Educause, a leading organization focused on information-technology issues in higher education released its 2013 ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology from the Educause Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) last week. The report, which includes survey data from more than 113,000 students in 13 countries found the following four patterns in the student responses:
- Students still need academic support in their use of technology for education. They most frequently use the university’s website, learning management system (LMS) and library website; almost every student reported using these resources and considered them important for their student success.
- Students are beginning to enroll in MOOCs, but they still find face-to-face and hybrid models preferable than a fully online experience.
- While laptops are reportedly the most used device for their academic work, students are relying more on their mobile devices to access resources and information and perform basic academic functions anytime anywhere.
- Students continue to separate their academic and social lives and do not want faculty and administrators to use all forms of technology to connect with them; they still prefer the LMS and email as the preferred way to communicate.
For more trends and detailed findings, see the full report.