Purpose – To explore upper secondary school students’ voices on how ICT could structure and support their everyday activities and time at school.

Design/methodology/approach –11 group interviews were conducted with a total of 46 students from three upper secondary schools. NVivo PRO 11 was used for a qualitative content analysis.

Findings – The results show that ICT plays a central role in the students’ schooling, not in terms of “state-of-the-art” technology, but rather as ‘state-of-the-actual’, by for example supporting the writing process and for peer-support, digital documentation and storage.

Research limitations/implications – A relatively small number of students in three schools and three specific programmes make generalisations difficult.

Practical implications – Students’ perspectives on the ‘state-of-the-actual’ could influence teachers’ use of ICT in education, their professional development activities and the development of an in-school ICT infrastructure.

Social implications – The study could lead to a better understanding of students’ expectations and use of ICT at school and in everyday life. 

Originality/Value – The originality of this article is the focus on students’ voices about how the basic use and functionality of ICT could structure and support their everyday activities at school.