Judy Borreson Caruso Shannon D. Smith 11/6/2009 The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology 2009 Judy Borreson Caruso Shannon D. Smith 11/6/2009

What Undergraduates Say About Technology Study design and respondent Characteristics Ownership and use of IT in General and in the Academic Environment Internet-capable handheld devices

The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 6th annual study Special focus topic: Handheld Devices Literature Review Web-based survey Focus groups Longitudinal analysis Student comments

Institutions & Respondents 115 U.S. and Canadian higher education institutions 103 four-year institutions 12 two-year institutions 30,616 respondents 61.5% Female / 38.5% Male 87.4% Full-time / 12.6% Part-time 40.4% On campus / 59.6% Off Campus 3 International institutions

Computer Ownership – 2006-2009 39 Institutions

Technology Adoption

Activity College/university library website 94.6% Students Engaged Median Frequency * Associated Demographic Factors College/university library website 94.6% Weekly Full-time /4-year institutions Presentation software 93.8% Monthly Business/seniors Social networking 90.3% Daily Age (younger) / Reside on campus Text Message 89.8% — Spreadsheets 86.8% Seniors/business/ engineering Course/Learning management system 86.0% Several Times/ Week Download music or videos 84.2% Male Instant Message 74.0% Reside on campus Graphics software 73.3%

Communication Technology Use 2006-2009 (39 Institutions)

Campus Emergency Notification Preference Text message 55.3% E-mail 17.6% Voice telephone call 12.2% Public-address systems (sirens, loudspeakers, intercoms, etc.) 11.1% Other: Institution website, Facebook, IM, Emergency website, Other, SocNet

Information Literacy Skill Students Mean* Using the Internet to effectively and efficiently search for information 30,454 4.12 Evaluating the reliability and credibility of online sources of information 30,428 3.66 Understanding the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of digital information 30,462 3.43 *1 = not at all skilled, 2 = not very skilled, 3 = fairly skilled, 4 = very skilled, 5 = expert

Preference for IT in Courses

Community College Students Technologies in Courses this Sem/Qtr Senior Freshman Community College Students College/university library website 75.6% 72.9% 59.6% Course or learning management system 73.0% 68.3% 59.7% Presentation software 73.5% 60.1% 55.0% Spreadsheets 53.2% 39.9% 32.0% Social networking websites 27.1% 31.6% 19.5% Wikis 25.2% 25.6% 23.3% Instant messaging 18.0% 20.3% 13.9% Graphics software 18.8% 11.5% 14.9%

Community College Students Technologies in Courses this Sem/Qtr Senior Freshman Community College Students Blogs 12.1% 11.2% 11.1% Programming languages 11.4% 9.0% Discipline-specific technologies 12.0% 9.1% 6.3% Simulations or educational games 10.1% 11.5% E-portfolios 7.9% 6.2% 5.2% Video-creation software 6.8% 5.7% 4.4% Podcasts 5.8% 5.0% Audio-creation software 5.3% 4.8% 3.4% Online virtual worlds 1.2% 1.1% 2.3%

Student Use of Course or Learning Management Systems

Instructors and IT in Courses

I Skip Classes When Materials from Course Lectures Are Available Online

Student Perceptions About IT in Courses

Undergraduates and Handheld Technology

While I’m in class, I regularly use my cell phone or handheld Internet device for:

Regular use of cell phone / handhelds in class for non-course activities, by age Instructors should have the authority to forbid use of cell phones / handhelds during class, by age Younger students also disagreed more when asked if Instructors should have the authority to forbid the use of cell phones and handheld Internet devices during class time as well.

Instructors Should Have the Authority to Forbid Use of Cell Phones / Handheld Internet Devices during Class *Scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree

Internet-Capable Handheld Devices Survey Question “Do you own a handheld device that is capable of accessing the Internet (whether or not you use that capability)? Examples include iPhone, Treo, BlackBerry, other Internet-capable cell phone, iPod touch, PDA, Pocket PC, etc.”

Do you own an Internet-capable handheld device?

How often do you use the Internet from your handheld device? 49.5% Weekly or more often * Only includes respondents who own an Internet-capable handheld device

Portraits of Student Mobility Don’t own & don’t plan to 35.5% Non-users Don’t own & don’t plan to 35.5% Own & use Internet 33.1% Power Users 25.4% Weekly 31.8% Daily 44.9% Don’t Know 1.5% Don’t own but plan to 11.8% Own, but don’t use Internet 18.1% Potential Users 29.9% Don’t own but plan to 11.8% Monthly 23.3% Own, but don’t use Internet 18.1% Occasional Users 7.7%

What is Keeping Students From Using Internet or Using It More Often from a Handheld Device? All respondents were asked to select 3 from list of 13

Power Users - Usability issues What is Keeping Students From Using Internet or Using It More Often from a Handheld Device? Power Users - Usability issues Occasional Users - Data services costs over device costs Potential Users - Data service costs Non-Users - Device costs ALL Users Half cite “plenty of other ways to access the Internet”

In the next three years, I expect to do many things on a cell phone or handheld Internet device that I currently do on a laptop/desktop * Asked of all respondents regardless of current device ownership

Power Users – Three-quarters agree/strongly Occasional Users – Half In the next three years, I expect to do many things on a cell phone or handheld Internet device that I currently do on a laptop/desktop Power Users – Three-quarters agree/strongly Occasional Users – Half Potential Users Current Owners who don’t use – 4 in 10 Planning to own within 12 months – Two-thirds Non-Users – One-third ALL Users – 44.5%

In the next three years, I expect my use of the Internet from a handheld device will: * Only includes respondents who own an Internet-capable handheld device

Internet activities from handheld devices Check info (news, weather, sports, facts, ...) 76.7% E-mail 75.1% Use social networking websites 62.5% Maps (find places, get directions, plan routes) 58.7% Instant message 43.3% Personal business (banking, shopping, etc.) 26.9% Download/stream music 22.8% Download or watch videos online 20.1% * Only includes respondents who own an Internet-capable handheld device

Mobile Institution IT services most likely to use if available * Only respondents who currently own and use the Internet from a handheld device

Participate in 2010!! Survey will be up from late Feb - mid-April Institution Gets IRB approval Invites students Receives data and report Sign up here today to receive an invitation Email Judy at judy.caruso@cio.wisc.edu 2009 Study currently available online

Thank You