Cyberloafing as a barrier to the successful integration of information and communication technologies into teaching and learning environments

• The study contributes an update to the literature on cyberloafing in education.
• The study examines demographic characteristics of the students who cyberloaf.
• The study aims to reveal likely variables effective on cyberloafing behaviors.
• The study examines cyberloafing as a barrier to successful integration of ICT.
• The study concludes with practical suggestions for educationalists.

Along with the dissemination of mobile technologies and wireless networks in teaching and learning environments, research has shown that students tend to cyberloaf during the courses. As a result, their performance is impeded and they could be distracted from the course. In order to prevent cyberloafing behaviors, in some occasions, information and communication technologies (ICT) have been banned or their use is restricted in the schools causing to harm ICT integration in education. In this context, the aim of this study was to identify the level of cyberloafing situations observed in courses in computer laboratories and reveal likely variables effective on cyberloafing behaviors which in turn would be helpful for practitioners to prevent cyberloafing behaviors of students. This research was conducted by using survey method. Participants in the study were 288 first year undergraduate students who took Computing I course held in a computer laboratory at the Fall Semester of the academic year of 2013–2014. In order to identify cyberloafing behaviors of the students when they were fulfilling the learning activities assigned to them, cyberloafing activities scale as well as Demographic Information Form were used. As a result of the research, by demonstrating the cyberloafing levels of the students, findings related to the cyberloafing behaviors were interpreted with regard to the variables addressed in the study, considering the total score obtained from cyberloafing activities scale and the sub-dimensions of the scale, “individual”, “search”, “social” and “news”.