ERIC Number: EJ930742
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1499-6677
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Available Date: N/A
Digital Learners in Higher Education: Generation Is Not the Issue
Bullen, Mark; Morgan, Tannis; Qayyum, Adnan
Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, v37 n1 Spr 2011
Generation is often used to explain and rationalize the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education. However, a comprehensive review of the research and popular literature on the topic and an empirical study at one postsecondary institution in Canada suggest there are no meaningful generational differences in how learners say they use ICTs or their perceived behavioural characteristics. The study also concluded that the post-secondary students at the institution in question use a limited set of ICTs and their use is driven by three key issues: familiarity, cost, and immediacy. The findings are based on focus group interviews with 69 students and survey responses from a random sample of 438 second year students in 14 different programs in five schools in the institution. The results of this investigation add to a growing body of research that questions the popular view that generation can be used to explain the use of ICTs in higher education. (Contains 7 tables and 3 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Familiarity, Interviews, Foreign Countries, Generational Differences, Use Studies, Mass Media Use, Mass Media Effects, Individual Characteristics, Interest Inventories, Costs, Synchronous Communication, Student Attitudes, Handheld Devices, Computer Mediated Communication
Canadian Network for Innovation in Education. 260 Dalhousie Street Suite 204, Ottawa, ON K1N 7E4, Canada. Tel: 613-241-0018; Fax: 613-241-0019; e-mail: cnie-rcie@cnie-rcie.ca; Web site: http://www.cjlt.ca
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A