An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology:  Key Factors for Course Design

Casimir C. Barczyk; Emily Hixon; Janet Buckenmeyer; Heather Zamojski

doi:10.30935/cedtech/6071

An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design

Casimir C. Barczyk ¹ ^*, Emily Hixon ¹, Janet Buckenmeyer ¹, Heather Zamojski ¹

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CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 99-114

https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

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Abstract

Students at a regional campus of a Midwestern university were surveyed using an online questionnaire to determine their ownership, skill, and use of technological devices. Four hundred ninety-three students responded to the survey. It was found that the survey sample mirrored the student population at the university. Students owned and used a wide variety of electronic devices. Eighty five percent of the students owned laptop computers, 62% digital phones, 60% desktop computers, and 52% gaming systems. Students used electronic devices an average of 6.03 hours per week on classroom activities and 3.93 hours per week surfing the Internet for pleasure. They perceived themselves as being very skilled at using email, surfing the web, and word processing. It was also found that there was a significant correlation between students’ ownership of and skill with educational technology and their experience with Blackboard. Technological barriers were found to have a negative impact on students’ experience with Blackboard. Those barriers also negatively impacted their technological use and skill. A simple linear regression model explains that students’ experience with Blackboard is enhanced by having greater skill with technology, but is diminished when confronted with technological barriers. Implications for course design are discussed.

Keywords: Educational Technology, Post-Secondary Education, Student Experience with Technology, Barriers to Use Technology, Course Design

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Citation

Barczyk, C. C., Hixon, E., Buckenmeyer, J., & Zamojski, H. (2012). An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design. Contemporary Educational Technology, 3(2), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

Barczyk, C. C., Hixon, E., Buckenmeyer, J., and Zamojski, H. (2012). An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design. Contemporary Educational Technology, 3(2), pp. 99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

Barczyk CC, Hixon E, Buckenmeyer J, Zamojski H. An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2012;3(2), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

Barczyk, Casimir C., Emily Hixon, Janet Buckenmeyer, and Heather Zamojski. "An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design". Contemporary Educational Technology 2012 3 no. 2 (2012): 99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

Barczyk, Casimir C. et al. "An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design". Contemporary Educational Technology, vol. 3, no. 2, 2012, pp. 99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071

Barczyk CC, Hixon E, Buckenmeyer J, Zamojski H. An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2012;3(2):99-114. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6071