Student engagement with technology: so, what's it got to do with learning?

This chapter explores significant findings from a two-year study of 9 and 10 year old students working in a technology-rich classroom in the northern region of New Zealand. It specifically reports on outcomes relating to the nature of student engagement with learning tasks while using the technology, and poses some questions about the nature of this learning, and how it occurred. Using a case study methodology, the research utilized innovative screen recording software that allowed for authentic data to be collected about student work processes and interactions, as they navigated their way through learning tasks using the technologies at their disposal. Findings indicate that while student engagement and what appeared to be ‘on task’ behaviors were high, this was often not focused towards meeting planned learning outcomes, and that while the technology was a valuable resource to support the learning of more capable and independent students, others struggled to gain any significant learning benefit from its availability.