The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) just released their 2010 Study on Undergraduates and IT.
Some highlights:
- Over 40% of undergraduates are “power users” of internet-capable handheld devices, compared with only 25% in 2009.
- 95% of respondents ages 18-24 use social networking sites, as do 58% of those 50 and older. 96% of these use Facebook.
- Most students are accessing course information via a Course Management System (CMS), such as Blackboard, but the number of participants who “feel positive” about their CMS has dropped to 51% from 77% in 2007.
The full report, and key findings, are available for download.
For you Gmail users and Google lovers, you’ve certainly seen Google Buzz, the newest addition for sharing content and status. CNet’s WebCrawler has posted a comparison between Buzz, Facebook, FriendFeed and Twitter that highlights some of the differences between the features.
In case you haven’t noticed it in your Gmail, you’ll see it just below your inbox link.
EDUCAUSE recently published the ECAR Study of Undergraduates and IT. Among their findings in this annual publication, they saw a significant increase in the use of social networking sites (like Facebook):
Key Findings, p. 6 (Click image to enlarge)
and a move toward more mobile technology:
“About half of the respondents (51.2%) indicated they own an Internet-capable handheld device, and another 11.8% said they plan to purchase one in the next 12 months” (Key Findings, p. 9).
although they still prefer learning in a face to face environment:
“No matter how extensively the mobile revolution – or any other technology-based disruption for that matter-impacts higher education, respondents to our survey consistently tell us that they want to see the use of IT balanced with the human touch in their academic environment. In their responses to the final open-ended question of our survey, students wrote explicitly about a preference for “real books and people” and said that “shiny new tech is still no substitute for well-trained, passionate instructors.” (Key Findings, p. 12).
The full report, and a shorter (13 p.) key findings document are both available online.
