Owning ICT: Student use and ownership of technology

Mid-way through the second decade of the twenty-first century, young people are still being touted as digital natives in a world where technology is increasingly ubiquitous in nature. Technology appears in all levels of society, from the grocery store self-serve, Internet banking and shopping, to the classroom. This paper reports on the initial findings of a much larger study conducted in a Thai university that explores how students use technology for learning. The paper also discusses ownership of technology and examines the myth of the digital native. The research is based on an earlier PhD study conducted across 2 universities in Western Australia. Findings from the current research indicate that attitudes to technology and cultures of technology use amongst young people have changed little since the original study’s data collection 7 years ago. However, there are subtle differences in how Thai university students use technology for learning.