New technologies and Chilean secondary students. Contributions to the discussion on the existence of new apprentices

Abstract

Since late 2000, some reviewers have criticized the proposal on a new generation of young learners that can interact with new technologies like they were their native language. It has been argued mainly that there is a lack of empirical research which takes into account different types of technology use and kinds of students, as well as qualitative studies that incorporate their perceptions and analysis of different learning contexts. This study seeks to contribute to this discussion by analyzing the technology use of Chilean secondary students and their perceptions on the contribution of technologies inside and outside their schools. It is concluded that among students in the sample there are scarce traits of the called new apprentices and appears a perceptual gap between different contexts, where learning is conceptualized from a schooling perspective.