jones.ppt 2763KB Jun 23 2011 12:07:02 PM

The Internet Goes to College:
College Students, Faculty
and Internet Use
Steve Jones, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Pew Internet & American Life Project
Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago
Research Associate, Electronic Visualization Laboratory
Adjunct Research Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

© 2005 Steve Jones, Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Internet Goes to College
Overview:






Background
What we know about college faculty

and student internet use
What it means - implications
Q&A

Background - Computing
 First

computing experience
mid-1970s: Digital PDP 8/e

Background - Computing
This is not
 UIUC late-1970s: mainframes, punch
mecards &
paper tape

I was using Plato…

Not this Plato, the
other PLATO!

This is also
PLATO IV at UIUC
not me



Why, when I was their
age…

Background - the “other”
PLATO




PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching
Operations) invented by Prof. Don Bitzer, University
of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, early 1960s
What were some other features?








Talkomatic & Term-Talk: one-to-one chat
Notes evolved into Personal Notes (think Usenet)
and Group Notes (think Lotus Notes)
Multiplayer games
A lot of talking about music

Plus ça change, plus c’est la net?

Background - Pew Internet &
American Life Project
 Dedicated

to examining the Internet's

role in everyday life in the U.S.





Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
January 2000 - December 2005…and
beyond?
Core research is a daily tracking survey,
RDD, nationwide sample, asking about
Internet use

Background - The Internet Goes to
College
 Online

survey randomly distributed in May
2004 to college instructors at institutions of
higher education across the United States.

 2,316 college faculty completed the survey.
 Comparisons made with findings from study
of college students’ Internet use in 2002.
 Currently in the field (Spring 2005) with
research on college students’ Internet use.

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
Reasons for using the Internet to communicate with students
Faculty (2004)
Students (2002)
Make class announcements 95%
89%
Provide information about 71%
82%
class assignments
Provide feedback on

7%
60%
assignments
Discuss course-related
4%
4%
problems

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
Internet communication has had a positive
impact
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
Faculty (2004)

25%

20%

Students (2002)

15%
10%
5%
0%
Strongly
agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
disagree

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
•

The Internet is a social technology for college
students, but it is not the only one:
•



Two-thirds (69%) of college students said they are more

likely to use the phone than the Internet to communicate
socially, even though 85% of college students consider the
Internet to be an easy and convenient choice for
communicating with friends
• Cell phone use while being online is prevalent
61% of 18 - 24 year olds own a cell phone (and the number
is rising)

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Top

Three Internet Tools

Email
Instant messaging
Web discussion board

Faculty Students
92%

62%
24
29
28
2

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Has

plagiarism increased in your
students’ work since the internet’s
spread?
 Yes
 No

- 44%

- 23%

 Undecided

- 33%

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Do

you use the Internet to check
for plagiarism?
Yes
No

- 74%

- 26%

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College




Faculty comments:


“Confusion reigns about the difference between
‘academic’ sources and internet blog or ‘junk’ sources.
I’m amazed at how little students seem to know about
how best to research via the internet.”



It is a “mixed blessing for student research that the
internet provides, as both a great resource and an
unfortunate substitute for sustained research and
inquiry.”

Scholars and libraries must examine and instill critical skills
and information values in students.

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College






Most faculty computer use is split between home (51%)
and work (49%).
Slightly more student computer use (59%) takes place at
home.
For checking email 93% of college students,and 92% of
college faculty, reported using their home computers the
most.




Observations in campus computer labs showed that, while
often crowded, students do not spend a great deal of time in
them.
Faculty virtually never observed - except in libraries.

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Mobility


(wi-fi, laptops) becoming more common.

17% of faculty reported using wi-fi, laptops
(comparable to 18% of all internet users, 27% of
students (early number)).

 Public

spaces can quickly become public
‘computer labs,’ for long periods of time.
 Students often sit and work together in such
spaces.


But as in other public areas generally segregate by
race, ethnicity and/or gender.

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Weblogs,

or ‘blogs,’ increasingly
common among faculty and students.
 Wikis are on the rise.
 Multi-tasking very common.
 Downloading and file sharing continue.


60% of college students said they had
done it, compared with 28% of all Internet
users in the U.S.

What We Know - The Internet Goes
to College
 Student

and faculty library use has
decreased as time spent in the
library ...but
 Library use has increased as access to
materials.

What It Means - Implications
 Increasing

habit of using the most
convenient computer, the one “at hand.”
 Mixing of work and social activity online.


Mirrored by blurring of boundaries between
work and home, work and leisure.

What It Means - Implications
 Students

expect near-ubiquitous Internet

access.
Even in class, at events, concerts, dining,
recreation and leisure areas.
 Faculty are coming to expect this as well.


 Students

access.

and faculty expect high speed

What It Means - Implications
 Issues

apparent with the spread of cell
phones, such as etiquette and distraction, are
likely to emerge as students are able to
access the Internet anywhere, including in
libraries, classrooms.
 Students and teachers would benefit from
tools for presence and awareness.

What It Means - Implications
 Some

libraries
adopting
presence
model (UIC,
for example).

What It Means - Implications
Non-tech

infrastructure: Support, training,
need better integration with faculty, student
work.
Tech infrastructure: Internet technologies
could be better integrated with faculty work.
Increasing expectations of technology use.

•Students critical of professors, others, who
don’t use technology, but more critical of
those who use it badly.

What It Means - Implications
 The

Web in particular has become an
information cornerstone for students and
faculty, and the Internet is their
info-‘Swiss Army Knife.’
 Why

do students use the information tools
that they do?

What It Means - Implications


Early data from ethnographic interviews
 “I









use Google because I heard it searches for more things”
(than other sources).
“I believe I can find anything on the Internet. There hasn’t been
anything I haven’t been able to find.”
“Because I’m lazy.”
Books have “so much information that no one can go through it
all.”
I use “the Internet first is because it is more convenient.”
I go to the library “because that’s what teachers like.”
“Google has gotten me through college.”

What It Means - Implications
 Was

this foreseen years ago (1987) - but
is still not realized?

QuickTime™ and a
Cinepak decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

What It Means - Implications
 What

might reliance on Google (or other
sites) mean for the future?

QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

What It Means - Implications
Collaboration

and interdisciplinarity will
continue to increase in part due to Internet use.
VICI
Visualization
Interaction
Collaboration
Immersion

VR

& high-speed networking

Virtual

heritage, large data sets,
scientific visualization, etc.

QuickTime™ and a
Video decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

What It Means - Implications
 Given

present realities and forthcoming
technologies, how might ARL’s strategic
directions (particularly Strategic Direction I sustainability, access, support of teaching,
learning, research, service - and Strategic
Direction III - engage in transformations
affecting research and education) be best
aligned?

What It Means - Implications
 Strategic

Direction I (sustainability, access,
support of teaching, learning, research,
service) - Pay particular attention to ICT use
across (and in some cases outside)
institution.
 Strategic Direction III (engage in
transformations affecting research and
education) - Engage academic computing,
teaching, groups, cognate disciplines.

Questions?

For More Information
Websites
 http://info.comm.uic.edu/jones/
 http://www.evl.uic.edu
 http://www.pewinternet.org
 http://aoir.org
E-mail
 sjones@pewinternet.org, sjones@uic.edu

Thank you!