Parallel Session Proceedings »
3.4.11 Professors’ and Students’ Perceptions of Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education: Creativity and Motivation
Scholars have argued that the development of creativity and the increase of motivation are not automatic products of the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for educative purposes. Therefore, this study aimed to compare three groups of Brazilian professors - those who make creative use (Creative-ICT Group), the ones who make traditional use (Traditional-ICT Group), and those who do not use ICT in the classroom (Non-ICT Group) - regarding their evaluation of the role of digital technologies in teaching practice to develop student creativity and motivation. We also compared the perception of the students towards the extent to which the use of ICT as teaching practices favors the expression of their creativity and the development of their motivation to learn. Nine professors and 249 undergraduates participated in this study. The professors were interviewed. The students answered the Educational Practice for Creativity in Higher Education Inventory and the Motivation to Learn Scale for Undergraduates. The Grounded Theory was used to interpret the reports obtained by the interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that the professors do not make a strong connection between ICT and the development of the students’ creativity. Concerning the students’ perceptions, the undergraduates of the Non- ICT Group have evaluated their professors’ educational practices for creativity better than the students of the Creative-ICT Group and the Traditional-ICT Group. The Non-ICT Group had lower levels of extrinsic motivation than the Creative-ICT Group. Based on the results presented here, the hypothesis is raised that the creative use of ICTs in the ICTCreat Group is more related to a creative form the teachers found to solve the teaching difficulties or challenges. The type of use the teachers make of the ICTs is mainly considered as a means of information, leaving aside the ICTs’ potential as means of expression. Therefore, the use of ICTs, whether creative or traditionally, did not represent a differential for the development of student creativity and motivation.