Digital technologies lead a transforming way of learning not only inside but also outside educational institutions. Students’ engagement with digital media is becoming a central part of student’s daily life, which provide a more opportunities as a form of informal learning. Mass media and previous research call this generation as “digital native”, young generation develop their experience and knowledge of digital media and form a new literacy named digital competence in digital age.

Previous studies and stereotype argue that gender difference exist. Boys are heavier computer users and they tend to be more interested in ICT. Consequently, boys outperform girls in their digital competence (Markauskaite, 2006; Tien & Fu, 2008). Meanwhile, some researches showed male and female students are equally digitally competent (Hatlevik & Christophersen, 2013). Prior research revealed that digital competence plays an important role in adopting digital technologies for learning (Mohammadyari & Singh, 2014), but few studies investigate the role of gender on students’ learning with digital media in informal learning environments.

Informal learning with digital media is a process and structure of more self-directed, intentional interest (rather than curriculum-based), non-assessment driven and non-qualification oriented.  Current research suggests that students have a great diversity of technology use and types of technologies adopted into learning (Corrin, Bennett, & Lockyer, 2010; Jones, Ramanau, Cross, & Healing, 2010; Lai, Wang, & Lei, 2012; Schepman, Rodway, Beattie, & Lambert, 2012), but the understanding of learning with digital media  from learners’  digital comeptence is still limited (Corrin et al., 2010; Trinder, Guiller, Margaryan, Littlejohn, & Nicol, 2008). This study aims to understand how digital competence to predict students’ different aspects of digital informal learning behavior and investigate if gender act as a moderator.

Digital Competence has been acknowledged as one of the eight key competences for Learning by the European Union (Commission, 2006), which is the set of knowledge, skills, attitudes (thus including abilities, strategies, values and awareness) that are required when using ICT and digital media to perform tasks (Ala-Mutka, 2011). Hatlevik argues digital competence is students’ ability to achieve with digital technology (Hatlevik & Christophersen, 2013). This study employs a three dimensional digital competence scale based on previous study (Calvani, Cartelli, Fini, & Ranieri, 2009), to assess university students’ digital competence. The digital competence in this study includes three dimensions: ICT skills dimensions which is the ability to explore and face problems and new technological contexts in a flexible way; cognitive dimension, which refers to being able to read, select, interpret and evaluate data and information taking into account their pertinence and reliability; ethical dimension, which is related to being able to interact with other individuals constructively and with sense of responsibility for using available technologies.

Informal learning for young people is key opportunity to interplay with digital media (Meyers, Erickson, & Small, 2013). Since the informal learning is a learner’s control process, which including the control over the process and the goals (Naismith, Sharples, Vavoula, & Lonsdale, 2004). In this study, the digital informal learning behaviors including three different aspects of learning: cognitive refers to learner’s interaction with digital media to be learned by manipulating it mentally or physically; meta-cognitive involves executive processes in planning for learning, monitoring one’s comprehension and production; social and motivation refers to learner interacts with person in order to assist learning or get motivated to learn.

The main research questions are: 1, Are male and female students different at different dimensions of digital competence? 2, How can digital competence predict students’ digital informal learning behavior? 3, Does gender has moderation effect on digital competence and affect students’ digital informal learning behavior in different aspects?

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