributing to the way in which students are interacting with technology. One of the trends they cite was identified in the Kerrey Report (2000) of pervasive computing and digital convergence. This means that there is a trend towards small multi-purpose devices linked by wireless technologies with a broad spectrum of technologies being merged into interactive devices making communication easier and more seamless. The more portable, the more seamless the tools for communication, the more adolescents will integrate these tools into their daily life. Bensmiller’s report also found that adolescents are under a lot of stress and time pressure to do more things in a day than they actually have time to accomplish. This then is one of the reasons for the high incidences of multi-tasking and media-meshing. Media-meshing refers to the process of shifting between different media in order to supplement or complement information or perspective. Adolescents have little patience to delve to any great depth in a particular media. If they cannot find what they are looking for, they are quick to switch to an alternative media or follow a different lead. This is supported by a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (2005). The report tries to establish just what role media of all types plays in young people’s lives, and found that in the US around a quarter of the time adolescents are using one media they are also doing something else media related at the same time. This is particularly prevalent when students are working on homework with students failing to devote the kind of single-minded attention their teachers would like students to give to their homework. They work on homework while watching TV or while using instant messaging with their peers. One of the key findings of the report was that while the amount of time students have spent using media has remained almost identical to the amount of time spent in the study also conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation 5 years ago, ie. around 6.5 hours a day, the amount of time spent using more than one media at a time has increased resulting in the amount of actual media being absorbed by students increasing by around 20%. The report found that as new media is introduced adolescents don’t give up the old media (for example TV watching has not declined) nor do they increase the hours spent on media (perhaps this is a case of the fact that they can’t increase the amount of hours as they are already operating at maximum levels in the time available) so instead they become media multi-taskers (ie they watch TV while also using their laptop). Another characteristic Huntley discusses is that these adolescents are technologically savvy and this has fundamentally altered the way they view time and space. They expect things to happen quickly in the same way just like the technology operates, and the consequence of this is that they have little patience for delays and at the same time feel there is no point planning too far ahead as everything changes so quickly anyway. This means that technology for the Net-Geners is not limited to one or two specific applications or devices. Oblinger and Oblinger (2005) emphasise that these teenagers are highly digitally literate and can intuitively and competently use a variety of IT devices. They are eager to explore new technologies and can transfer skills effectively between various forms of technology. While other generations might find this onslaught of multiple inputs highly distracting, Net-Geners are great multi-taskers, at times to the detriment of focus and accuracy. Part of the reason why these students are so adaptable with new technologies is that as Oblinger and Oblinger point out these students prefer to learn through discovery rather than instruction. They are eager and willing to experiment and much more likely to start pointing and clicking than read a user’s manual! This exploratory style helps them to retain information more effectively as they tend to investigate areas and follow directions that are of immediate interest to them. Oblinger and Rush (1997) cite a number of common fears about technology apart from the traditional safety and privacy of personal information issues. There have been concerns that technology will dehumanize interaction and lead to a decline in literacy. There are concerns that differing levels of access to technology will cause potential equity gaps in experience and opportunities. And it is not just parents that have had these concerns. Schrum and Berenfeld (1997) point out that schools have often lagged behind society in adopting technological innovations and believe this could be due in a large part to dominant social beliefs about what proper teaching and learning should entail. This belief was reinforced at the 2006 World Computer Congress where it was acknowledged that many teachers are still more comfortable and effective with traditional face-to-face teaching methods without the integration of technology (Chen, Frempong & Cudmore, 2006). Another big issue concerning integrating technology usage outside of the classroom environment is that the Internet and other technologies can be very addictive to some adolescents, even leading to the identification of the existence of an Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) by Ferris (2004). Butterfield (2005) points out that if a student spends 30-40 hours a week on the Internet on top of their school time all aspects of their life - school, friends and family, will suffer. Students may then need professional support to bring back balance between the virtual and real worlds that they inhabit. Cranmer (2006) examined young people’s use of the Internet for homework in the UK. She found that young people have embraced the Internet for homework, extensively using it and viewing it as a helpful tool to find and retrieve information. However, her study showed that it seemed as though the majority of young people actually made quite limited use of the Internet. Cranmer explains that the main use of the Internet by children and young people was simply to locate information using similar methodologies as they would for more traditional research options (with of course the same associated issues of copying and plagiarism, although prevalence was greater in online research due to ease of copying and pasting). Although young people sometimes used revision sites to prepare for exams, they seldom used email to seek advice or took advantage of other possibilities on the Internet to help them with their learning. Her conclusion is that in some ways the Internet has simply become a new reference tool for students, or alternatively for parents if they felt their own subject knowledge was inadequate to help their students. Parents were clearly concerned that with the ease of searching and copying information the learning taking place was not as deep as with traditional approaches and that students often completed their work on a more superficial level when using the Internet as their source of information. A contrasting and different viewpoint comes from Watson (2006) who obviously would view these concerns as unfounded. Watson points out that as Jonassen (2000) previously indicated, a shift in perspective has occurred, students are now learning //with// the software instead of //from// the software. Watson takes this idea further and states that therefore we can begin to categorise technology use by the nature of the learning that they are enabling. For example, many software applications can now engage learners in critical thinking, creating categories of use such as semantic organizers or dynamic modelling tools as opposed to the lower order tasks students may have previously utilized technology for. This idea is expanded upon in Warlick’s (2006) hypothetical discussion of how the latest social networking and other web-based tools used by adolescents could be harnessed to transform the learning experience in the school environment. Rose and Meyer (2002) point out that one of the great powers of digital media is the flexibility and versatility of these forms of interaction– learner styles can be catered to through providing a variety of different options capitalizing on the strengths of different students. The same material can be presented to students in a number of different formats even allowing students the option to choose the style that best suits their needs at that time. Another strength is that digital media are transformable and can be stored and presented in a variety of media. A huge advantage, given the speed at which information changes, is that digital media can be easily updated and expanded upon, allowing instructors to react in a timely way to students’ needs. It can also be easily networked and accessed and allow interaction between participants. It is this diversified palette that helps improve communications with and between adolescents. The role of the social networking site Myspace in the school environment is explored by Harris (2006). He raises a valid point that it is unreasonable to think that these sites will go away, and instead of simply banning these sites proposes that schools need to take steps to involve themselves in this area instead and use students’ interests in them to promote learning. He suggests, for example, that schools could use Myspace as a springboard to discuss relevant issues such as copyright infringement and dialogue on what is appropriate text and imagery for public and private display. The idea is that educators need to take technologies that interest and engage adolescents and integrate these into learning activities in the school environment. The potential power of technology to aid in motivating students to learn must be taken into consideration when looking at the possible advantages of using technology for learning. Futurelab examines the advantages of the current social software that allows users to communicate, collaborate and publish in a number of ways, in a variety of media. This software helps learners act together to build knowledge bases that fit their specific needs. The use of social software in education is still in its infancy but has the potential to allow educators to deliver communication between groups, enable communication between many people, provide gathering and sharing of resources as well as collecting and indexing of information. Most importantly it can provide new tools for knowledge aggregation and creation of new knowledge, delivering this knowledge to many platforms in a way that is appropriate to the creator, recipient and the context in which it is being applied. One of the cogent arguments for the power of technology is discussed by Breck (2002). Since 1996 Breck has been actively engaged in digitizing academic knowledge for students through the interface of the Internet. Breck suggests that the increasing use of technology means that more people are getting access to learn about more things and that technology is simply the vehicle for this transmission, not the passenger. Breck believes that the questions asked about technology are misguided. Instead of asking if all students can learn through the medium of technology we should be asking how can we direct students into productive activities on the Internet. Breck outlines an interesting perspective with respect to technology use. Perhaps the reason why we have difficulty in understanding and exploiting technology outside of the classroom is that up to this point we have let students determine the direction and use of technologies in this environment. It is the digital generation who has grown up with technology and is confident and capable in its use. But they do not necessarily have the maturity, life experience or understanding of teaching and learning to make informed decisions about how the technology could best be used and integrated. Unfortunately those with this understanding about learning experiences often lack the knowledge and in-depth understanding of the technologies. It seems that students spend a large amount of time simply using and experiencing technology in an instinctive manner without spending time reflecting on the advantages or disadvantages of what they are doing with the technology, or the amount of time they are spending on these activities or whether they are using the technology in a way that aids in their learning. This is only to be expected with adolescents so the importance of parents and teachers in helping students with this meta-cognitive process in evaluating their technology use is paramount. It can also be difficult for students to distinguish between formal and informal learning with technology. Green and Hannon (2007) point out some important changes that are needed in schools. Schools need to find ways to recognize and value the learning that goes on outside the classroom and support this learning by finding a space to reflect on it, galvanize it and develop it so that students can recognise and transfer the skills they are using in situations outside the classroom into new environments and different types of learning experiences helping students to tap into the various forms of technology they use for personal uses and find ways to use these to further their academic studies. It seems the question I am really interested in is ‘how do students use technology to expand their learning and academic experiences outside of the classroom environment when preparing for examinations, and how else could their personal technologies be integrated into these experiences, and what are the positive benefits from this integration?’  My research strategy will take both an empirical and an interpretative perspective for different stages of the research project. Initially I will be starting with focus groups, following the guidelines suggested in the work edited by deMarrais and Lapan (2004). This will aid in the design of effective surveys to be used to determine adolescents level of interaction with technology during their preparation for examinations and ensure that the scope and depth of the questionnaire is not limited to my preconceived ideas of what needs to be asked. The main issues to discuss with the group are how ‘technology’ would be defined by their generation, what does it include, how (and how often) are they using each of these technologies and for what purpose. __ Issues/Assumptions: __ - A non-judgmental atmosphere of mutual respect where the aim is not to reach consensus but to share thoughts and ideas, clear ground rules and guidelines in respect of confidentiality needs to be established. - With respect to logistics, through my study skills consultancy I have access to a large number of high schools across all demographics of Sydney so am restricted in my sample choice for the focus groups through self-imposed limitations. For the focus groups I will select 3 co-ed schools – one private, one catholic and one government (providing all permission criteria and ethical considerations are met). I will work with two groups of 10 students within each school, one with students from Years 7-9 and one with students from Years 9-12, as it is likely that the different age groups may take a different approach to technology use. If possible and permissible given privacy considerations and parental permissions, I will record the 45 minute focus group sessions. The data collected from the focus group will help design a survey that can be used to collect empirical data about the frequency and range of usages of technology by adolescents outside of the secondary classroom. Statistical methodology will be employed to make generalizations about the population being examined and discover to what extent technology is actually being used in the examination preparation context. This may provide interesting insights into the correlation between technology usage and demographics. The effectiveness of this usage will be more difficult to quantify but the focus groups may provide some categories which will then allow meaningful data collection and analysis. __ Issues/Assumptions: __ - Because I will have access to Sydney schools only, I will choose a stratified sample. - In choosing the sample size I will simply survey as many schools as I have contact with during the research period. If two months are allocated to this time, I would be able to survey approximately 50 schools, but whether these schools fit into the stratified sample selection will be the issue. - I will also have to consider the ethical issues of parental, school and school body permissions for such research. This could be addressed by adding information into the letter that is sent home to parents prior to the session. In terms of analyzing the data I will probably look initially at simple methods such as mean and standard deviation to discover the average usage and spread of this usage. I will also apply this technique to sub-groups. I will then use significance tests to test hypothesizes as to whether factors such as gender and socio-economic background impact on the type and frequency of usage of technology. Gorard (2001) covers parametric statistics and correlations which I may explore when analyzing my data. My background in statistical analysis will be useful in this stage. __ Issues/Assumptions __ Gorard also looks at reasons why the sample may be biased or misleading and one factor that stands out is the idea of respondents giving misleading or deliberately incorrect information. Students generally tend to do the right thing simply out of habit but there are always students who will supply misleading information. One advantage I have is that students are always keen to talk or write about themselves and what they do or think. The disadvantage is that in this case they may exaggerate their use of technology to appear ‘cool’ in front of their friends so this will need to be taken into account in the survey design. There is also the ethical issue of embarrassing students or making them feel uncomfortable if they do not have the same ‘toys’ at home as everyone else. Although you can say that the survey is to be undertaken in strict silence and totally by yourself, when you have 100 plus students together it is inevitable they are going to show each other what they have written. Once the data has been collected and analysed from a large sample, I would then move away from the empirical approach and back towards an interpretive perspective to determine further the role technology plays for adolescents in the examination preparation process. I would like to take a smaller group of individual adolescents and have them document daily for a period of time their interaction with technology (and possibly compare the results of this group to their responses in the first survey to see whether their actual recorded data differs from their perceived use of technology). It would also be interesting to have their parents document what they see of the their child’s use of technology and also to create some video evidence where adolescents are filmed over a period of time to explore the ways they are actually using technology. The aim is to see how their use of technology shapes the way they learn and process information as part of their examination preparation. __ Issues/Assumptions __ - Subject to parental permission, video cameras could be set up in students’ home study environment. The problem is to capture their natural behaviour – not behaviour that is modified due to the presence of the camera. Having students record what they do on a timesheet also poses the same problems of honest reporting. Confidentiality becomes a big issue here as does the need to ensure the explanations and set-up of the case study is done with these issues in mind. Parental/student objectivity in reporting the effectiveness of the technology use may be an issue. - Watching many hours of footage and tabulating how the time is spent will be an incredibly time consuming part of the research. To watch many hours of footage and tabulate how the time is spent will take many hours. I will look at 5 students and have them film their evenings for a full week prior to an exam creating approximately 200 hours of footage. From this footage I can then come up with anecdotal evidence as to how technology is used by adolescents when preparing for examinations outside the secondary classroom as well as recommendations as to the effective integration of technology in this environment.  Lodge application. Independent Study Project 2 Work on literature review as part of above subject.
 * 2.3 Significance **
 * __ 3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RELATED LITERATURE __**
 * 3.1 Characteristics of digital generation adolescents **
 * 3.1.1 Identity expressed through technology **
 * 3.1.2 Social networkers and constant communicators **
 * 3.1.3 Multi-taskers and media-meshers **
 * 3.1.4 Technologically savvy **
 * 3.1.5 Prefer to learn through discovery **
 * 3.2 Concerns about adolescents, technology and learning **
 * 3.3 Potential advantages of using technology for learning **
 * 3.4 Discussion **
 * __ 4. METHODOLOGY AND ETHICS __**
 * 4.1 Stage 1: Focus Groups **
 * 4.2 Stage 2: Survey **
 * 4.3 Stage 3: Analysis of Data **
 * 4.4 Stage 4: Case Studies **
 * 5. RESEARCH PLAN AND TIMELINE INCLUDING WRITING OUTCOMES **
 * 2007 || || Proposal development.

|| Short papers on rationale and conceptual framework. Draft methodology chapter. Do Focus Groups. Prepare permissions etc for surveys. || Short papers on field research. Write up research procedures. || Draft analysis paper. Draft conclusions. Prepare case studies. || Finalise conclusions. Finalise Thesis. Revisions and improvements. Create journal article. || Bensmiller, K. (2005). //Truly, madly, deeply engaged - global youth, media and technology.// Report commissioned by Yahoo! & OMD. Retrieved 4th May 2007 at http://www.iabaustralia.com.au/Truly_Madly_Final_booklet.pdf Boyd, D. (2006). //Friends, Friendsters, and MySpace Top 8: Writing Community Into Being on Social Network Sites.// First Monday. 11(12). Retrieved 16th May 2007 at : http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_12/boyd/index.html Breck, J. (2002). //How We Will Learn in the 21st Century.// The Scarecrow Press, Inc, London. Butterfield, L. (2005). //Cybersafety: An Intrinsic Part of the Online Experience.// In K.W.Lai (Ed.), //e-Learning Communities: Teaching and Learning with the Web.// Dunedin: Otago University Press. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2001). //E-Learning: The Partnership Challenge//. OECD, France. Chen, S., Frempong, G. & Cudmore, W. (2006). //Gesture Friendly Interfaces for Classroom Teaching with Thinking Tools//. In IFIP 19th World Computer Congress, TC-3, Education, August 21-24, 2006, Santiago, Chile edited by Kumar, D. & Turner, J. (eds). Springer, New York. Cranmer, S. (2006) //Children and Young People's Uses of the Internet for Homework//. Learning, Media and Technology Journal. 31(3), 301-315. Retrieved 6th May 2007 at: http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/smpp/content~content=a755226800 deMarrais, K. and Lapan, S. ed. (2004). //Foundations for Research//. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., USA. Ferris, J. (2004). //Internet Addiction Disorder: Causes, symptoms and consequences//. Retrieved 16th May 2007 at: [|www.chem.vt.edu/chem-dept/dessy/honors/papers/ferris.html] Futurelab (2006). Social software and learning. Retrieved 4th May at: http://www.futurelab.org.uk/download/pdfs/research/opening_education/Social_Software_report.pdf Gorard, S. (2001). //Quantitative Methods in Educational Research//. Continuum, London. Green, C. & Hannon, C. (2007). //Their Space: education for a digital generation//. Retrieved 4th May at DEMOS http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/theirspace Harris, C. (2006). MySpace //Can Be Our Space: Let’s turn the infamous networking site into a teachable moment.// School Library Journal, 5/1/2006. Retrieved 16th May at: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6330760.html Huffaker, D. A., and Calvert, S. L. (2005). Gender, identity, and language use in teenage blogs. //Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10 //(2), article 1. Retrieved 17th May at: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html Huntley, R. (2006). //The world according to Y: inside the new adult generation.// Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Jonassen, D. H. (2000). //Computers as mindtools for schools: Engaging critical thinking//. Prentice Hall, Ohio. Kaiser Family Foundation (2005). //Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds.// Retrieved 6th May at: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia030905pkg.cfm Oblinger, D. & Oblinger, J. (eds) (2005). //Educating the net generation// [electronic resource]. Boulder. Retrieved at: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101.pdf Oblinger, D. & Rush, S. (eds) (1997). T//he Learning Revolution//. Anker Publishing Company, Inc, USA. Prensky, M. (2004). //The emerging online life of the digital native: What they do differently because of technology and how they do it.// Retrieved 7th May 2007 at: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-The_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf
 * 2008 Jan-March(3 months) || Stage1 || Complete Literature Review.
 * 2008 April-May(2 months) || Stage2 || Survey Students.
 * 2008 June-Aug(3 months) || Stage3 || Analyse Data.
 * 2008 Sept-Dec(4 months) || Stage4 || Do Case Studies.
 * __ References: __**

Rose, D. & Meyer, H. (2002). //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age//. ASCD, USA. Schrum, L. & Berenfeld, B. (1997). //Teaching and Learning in the Information Age//. Allyn & Bacon, USA. Talbot, S. (1995). //The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst.// O’Reilly & Associates, Inc, USA. Warlick, D. (2006). //A Day in the Life of Web 2.0 -- The latest powerful online tools can be harnessed to transform and expand the learning experience.// Technology & Learning Journal, 27(3), p20. Retrieved 7th May 2007 at: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/pqdlink?index=1&did=1154943411&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1180935327&clientId=20928&aid=1#fulltext   Watson,  D. (2006). [|//Understanding the relationship between ICT and education means exploring innovation and change//] //. //  [|Education and Information Technologies]  Journal, 11(3-4), 199-216. Retrieved 6th May 2007 at  http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/content/e354t511281tt523/fulltext.pdf  <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;">