Teenage pupils searching for information on the internet

Introduction. Quantitative studies measuring skills related to the Internet are mainly based on self-reports. The aim of this paper is to study how Swedish teenagers, in their last year of compulsory school, carry out different information searching tasks on the Internet, by using a performance test. The test measures teenagers’ searches for information on the Internet from different points of view, such as medium-related and content-related aspects as well as operational and strategic aspects. Methods. The test was performed on the Internet in an open environment, without predefined solutions. During the test, some screens were recorded to obtain information about aspects not covered by the given test answers. Analysis. The test outcome was analysed in relation to curriculum goals, which correspond to the European framework DigComp2.1. Results. Reading long texts to find information was the easiest part but many failed to solve assignments because they did not master the digital environment. Conclusion. The result differed in the participating classes, which points to the importance of covering all aspects of the area when teaching, not forgetting the holistic approach.

"All in all, the pupils at the four schools did not solve the assignments very well.... A strength showed in the results is to find specific information on a long text-based webpage.... Problems with finding an answer which could be considered as correct, was more about navigating in the digital environment than about understanding the words. Lacking digital competence also affects how critical thinking can be shown, since a prerequisite for choosing a way of searching is to know there are different options.... Most pupils evaluated their competence as quite good.... [W]hat the pupils actually learn seems to be more dependent on how teachers interpret the curriculum than on the intentions of the curriculum." (Author, in "Discussion")