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Understanding the Extent of and Factors Involved in the Use of YouTube as an Informal Learning Tool by 11- to 13-Year-Old Children

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Innovative Technologies and Learning (ICITL 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 11003))

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Abstract

Web 2.0 technology has changed the way and setting where learning takes place. This study has attempted to contribute to the understanding of how children, aged 11 to 13 can use YouTube as an informal learning tool. This was accomplished by conducting four focused groups consisting of children aged 11 to 13. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the interview data. The data has revealed that children use YouTube as home and at school (limited). They had multiple methods of access, although was constrained by parental control and limited by restricted data. The children further experienced two types of informal learning, self-directed and incidental. Interestingly, they did distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate content. Cognitively, they displayed low levels of self-regulation but were extremely self-efficient. Children had high expectations that there is entertainment on YouTube, and that resulted in them constantly using YouTube to entertain themselves. Finally, through observational learning, the children not only learnt how to use YouTube but they also acquired different skills from watching YouTube videos. These findings enhance the current understanding of the role YouTube can play in learning.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa

    Neliswa Dyosi & Marie Hattingh

Authors
  1. Neliswa Dyosi
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  2. Marie Hattingh
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Neliswa Dyosi or Marie Hattingh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan

    Ting-Ting Wu

  2. Kun Shan University, Tainan City, Taiwan

    Yueh-Min Huang

  3. Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

    Rustam Shadiev

  4. University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Lin Lin

  5. University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Andreja Istenič Starčič

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Dyosi, N., Hattingh, M. (2018). Understanding the Extent of and Factors Involved in the Use of YouTube as an Informal Learning Tool by 11- to 13-Year-Old Children. In: Wu, TT., Huang, YM., Shadiev, R., Lin, L., Starčič, A. (eds) Innovative Technologies and Learning. ICITL 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11003. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99737-7_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99737-7_38

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99736-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99737-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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