ECAR Releases Student and IT Report
The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) released its annual study of undergraduate students and information technology report earlier this month. The report is available in a number of forms and formats at this URL:
http://www.educause.edu/Resources/TheECARStudyofUndergraduateStu/187232
The full title of the report is: The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 by Shannon D. Smith, Gail Salaway, and Judith Borreson Caruso, with an Introduction by Richard N. Katz. (130 pages)
The report has "sought to shed light on how information technology affects the college experience. We ask students about the technology they own and how they use it in and out of their academic world. We gather information about how skilled students believe they are with technologies; how they perceive technology is affecting their learning experience; and their preferences for IT in courses."
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 is a longitudinal extension of the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 studies. It is based on quantitative data from a spring 2009 survey of 30,616 freshmen and seniors at 103 four-year institutions and students at 12 two-year institutions; student focus groups that included input from 62 students at 4 institutions; and review of qualitative data from written responses to open-ended questions. In addition to studying student ownership, experience, behaviors, preferences, and skills with respect to information technologies, the 2009 study also includes a special focus on student ownership and use of Internet-capable handheld devices.