Learning and living technologies: a longitudinal study of first‐year students’ frequency and competence in the use of ICT

Abstract

This article presents results from a longitudinal survey of first‐year students’ time spent on living and learning technologies at university, their frequency of using specific learning technologies and their competence with these tools. Data were analysed from two similar surveys at the start and at the end of the academic year for students studying 14 different courses in five different universities (four place‐based and one distance‐learning) in England. The younger students used information and communication technologies (ICT) for social and leisure purposes more frequently than older students. The older students were more likely to use it for study. The frequency of using ICT was related to students’ perceived competence in the tool. University mode of study also influenced how students appropriated their ICT time. These results might have an impact on the repurposing of living technologies for use as learning technologies.

Keywords:

• Net Generation
• learning technologies
• living technologies
• gender
• distance‐learning

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented at the Networked Learning Conference in Aalborg, Denmark, May 2010. The research reported in this article was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (Grant RES‐062‐23‐0971). I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of our collaborators at the five participating universities, in particular Susan Armitage, Martin Jenkins, Sheila French, Ann Qualter and Tunde Varga‐Atkins.