MIDDLE AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ APPROACHES TO COMPUTER AND INTERNET

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study is to determine middle and secondary school students’ approaches related to computers and internet. To achieve this aim a form consisted of 8 open-ended questions was used. The implementation was carried out to 322 middle school and 161 secondary school students in Trabzon and Giresun cities on 2015-2016 school year. It was tried to determine understandings of students related to computer and internet, their computer program and internet sites preferences, the difficulties they have in computer and internet usage, and their suggestions regarding effective usage of computer and internet. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed by content analysis and descriptive analysis methods. Data obtained showed that students saw computer mostly as a tool for amusement and a tool which helped to lessons and they saw internet as the fastest way to reach information and a communication way, they used office programs in computers and preferred communication sites. Also, it was determined that students had some problems in computer and internet usage arising from themselves, others, computers, and internet. Thus, they thought that there had to be in-service training courses related to these problems. Some suggestions were given to students, families, and institutions to make students benefit from computer and internet more effectively.