Are students getting used to Learning Technology? Changing media usage patterns of traditional and non-traditional students in higher education

Abstract

In 2012 (N = 2339) and 2015 (N = 1327), a longitudinal analysis was carried out to investigate changes in the media usage patterns of German higher education (HE) students, with a special emphasis on differences between traditional students (TS) and non-traditional students (NTS). Based on an online questionnaire, the students provided information about the digital devices they own or have access to, on the frequency of use as well as perceived value of digital media, e-learning tools and services for their learning in HE. The presented results indicate implications for the instructional design of teaching and learning in HE. In general, the findings show a shift towards using mobile devices. Unexpectedly, the frequency of media usage is slightly, but significantly, decreasing from 2012 to 2015. Furthermore, the results are discussed based on a media usage typology that distinguishes between entertainment users, peripheral users, advanced users and instrumental users. NTS are over-represented in the group of instrumental users who tend to apply e-learning tools a lot. Moreover, NTS state a higher demand for digital teaching and learning formats than TS.

Use of Hybrid Classroom and Open Educational Resources: Experience Gained From a University in Hong Kong

“…The results regarding the first questionnaire element, which is about the devices that students use to participate in HC, shows a clear tendency in using personal mobile devices (laptop, smartphone and tablet) over desktop computers. Such finding comes in line with the current global trend of using mobile devices over computers for a growing number of tasks (Biddix et al, 2015;Dolch and Zawacki-Richter, 2018;Eurostat, 2015). At the same time, the majority of the students also show high usage of their computer with 60% exceeding the 3 hours daily.…”

Facilitating student engagement through educational technology in higher education: A systematic review in the field of arts and humanities

“…With the documented need for higher education graduates to be proficient in using educational technology (EdTech) in their professional lives (e.g., Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2015;Redecker, 2017), as well as acquiring twenty-first century skills during their studies (Claro & Ananiadou, 2009;Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018), the use of EdTech in higher education has attracted increased interest from researchers, for example, in the technologies that students find helpful or unhelpful in their studies (Henderson, Selwyn, & Aston, 2017;Selwyn, 2016) and patterns of media usage of (non)traditional students (Dolch & Zawacki-Richter, 2018). Furthermore, research has found that the pedagogically informed use of technology can also support student engagement (e.g., Schindler, Burkholder, Morad, & Marsh, 2017), a concept that has been gaining importance recently, as it links the individual student's internal constitution and external environment, leading to overall improved student outcomes (see Bond & Bedenlier, 2019).…”

Patterns in students’ usage of lecture recordings: a cluster analysis of self-report data

“…However, whether lectures should be recorded or not is a controversial topic. Many students want lectures to be recorded (Dolch and Zawacki-Richter 2018) and report that having access to lecture recordings is useful for them (Bacro, Gebregziabher, and Fitzharris 2010). However, lecturers have many concerns about lecture recordings (Newland 2017), for example, that lecture attendance would decrease with the availability of lecture recordings (Draper, Gibbon, and Thomas 2018).…”