A brief presentation giving some data on smartphone usage in HE in the UK, and raising some associated issues

1. Smartphones and HE Students:
some data and some issues
Christine Davies

2. 2011 Research from Google (carried out in 2 phases) indicates that smartphone (ie.
internet-enabled mobile phone) usage is rising, particularly in the UK
(graphic from : http://bit.ly/IVI3w3)

3. But do HE students use smartphones?

4. % smartphone usage from recent studies
• London Metropolitan University students
(2010-11) - 87% (Bradley 2011)
• Sheffield Hallam 2010 - 69% (Woodcock et al,
2012)
...but...
• NUS/HSBC Student Experience Survey for
2010-2011 - 32%

5. Recent data from University of Glamorgan
• student experience questionnaire, May 2011
• Total questionnaire response = 133, with 55
students answering questions on technology
• 60% of respondents had an internet-enabled
phone; only half of these stated that they
used their smartphones for learning
Data presented at University of Greenwich, July 2011:
https://showtime.gre.ac.uk/index.php/edu/tel-conference/paper/view/21, and will also appear in an article in ‘Compass’, the
Learning and Teaching journal for the UnIversity of Greenwich

6. Issues
• Differences in survey methodology affect data
• Though on the rise, Smartphone usage is
variable and may not have reached 50% in
some institutions
• Students may think of mobile phones and
‘learning’ as mutually exclusive

7. Christine Davies
Associate HE Coordinator, JISC RSC Wales
c.p.davies@rsc-wales.ac.uk
@christinepd