Technology at University: New Students’ Expectations for Social and Academic Uses

‘What prior experience of technology use do students new to university have?’ This research reports on students’ use of technology for social and academic purposes at a UK university. The purpose was to identify trends of use in different technologies, with the aim ultimately of identifying how to support those with limited prior experience of technology. A study completed in 2006 previously reported that incoming students were increasingly familiar with the use of multiple types of technology, and this was generally expected to grow. The findings of the current study consider students’ own use of technology for academic and social purposes. Specifically, the use of Web 2.0 technologies associated particularly with academia, such as wikis, discussion forums, blogs and the interactive whiteboard are rising. This research has relevance for the provision of institutional support for students and academics and for the development of pedagogies to support the use of learning technologies.