Project Eagle Research Capsule (PERC) #20
January 2006

Technology Uses and Attitudes of the Net Generation:*
Data from Three Recent Studies

ECAR Study of Students and Information Technology, 2005:
Convenience, Connection, Control, and Learning

Robert N. Kvavik and Judith B. Caruso
Educause Center for Applied Research, Research Study 6
October 2005

The results of this survey of 18,039 freshmen and seniors at 63 colleges/universities revealed them to be a technologically sophisticated group with mixed emotions about the use of IT applications in courses. (To compare results with the 2004 ECAR Survey, compiled rather differently, see Research Capsule #17.)

• Students surveyed overwhelmingly agree that information technology in the higher education experience adds convenience, connection, and control for students. (Only 2.8% see no benefit from its use.) The experience and expectations of those surveyed included.
  

  Convenience:

  1. Technology and online resources readily available
  2. Fast response time - immediacy
  3. Converged devices
  4. Networks and technical support available at all times

  Connection:

  1. Mobile electronic connections
  2. Multiple devices and media that are personal, customizable and portable
  3. Always networked for communications
  4. Members of their community reachable anytime and anywhere
  5. Social - work in teams

  Control:

  1. Multitasking and customization
  2. Focused on grades and performance
  3. Manage the undergraduate experience
  4. Control the when and where of social interaction

  Learning:

  1. Rich media and visual imagery, with virtual and physical integration
  2. Inductive discovery - experiential and participatory
  3. Real-time engagement

• Students believe that IT in courses enhances their learning, especially in improved communication with instructors and classmates, as well as instructional feedback.
• 40.6% like a "moderate" amount of IT in their course experience, compared to 3.9% who prefer none, 25.6% limited, 27.3% extensive, and 2.7% exclusive.
• They view class IT as supplemental, preferring face-to-face interaction with instructors and peers.
• The majority own desktop computers (61.6%), laptop computers (55.6%) and cell phones (90.1%). 25% have wireless adapters. Virtually all have Internet access, usually broadband.
• They spend an average of 11-15 hours online per week, most frequently for course activities. Other popular activities are messaging, email, surfing the Internet, downloading/listening to music/videos, and playing games. Interestingly, using a library resource to complete a course assignment ranked at the lower end of uses, as did shopping and Web page creation.
• Choice of curriculum is the prime motivator of what IT skills a student acquires.
• Students are comfortable with a core set of technologies (e.g., email, messaging and word processing), but are less comfortable with specialized applications (e.g., PowerPoint, computer maintenance). Specialized skills increase as students advance in their college careers.
• Students appeared satisfied with the use of course management systems. This satisfaction makes them more positive about the general use of IT and learning.

*The term "net generation" refers to those raised with computers from infancy.

Teen Content Creators and Consumers

Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden
Pew Internet & American Life Project
November 2, 2005

This Pew study was based on November 2004 telephone interviews with 1,100 youths, aged 12-17, and their parents. The results indicate that pre-college teens are developing and sharing their own media creations.

• 87% of those surveyed, aged 12-17, use the Internet.
• The most popular content-creating activities are sharing self-authored content and working on Web pages for others.
• 33% share their own creative content online, such as artwork, photos, stories and videos.
• 32% have worked on Web pages or blogs for personal or school-related reasons.
• 22% have a personal Web page.
• 19% (about 4 million people) report keeping a blog. 38% (about 8 million people) read blogs. (Only 7% of adults keep a blog and only 27% report reading them.)
• Older girls, aged 15-17, are the most likely to blog, (25% of girls this age keep a blog, compared to 15% of boys the same age.)
• 19% remix content they find online into their own artistic creations.
• 51% download music files (compared to 18% of online adults) and 31% download video files (compared to 14% of online adults), either legally or otherwise.
• 75% agree with the statement "Music downloading and file-sharing is so easy to do, it's unrealistic to expect people not to do it."
• Teens are as likely to have paid for music online as they are to have tried peer-to-peer services.

Middletown Media Studies 2: Summary of Results

Ball State Center for Media Design
September 26, 2005

These are some results from several months of shadowing 400 people in Muncie and Indianapolis , Indiana, during the summer of 2005. Researchers from Ball State University (IN) measured use of 15 media, including TV, books and magazines, cell phones, computers, and radio.

• The average person spends about 9 hours a day using some type of media.
• 30% of the observed waking day was spent with media as the sole activity, compared to 20.8 for work activity. An additional 39% of the day was spent with media, while involved in some other activity.
• In any given hour, no fewer than 30% of those studied were engaged in some way with TV. In some hours of the day, that figure rose to 70%.
• Although TV is still the dominant medium in terms of time spent daily (240.9 minutes), the computer is now the second most significant media device (120 minutes).
• 30% of all media time is spent exposed to more than one medium at a time.
• Interestingly, in this study, results showed that people 18-24 spend less time online than any other age group except those older than 65.
• Levels on concurrent media exposure were higher among those 40-65 than those 18-39.
• Women spend more time multitasking with two or more types of media than men.
• Use of the Web, email and phones is substantially higher on Fridays than on any other day of the week.

www.spjc.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc20.htm
For a list of previous Project Eagle Research Capsules, go to www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/index.htm
For more information, contact the project manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu

The contents of PERC were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.