It’s a bit old now, but given the dearth of research on what the Net Gen is actually doing at university now that they are starting to arrive on our campuses, I thought that this 2006 Uni of Melbourne study would still be of interest to readers.
The sub-title of the study about first year students’ experiences with technology is “Are they really Digital Natives?” I reckon it’s being a bit clever calling it that, because the answer, according to the findings the study presents, would seem to be ‘yes — pretty much’.
Some stats and general comments:
- 73% of students had broadband access, 93% had unrestricted access to a mobile phone, and 90% to a desktop computer. (p. 3)
- Computers were most commonly used for e-mailing (94%), creating documents (88%), general information searching (83%). (p. 3)
- Emerging computer-based technologies were blogs, file-sharing, social networking. (p. 3)
- International students use a wide-range of technologies and tools more so than local students. (p. 3)
- Students were overwhelmingly positive about using ICT in their studies, the main activities being using a computer for study purposes (94%), searching for information (93%), general course admin (84%), and SMS (84%) and IM (75%) communication. (p. 3)
- Engineering, Architecture and Building and Planning students were more likely to use particular technologies and to use them more frequently that were Education and Arts student. (p. 14)
- Convenience and control are the most valuable reasons cited by students for using ICTs in course — not learning. (p. 15)
On this last point, and as per the JISC report cited in my previous post, it seems that students have trouble figuring out how these technologies might be used in the academic setting to “optimise learning experiences and outcomes” (p. 16). This means that it’s up to teachers 1) to learn how to deploy these technologies in pedagogically sound fashion, and 2) if they are using certain techs in their teaching, to communicate clearly their expectations for learning and assessment.
