How do students use ICTs (in higher education)?

Transcription

1 How do students use ICTs (in higher education)? Date June 21, 2012 ynke Bos, MSc - Faculty of Humanities ynke Kruiderink, MSc - Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. With thanks to: Paul Lodder (FMG), Myrthe Bil (Humanities), Caspar Groeneveld (FMG), Elgin Blankwater (FMG), Maarten Remijn, Marcel Slaman, Titus Kretzschmar, Pepin Uitterhoeve (FMG)

2 Introduction Since 2008 the Faculty of Medicine has conducted an annual 'ICT in Education survey amongst its students. This year the survey was distributed amongst all students and seven faculties of the University of Amsterdam. The survey explores several topics. First, it investigates PC and smartphone ownership amongst students. This to determine which assumptions are valid when drafting policy. Is it useful to invest in the development of apps or target specific operating systems? Second, the survey also tries to bring into scope the use of social media among students. The use of Social Media can be an indication for the 'soft skills' in ICT of students. It also gives insight into the use of ICT applications in daily life, which can be an indication of the willingness of students to use these applications in their educational programmes. The last part of the survey provides insight into the needs of students with regards to ICT in education. What do students regard as important when it comes to their education and what is their stance towards several statements? Method The survey was distributed among all students of the University of Amsterdam. The first invitation included an explanation of the objectives of the survey and a link. After two weeks a reminder was sent. The results of the survey are anonymous. Results The survey was released in May 2012 and completed by 2167 students. Of these, 35% were male and 65% female. This distribution is similar to that of previous years so we can assume that comparisons across the years will not be influenced by the gender balance. Of these students 64% are bachelor students, and 31% are master students. 5% are in a transition trajectory or a pre-master. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) (n = 792) is best represented, followed by the Faculty of Humanities (Humanities) (n = 486), the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science (Science) (n = 329 ), the Faculty of Law (FL) (n = 255), the Faculty of Medicine (GE / AMC) (n = 233; 2011: n = 149), ACTA (n = 11) and the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) (n = 10). Given the low number of respondents within the FEB and ACTA, they are not included in the total listings, which are discussed in the following paragraphs. Page 2

3 Computers & Tablets The vast majority of students have a computer with a Windows operating system: 64%, the bulk owning a laptop (48%) and a smaller part a Windows desktop (16%). Approximately 18% work on a Mac, 15% of which on a laptop, and 3% on a Mac desktop. Linux remains the lowest percentage: only 5% of the students work with Linux. Almost 16% of students have a tablet computer (including e-readers). Of these, 57% have an ipad and 16% have another tablet, such as Android. 27% have an e-reader. Remarkable is the high density of ipads amongst dentistry students, 56% own an ipad. Maybe most surprising is the statistic that 2% of students do not own a computer, laptop or tablet at all. It is a given that a student can have multiple devices. A further breakdown of ownership per faculty can be found in the annexes. Mobile phones Android clearly wins over Apple: 22% of students have an iphone while 29% have an Android phone. 8% have a Blackberry and 5 % have another smartphone with an operating system like Symbian or Windows Mobile. The total number of smartphone owners is 64%, an increase from last year s 54%, 50% in 2010 and 28% in % of all students still do not own a mobile phone. The Android density is greatest in the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science. If a student at this faculty has a smartphone, there is a 60% chance that it is operated by Android. The absolute number of smartphone owners in this faculty is however the lowest, at a mere 54%, and the highest amongst Law students, where 74% of the students have a smartphone. Social Media use among students Facebook remains the leader in the Social Media landscape. 85% of students have a profile. This means that 15% of students do not have a Facebook profile. Over 68% check their profile at least once a day, and nearly 60% do so several times a day (versus 50% last year). Hyves is clearly well past its peak, 91% of the students do not have a profile (last year 76%) and those with a profile check the site less than once a week. Interestingly, the longer a student has been studying, the less likely they are to have a Facebook profile. So the higher concentration of Facebook users is amongst the newcomers. Women check their profile more often than men do. Page 3

4 Students are not using Twitter very much. Of the 30% who do have a twitter account, only 13% use it daily. However, we can detect a rising trend in Twitter use, as in % had an account, in % did, and now 30% do. Apparently students have not yet widely discovered Twitter as a useful tool to stay abreast of developments in the field. Professional networking does not seem to be a high priority since only 35% have a LinkedIn profile. Students who do have a LinkedIn profile, do not make intensive use of it. 27% check their account once a week or less. Last year, however, only 13% of students had a LinkedIn account, so its use is increasing. More master students tend to have a LinkedIn profile than their bachelor counterparts, which makes future career sense. Google + is used by 13% of the students several times a week, by 8% of students less frequently, and 67% have no profile. A detailed overview of the use of social media among students can be found in Annex 2. What do students want with ICTs in Education? Based on a ranking question with predefined topics, students could indicate their priorities regarding uses of ICTs in education. The highest demand is for more video lectures, especially in the larger faculties such as Social and Behavioural Sciences, Law and Medicine. In second place students desire more digital practice tests. Although this desire is visible across the board, it is most popular in the faculties with the smaller study programmes such as the Humanities Faculty and the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science. The option to have more interaction with teachers via ICTs outside of the classroom is ranked second to last. Ranked third was the option to have mobile access to UvA services via an app. Further questioning shows that students primarily want access to their Blackboard announcements via an app, not so much their educational materials such as PowerPoints presentations or syllabi. Besides mobile access to Blackboard announcements, students would like to access their rosters using a mobile app, as well as the various announcements published on the student websites. This is supported by the general satisfaction/dissatisfaction sentiment with regards to the various UvA information services. The mobile roster website is currently being worked on and is planned to be launched at the start of the academic year. Interestingly, among Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science students, "more interaction with the instructor during class" is ranked in third place and the app seems less urgent. Medical students indicate they want more insight into their learning paths. And here again the app seems less urgent (in Page 4

5 6th place). In the remaining topics to rank, there is no clear hierarchy to be discerned. The ranking topics can be found in Annexes 4 to 9 and are distinguished per faculty. Of lesser priority amongst students, but an important issue among policy makers and ICT in education consultants, is the deployment of summative digital tests and the use of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Statements Where students could agree or disagree in varying degrees with particular statements, 65% indicated that the availability of web lectures would save them time in their studies. 18% of students had no opinion. This is of course an indication of their sentiment, not of a fact. When questioned whether they experienced a higher grade in courses that provided web lectures, 56% answered affirmatively. 27% had no opinion in this regard. When asked whether students would attend lectures less often if web lectures would be available, 47% answered affirmatively. The frequency with which students would not attend was not asked. Therefore answering affirmatively could be in regard to a single lecture scheduled early friday morning, or the entire cycle of lectures. Approximately 15% have no opinion and 38% do not agree with this statement. When given the opportunity to express their preference for face-to-face classes versus web lectures, a majority (61%) indicate a preference for live lectures or seminars. early 18% of students have no opinion and 21% prefer a web lecture to a live lecture or seminar. If the UvA would rent ipads or other tablets for a reasonable price, 26% would make use of this service. These tablets would presumably not be used to read mandatory literature as 71% prefer hard copy books to digital versions. Discussion and Conclusion The widespread adoption of Social Media in the lives of students today seems to be less than often assumed when policies target the special needs of today s students, connecting with the perspectives of students and student 2.0. Social Media use is mostly restricted to Facebook. Among 68% of students Facebook is commonplace, roughly every 2 of 3 students. The use of other Social Media tools still seems to play a lesser role in the lives of students. Students indicate a particular request for more web lectures and the use of digital practice tests. These two main desires of students are similar to those of last year s Faculty of Medicine students. oteworthy is that amongst those faculties where many lectures are already recorded and offered online, students want even more web lectures. One explanation is that these students are already used to using web lectures to prepare for their exams. Therefore it may be experienced as a hindrance for these students, when there are no web lectures available for studying. Among groups of students where web lectures are not provided structurally, the desire for web lectures seems to be less. Yet it remains remarkable that students ask for more web lectures when many lectures have been increasingly provided online in recent years: 936 lectures in 2008, 2572 in 2009, 4056 in 2010 and 6242 in The two main desires of students can be categorized as means to facilitate self study; the opportunity to revisit a lecture and measuring their own progress via a digital self test. Upon reflection these are logical requests by students as they are supportive and non-mandatory means for studying at one s own pace. Students can pick and choose if they want to use the digital tests and/or web lectures. Within the UvA Page 5

6 or Higher Education in general there is no consensus whether web lectures help students prepare for exams or rather, if they are an incentive for procrastinating studying and not attending lectures. The request for more digital (practice) tests is also a recurring one. In a limited amount but ever increasing, such tests are being offered to students. Both as diagnostic tests as for bonus points. Experience shows that particularly highly scoring students use these tests seriously. Students who score less, and who would benefit most, do not make use of these tests added-value, especially when they are offered voluntarily. The statement that web lectures lead to higher scores is based purely on the personal perspective of students. Of course they do facilitate the process of revisiting a topic covered in class, but whether this actually leads to a higher score is something still to be determined. The same goes for time saved studying. Is it time spent more efficiently in looking something up, or is it time saved because students can choose not to travel to class, saving them travelling time. In follow up research this question could be better formulated as having web lectures available when preparing for an exam saves me time. Interestingly, the perception of time saved is greatest at the Faculty of Medicine. At this faculty almost all lectures are filmed. So students have this service available to them when preparing for exams, for practically every lecture series given. Their ability to compare is therefore limited. The use of web lectures in education almost always leads to the discussion of attendance. Over 47% of students admit that they go to lectures less often if web lectures are available. More than half of the students (53%) said the availability of web lectures does not influence their behaviour regarding attending a lecture, or has no opinion in this regard. Finally, 61% of the students expresses a preference for face-to-face teaching. Slightly less than 40% do not. This is remarkable, because web lectures do not allow for interaction with the teacher and/or other students. Deployment of digital summative tests and computer supported collaborative learning seem more to be policy themes than themes that play a role in students lives. One explanation may be that such topics require more in depth knowledge to understand the advantages they can offer in education, such as improved feedback on tests, quicker results after completing a test, tailor made teaching and varied forms of testing and teaching. Students seem to want more of what they are familiar with and what it can offer them, and avoid the unfamiliar. At this moment it may be a bridge too far for current students to start structurally implementing mobile learning technologies. Besides, students do not expect much from tablet use within education, although the University of Utrecht has shown within its Pedagogy study programme that successful implementation is possible. One must take good care, however, to ensure the added value of using tablets makes good educational sense. For example by making use of the interactive possibilities it offers. (Janssen, 13 juni 2011: ipads en Social Media in het Onderwijs, VSU congres). At present, the added value of of mobile technology in education lies mainly in the disclosure of information on a study programme. In this context we should consider making the announcements from Blackboard accessible via a mobile platform. Student satisfaction with regard to Blackboard, and other UvA services, is generally quite high. Students expect that ICTs in education help them by supplementing the core educational materials, and that they can pick and choose how and when they can use them (web lectures, digital tests). Essential for students is that ICTs in education are embedded in the study programme, such as the use of tablets or other digital materials. They do not tend towards simple technology driven activities, it has to have a clear educational added value. Page 6

7 Annex 1: General data Gender Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid Male Female Total Missing System Bachelor/ Master/ Other Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid Bachelor Master Other (schakel/pre master/etc) Total Missing System Response per Faculty Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences Medicine Faculty of Economics and Business Dentistry Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science Law Faculty Total Missing System Page 7

8 Satisfaction Wi Fi facilities per faculty Yes o Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Behavioral and Social Studies Medicine Law Faculty Total Page 8

9 Annex 2: Social Media use Use Facebook Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Use Twitter Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Use Hyves Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Page 9

10 Use LinkedIn Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day 16,7.9.9 About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Use Google+ Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Use Wiki s Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Page 10

11 Use Blogs Frequency Valid Cumulative Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Use YouTube Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid Several times a day About once a day Several times a week About once a week Less than once a week ever Total Unanswered Page 11

12 Annex 3: UvA Services Indicate how satisfied you are with: UvA Serviceplaza ( Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Indicate how satisfied you are with: My UvA ( ) Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Indicate how satisfied you are with: UvA Roster (rooster.uva.nl ) Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Page 12

13 Indicate how satisfied you are with: student website ( Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Indicate how satisfied you are with: announcements on the student website Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Indicate how satisfied you are with: student ( mail.student.uva.nl) Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Page 13

14 Annex 4: Faculty of Humanities Responses per study programme Frequency Culture studies Arab language and culture 3.1 Archeology and prehistory 9.4 Cultural Information science 5.2 German language and culture 9.4 English language and culture European studies French language and culture 6.3 History Greek and Latin language and culture 8.4 Hebrew language and culture 1.0 Italian language and culture 11.5 Art history Literature science 13.6 Media and culture Musicology 15.7 Dutch language and culture Modern Greek language and culture 1.0 Religious Studies 8.4 Scandinavian languages and cultures 10.5 Slavic Languages and Cultures 5.2 Spanish Language and Culture 4.2 Language and communication (Dutch) 14.6 Linguistics Linguistics. Sign Language Studies program 6.3 Theatre Studies 11.5 Philosophy Total Other Faculties UvA Page 14

15 Desktop/ Laptop/ Tablet ownership* * Students can own more than one item I have a: Windows laptop 300 I have an: Apple laptop 115 I have a: Linux laptop 10 I have a: Windows desktop 102 I have an: Apple desktop 19 I have a: Linux desktop 8 I have an: ipad 42 I have a: Other tablet 11 I have an: E-Reader 30 one of the above 18 Ownership mobile phones * *Students can own more than one phone I have an: iphone 109 I have an: Android smartphone 121 I have a: Blackberry smartphone 43 I have a: other smartphone (mostly okia) 25 I have a: ordinary mobile phone 189 I have a: I have no mobile phone 6 62 % has a smartphone I think ICT in Education should commit to: Mean* More digital practice tests (eg. digitalized old exams) Offer more videolectures online Mobile access to online services via an app Exploring new opportunities in education, such as the use of apps, e-readers, Twitter and Facebook More interaction with the instructor outside of the classroom More digital assessments instead of handwritten assessments Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Other * the closer to 1, the higher the priority given by students Page 15

16 Satisfaction Blackboard Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Total Page 16

17 Annex 5: Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science Responses per study programme Frequency Earth Sciences 16.7 Beta-gamma 3.1 Bio-medical sciences Biology Future Planet Studies / Beta-Gammay 2.1 Computer science Information studies 12.6 Artificial intelligence Physics (Physics and Astronomy) Psychobiology Chemistry Astronomy (Physics and Astronomy) 4.2 Mathematics Total Other Faculties UvA Desktop/ Laptop/ Tablet ownership* * Students can own more than one item I have a:-windows laptop 222 I have an:-apple laptop 43 I have a:-linux laptop 50 I have a:-windows desktop 110 I have an:-apple desktop 6 I have a:-linux desktop 31 I have an:-ipad 20 I have a:-other tablet 16 I have an:-e-reader 16 I have a:-one of the above 5 Page 17

18 Ownership mobile phones * *Students can own more than one phone I have an:-iphone 44 I have an:-android smartphone 107 I have a:-blackberry smartphone 13 I have a:-other smartphone, namely (Voornamelijk okia) 17 I have a:-ordinary mobile phone 155 I have a:-i have no mobile phone 2 54 % has a smartphone I think ICT in education should commit to: Mean* More digital practice tests (e.g. digitalized old exams) Offer more web lectures online More interaction with the instructor during class More interaction with the instructor outside of the classroom Mobile access to online services via an app Exploring new opportunities in education, such as the use of apps, e-readers, Twitter and Facebook More digital assessments instead of handwritten assessments Other * * the closer to 1, the higher the priority given by students Satisfaction Blackboard Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Missing System Total Do you use the Eduroam network? Frequency Valid Cumulative Valid Yes o Total Page 18

19 Annex 6: Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Responses per study programme Frequency Valid Cumulative Psychology Cultural Anthropology Political Sciences Sociology Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Social Geography Planning International Development Studies Communication Sciences Educational sciences Pedagogical Sciences (RM) Educational Sciences Total Other Faculties UvA Desktop/ Laptop/ Tablet ownership* * Students can own more than one item I have a: Windows laptop 546 I have an: Apple laptop 160 I have a: Linux laptop 25 I have a: Windows desktop 157 I have an: Apple desktop 24 I have a: Linux desktop 12 I have an: ipad 68 I have a: Other tablet 14 I have an: E-Reader 25 I have a: one of the above 19 Page 19

20 Ownership mobile phones * *Students can own more than one phone I have an: iphone 190 I have a: Android smartphone 241 I have a: Blackberry smartphone 58 I have a: other smartphone, namely I have a:-ordinary mobile phone 258 I have a:-i have no mobile phone 4 67% has a smartphone I think ICT in education should commit to: Mean Offer more videolectures online More digital practice tests (eg. digitalized old exams) Mobile access to online services via an app More interaction with the instructor outside of the classroom Exploring new opportunities in education, such as the use of apps, e-readers, Twitter and Facebook More digital assessments instead of handwritten assessments Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Other * the closer to 1, the higher the priority given by students Satisfaction Blackboard Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Total Page 20

21 Annex 7: Faculty of Medicine Responses per study programme Frequency Geneeskunde Medical Informatics 5.2 Total Overige Faculteiten UvA Desktop/ Laptop/ Tablet ownership* * Students can own more than one item I have a: Windows laptop 156 I have an: Apple laptop 57 I have a: Linux laptop 3 I have a: Windows desktop 39 I have an: Apple desktop 12 I have a: Linux desktop 5 I have an: ipad 23 I have a: Other tablet 4 I have an: E-Reader 9 I have a: one of the above 4 Ownership mobile phones * *Students can own more than one phone I have a:-iphone 67 I have a:-android smartphone 64 I have a:-blackberry smartphone 18 I have a:-other smartphone, namely I have a:-ordinary mobile phone 72 I have a:-i have no mobile phone 1 69% has a smartphone Page 21

22 I think ICT in education should commit to: Mean Offer more videolectures online More digital practice tests (eg. digitalized old exams) Transparency (own) study Communication between teacher and student Exploring new opportunities in education, such as the use of apps, e-readers, Twitter and Facebook Mobile access to online services via an app Supervising students More interaction with the instructor outside of the classroom More digital assessments instead of handwritten assessments Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Other * the closer to 1, the higher the priority given by students Satisfaction Blackboard Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied no opinion Total Unanswered Total Page 22

23 Annex 8: Faculty of Law Responses per study programme Frequency Labour Law 12.6 Tax Law, curriculum International and European Tax Law 5.2 Tax Law, curriculum Dutch Tax Law 6.3 Information Law 9.4 otary Law 1.0 Research Master: Information Law 1.0 Privaatrecht: Commerciële rechtspraktijk 2.1 Private Law, curriculum Dutch Legal Practice 16.7 Public Law, curriculum Health Law 5.2 Public Law, curriculum Military Law 7.3 Public Law, curriculum Constitutional and Administrative Law 16.7 Public Law, curriculum Criminal Law 20.9 Tax law 7.3 otarial law 4.2 Law Other (schakelprogramma etc.) 1.0 Total Overige Faculteiten UvA Total Desktop/ Laptop/ Tablet ownership* * Students can own more than one item I have a: Windows laptop 147 I have an: Apple laptop 58 I have a: Linux laptop 5 I have a: Windows desktop 53 I have an: Apple desktop 16 I have a: Linux desktop 3 I have an: ipad 30 I have a: Other tablet 5 I have an: E-Reader 6 I have a: one of the above 5 Page 23

24 Ownership mobile phones * *Students can own more than one phone I have an: iphone 60 I have a: Android smartphone 68 I have a: Blackberry smartphone 31 I have a: other smartphone, namely I have a: ordinary mobile phone 55 I have a: I have no mobile phone 2 * 76% has a smartphone I think ICT in education should commit to: Mean Offer more videolectures online More digital practice tests (eg. digitalized old exams) Mobile access to online services via an app More digital assessments instead of handwritten assessments Exploring new opportunities in education, such as the use of apps, e-readers, Twitter and Facebook More interaction with the instructor outside of the classroom Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Other Satisfaction Blackboard Frequency Valid Cumulative very satisfied satisfied dissatisfied very dissatisfied Total Unanswered Total Page 24