Journal of ICT in Education (Dec 2023)
Perceptions of secondary school students towards the use of Wakelet Students' Ambassador Programme
Abstract
Blended learning is the integration of digital tools in supplement to teachers’ teaching in class. Although blended learning has been implemented in higher institutions for decades, blended learning has only been practised in Malaysian secondary schools since Movement Control Order (MCO). Teachers have started using technological platforms such as Google Meet, Google Classroom, YouTube, WhatsApp and Telegram to share information with students heavily since most of the daily lessons could only take place using online platforms at that time. Due to that, there are not many studies on the use of blended learning among secondary school students. Thus, this study investigates secondary school students’ perceptions regarding the use of blended learning and Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme. The subjects were a sample of 50 Form 3 students in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Universiti, Johor Bahru. Students’ perceptions regarding blended learning and the Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme were gathered through mixed mode methods that included observation, questionnaire and interviews. The findings of the study show that the majority of the respondents favoured blended learning and all of them liked to use Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme. Among the reasons they favoured the use of the Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme are that it is an interesting programme, they could learn a lot from their friends or online resources and they felt a sense of accomplishment by completing the project. To sum up, the Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme is indeed a wonderful programme that can be utilised in teaching all kinds of subjects. This is because the Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme is a student-centred approach that stimulates students’ thinking skills and promotes students’ collaboration. Hopefully, blended learning and the Wakelet Students’ Ambassador Programme will be widely practised in Malaysian secondary schools.
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