Every year, the annual Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study of undergraduate students and information technology has sought to shed light on how information technology affects the college experience. ECAR asks students about the technology they own and how they use it in and out of their academic world. Included in the 2011 data are responses from 617 OSU students.
As a group the OSU students own:
- Desktop – 35.7%
- Laptop – 93.7%
- Netbook – 12.5%
- eReader – 8.2%
- Handheld device (phone/smartphone) – 60.2%
How can the university take advantage of the fact that students are so well-equipped technologically?
One Comment
It is essential to engage devices this ubiquitous in the classroom — banning or ignoring them will simply facilitate distraction. One example is student response: why should a student buy a clicker when their phone or laptop can perform the same function? Another idea is to have quick in-class activities where students can use these devices to do some quick research and discuss findings in small groups.
Rather than considering these devices classroom distractions, they should instead be considered as a source of new opportunity for learning.