How U.S. College Students Use their Technology

TECHNOLOGY USE ON AMERICAN >> Technology can be a great ally for education - but how big is its role in the learning process? Find out: COLLEGE CAMPUSES This is a super-connected generation, Surprisingly, many students prefer a blended-leaming classroom, rather than one that's only high-tech. PREFERRED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Seminars and other smaller classes with some online component Classes that allow the student to use the number of online components they need2 Large lecture classes with some online components 16% Seminars and other smaller classes 10% with no online components Seminars and other smaller classes 6% that are completely online Large lecture classes with no online components 5% Large lecture classes that are com- pletely online 5% However, students agree that some improvements can be made. 31% of students say Only 59% of students agree their institution uses its technology effectively their instructor needs help to get the class's technology working 43% of students 47% of students agree their institu- tion needs more technology agree technology makes professors better at their jobs According to an Educase study, these are the most impor- tant tools that students claimed are "most valuable" for MOST IMPORTANT SOFTWARE & APPLICATIONS academic success: MOST IMPORTANT SOFTWARE & APPLICATIONS Word Presentation E-mail Library website software CMS processor 76% 66% 46% 45% Spreadsheets E-books Web citation tools Wikis Online forum 38% 23% 22% 16% PDF "a" abc MOST IMPORTANT DEVICES USB Desktop Computer Laptop Printer Thumb drive Smartphone 81% 73% 64% 57% 33% 87% own 81% own 70% own 53% own 55% own 85% use 79% use 59% use 63% use 37% use 67% use 42% use 36% use 65% use 17% use Tablet (not IPad) Media Player (not iPod) eReader iPad iPod 33% 24% 23% 18% 26% Own Own 8% own Own Own N/A N/A N/A N/A Use Use 12% use Use 23% use N/A N/A N/A 2% use 2% use 7% use 2% use 5% use *Ownership: The number of students who own the device. Use: The number of total students that use that device. STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF TECHNOLOGY USE: 40% of students think their institutions don't use the technology they have effectively. 3 HOW OFTEN TECHNOLOGY IS USED Almost every student has access to academic technologies on campus. But do they really use it? Frequency of use: Medium High No use Technology students wished their instructors used more often: 8.9% 27.1% Email CMS E-books Presentation Online 19.8% software forums 37.6% Student Faculty POF use use abc 53.6% 27% 21% 39% 32% 31% 48.2% Frequency of use: Low Medium High Students Faculty 100% 40% Social Physical Science Biological Sciences Arts and Professional Engineering Education Business Science Humanities 4 INTERNET ACCESS Since the Internet provides such a wide range of information, it can be used as an important tool to complement the learning process. Who has access and who's searching for a signal? Find out: A+ 90% of students believe 75% of college students say Wi-Fi access on their college campuses helps them get better grades 60% of students said they wouldn't attend a college that didn't offer free Wi-Fi WIFI should reach 99% of all college campuses by 2013 Wi-Fi is as essential to an education as a classroom or computer BROADBAND WIRELESS 95% Undergrads 93% Grad students 92% 88% Community college students 78% 85% Community students are less likely than undergrad and grad students to have Internet access. This fact is driven by differences in device ownership. According a research by Educause, 78% of students consider wi-fi an extremely valuable technology for academic success. THE MOST IMPORTANT SITES* Almost all students have Intemet access, but which do they consider to be the most essential? STUDENTS WEBSITES 36% Yahoo: 2% Google pedia: 11% Acebook: 3% Doard: 8% Bb * Students were asked to name the one website or online resource they couldn't live without. THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR EDUCATION PURPOSES When asked which software basics students felt were "extremely valuable" for academic success, some included social networks: in 86% of students use a social networking site Facebook: 12% Social studying sites: 8% Twitter: 4% Linkedin: 5% 58% of students are comfortable communicating with other students about coursework over Facebook or other social networking sites. 15% of students wished their instructor would use Facebook more often. But they don't think social networks are the most appropriate way to communi- cate with their instructors. They prefer to do this formally, by e-mail. When asked if students thought it was appropriate to "friend" their instructor on Facebook, they responded: 31%: Appropriate 39%: Not Appropriate 30% Neutral ONLINE COLLEGES SOURCES: Educause.edu | Pewinternet.org | Computerworld.com INFORMATION PROVIDED BY: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/ SHOIONISN BROWSE FAVORITE