This document summarizes the findings of a multi-year study on university students' use of technology. It finds that students are well-equipped with devices and internet access, with a trend toward mobile access. Communication occurs mainly through Facebook, YouTube, and email. Facebook usage has increased dramatically and influenced a decline in other platforms. The researchers conclude that students seamlessly integrate web technologies into daily life and that platforms like Facebook are primarily communication mediums that shape interaction and collaboration.

1. The Facebook Generation
Boon or Bane for
E-Learning at Universities?
Martin Ebner, Walther Nagler

2. http://twitterwall.tugraz.at
#edmedia11 +
[#question oder #notice oder #http]

5. Technology enhanced Learning
http://flickr.com/photos/powerbooktrance/289992273//

6. e-Learning u-Learning
p-Learning
m-Learning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sovietuk/141381675

7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddhiestand/197704394/

8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddhiestand/197704394/

9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddhiestand/197704394/

10. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddhiestand/197704394/

11. Mobile Generation
http://flickr.com/photos/thomcochrane/416206133/

12. Future is mobile
http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

13. http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

14. http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

15. http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

16. http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

17. http://i.imgur.com/r9Rov.png

18. „Our students have changed
radically. Today‘s students are no
longer the people our educational
system was designed to teach.“
Mark Prenksy 2001
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maebmij/123180774

19. Net Geners, Digital Natives, Millenials, Multitaskers oder generation@
Digital Natives (Prensky)
Net-Generation (Tapscott)
Generation @ (Opaschowski)
Homo Zapiens (Pelevin & Bromfield)
...
RT @twitter ist die Uni auf Facebook? #DigitalUniversity #l3t
Martin Ebner

20. Digital Native /
Digital Immigrants
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ergonomic/3363073562

21. "As Digital Immigrants learn - like all immigrants,
some better than others - to adapt to their
environment, they always retain, to some degree,
their "accent", that is, their foot in the past."
Marc Prensky "Digital Natvies, Digital Immigrants", 2001
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oso/2343596768

22. Oblinger, J. L., 2005, Is it age for IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation
• Read visual image
• visual spatial skills
• inductive discovery
• attentional deployment
• fast response time
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43331433@N00/314937044

23. Digital Literacy
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Microsoft_Surface_demo_4.jpg

24. Digital Gap
http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/InternetMap/medium/worldWhite.jpg

25. Digital Divide
• Economic divide
• Usability divide
• Empowerment divide
Jacon Nielsen Digital Divide,
The Three stages
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icecream/22316672

26. „These new generations of learners do not see
technology as something foreign. They readily
accept technology and consider technology to
be part of their lives. Moreover, the use of
mobile technology is a 21st Century skill that
students and workers must
have to function in society.“
Ally, M. (2007). Mobile Learning.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 8(2).

28. Is there a
Net@generation and
is there a difference
to former students?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dantekgeek/189891071
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menlophoto/2826598720

29. Research Questions
Which trends can be seen towards ...
• technical equipment?
• internet access at study home?
• communication behaviour?
• useage of e-Learning platforms
at seondary school level?
• Web 2.0 competence?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/everyplace/12684903/
http://flickr.com/photos/thomcochrane/416206133/

30. > 640 million user
about 30.000 server
10.208.000 comments / 20 minutes
2.716.000 phots / 20 minutes
and there is a special eye ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pshab/498122926

31. Study over 4 years (n=2858)
• Term 2007/2008 n=578
• Term 2008/2009 n=821
• Term 2009/2010 n=757
• Term 2010/2011 n=702

32. 0,00%
10,00%
20,00%
30,00%
40,00%
50,00%
60,00%
70,00%
80,00%
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Comparision of Devices
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Comparision of Devices
2010
2009
2008
2007

33. Communicational Behaviour I
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>5:?7<8=$ /5==0A1>A$

34. Communicational Behaviour II
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35. Internet Access at Study Home
Internet Access at Study Home
80,00%
70,00%
60,00% 2007
50,00%
2008
2009
40,00% 2010
30,00%
20,00%
10,00%
0,00%
No Public Smartphone Modem ADSL Mobil Others

36. Usage of e-Learning Platforms before Study
Usage of E-Learning Platforms before Study
100,00%
90,00%
80,00%
70,00% Schoole Moodle
60,00%
50,00% Schoole Platform
40,00%
30,00%
School Homepage
20,00%
E-Learning Plattform
10,00%
outside School
0,00%
never rarely often daily not checked

37. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Wikipedia
YouTube
Facebook
MySpace
StudiVz
Audiopods
Videopods
Weblogs
Twitter
RSS
Other Wikis
Flickr
Other Collab
Xing
Second Life
Overall Usage of Web2.0
Dropbox
QR
Other Communy
Other Media Sharing
delicious
Other virtual words
Etherpad
Other microblogs
Social Bookm
Overall Usage of Web 2.0 I
unknown
not checked
use + learning

38. 0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Wikipedia
YouTube
Facebook
MySpace
StudiVz
Audiopods
Videopods
Weblogs
Twitter
RSS
Other Wikis
Flickr
Other Collab
Xing
Second Life
Overall Usage of Web2.0
Dropbox
QR
Other Communy
Other Media
Sharing
delicious
Other virtual words
Etherpad
Other microblogs
Social Bookm
active
passive
Overall Usage of Web 2.0 II
unknown
for learning
not checked
known no use

39. Facebook
• 94% of all freshman use Facebook active
or passive
• Increase of more than 200% compared to
2009
• Decrease of MySpace, StudiVZ and FlickR
• „QR Code“-, „Twitter“-, „Xing“-,
„Dropbox“- and „Etherpad“-User use
Facebook daily per 100%
• Facebook is part of daily student life

40. ussio n
Dis c
http://www.flickr.com/photos/svenwerk/858381180

41. • Freshmen are well equipped - over
years now
• Comprehensive Internet access;
trend to mobile access
• Communication through Web
technologies is standarized
• Web competence means mainly
Wikipedia, YouTube, E-Mail and
Facebook
• Facebook Usage influences the
decrease of other platforms (Myspace,
FlickR, ...)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitsu/404092967/sizes/o/

42. „The long-term study shows
that students use so called
Web 2.0 applications - it‘s
just media for them.
Facebook is primarily a
communicaton medium,
so it will influence our
communication and
collaboration behaviour“

43. http://twitter.tugraz.at
Slides available at: http://elearningblog.tugraz.at
SOCIAL LEARNING
Computer and Information Services
Graz University of Technology
Graz University of Technology
Martin Ebner
http://elearningblog.tugraz.at
mebner http://elearning.tugraz.at