A presentation given to the HERDSA Development Forum in Brisbane on the 28 September.

1. The ever-evolving opportunities provided
by technology: Opportunity or hype?
Let's hear what the students have to say
Dr Michael Sankey
Director, Learning Environments and Media
Professor Belinda Tynan
PVC Learning, Teaching and Quality

2. Introduction
 The evolving opportunities technological change provides requires the
frequent evolution of services to facilitate engaged learning.
 The resources and costs involved need to be carefully weighed up
against the potential benefits of the affordances.
 To provide an evidence-based approach to planning USQ recently
conducted a multidimensional survey to understand how students’ use
and expectations of technologies for both life and study.
 The technologies surveyed included, institutional systems (email, LMS),
Web2.0 technologies (social networking, shared spaces) and personal
devices.
 This presentation provides some initial findings and reflects on some
implications for emerging learning environments for ‘todays’ student.

3. Enrolled students USQ
• All students 26,000
• On-campus 6,000
• External/online 20,000 (77%)
• International 7,400 (2,300 ONC)
The vast majority of USQ students access
information services online
Most Students and Staff know what they’re getting
themselves in for when they come to USQ 

4. Social networking

5. Some assumptions
 Lots of students use Facebook, Twitter, iPhones
etc., so they will want to use it for their studies.
 We build it (engaging stuff) and they will come
 Staff now all have iPads so the students must
also want to be using them
 New technologies can do a
better job than some more
traditional approaches
Image accessed from: https://schoolpsych-ipad.wikispaces.com/

6. Method
 2010 Macquarie, UWS & UTS jointly ran the
Student Experience of Technology in Universities
Survey
 Online survey open for 3 weeks
 126 multi-choice questions based on 5 point likert scale,
 4 open ended response questions
 5 x $50 Amazon vouchers up for grabs
 Email sent to all students + 2 reminders + on Student
Portal
 1181 valid responses
 Focus group (yet to be held)
700+ willing to participate (ideas, how to do this many)
Gosper, M., Malfroy, J., McKenzie, J., & Ranking, J. (2011). Students’ engagement with technologies: Implications

for university practice. In G.Williams, N. Brown, M. Pittard, & B. Cleland (Eds.) Changing Demands, Changing
Directions. Proceedings ascilite Hobart 2011 http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/hobart11/procs/filename.pdf

7. 5 main sections
 Part 1 technologies currently used in
everyday life for social and work purposes.
 Part 2 current and preferred use of
technologies for learning and communicating
with the wider university.
 Part 3 the services and support provided for
learning.
 Part 4 the technologies used to interact with
the university for administrative purposes.
 Part 5 general demographic information

8. Base stats
660
801
660
900
640
800
620
700
600 380
68%
600
580
551
56%
500
560
400
540
300
520
200
500
100
480
0
Full-time Part-time
internal/on-campus external/distance student
Full-time or part-time student
Internal/on-campus or external/distance student
331
350
770
300
800 250
28% 217
700 441
200 161 155 154
600
500
400
65% 150
103
100 60
300
200 50
100
0
0
18 or less 19-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41-50 Over 50
Female Male
Age
Gender
73%

9. 785
800
N=1181
700
600 67% Not in paid employment 344
500
400 288
300
200 58 50
Part-time (20 or > h'rs p/w) 123
100
0
Employment status
Non-award (eg Undergraduate Postgraduate Postgraduate research
ELCOS, TPP) coursework
Part-time (11 - 20 h'rs p/w) 136
476
500
450
400
273
350
300 40% 231
201
Part-time (<10 h'rs p/w) 111
250
200
150
100
50
0 Full-time 466
In first year In 2nd year In 3rd year In 4th year + 40%
Years studying at this university, so far
0 100 200 300 400 500

10. Technologies Surveyed
 Instant messaging (eg MSN, Yahoo Chat, ICQ)
 Text message (SMS)
 Email
 Collaborative / conferencing technologies (eg Skype, Wimba,
FaceTime )
 ePortfolios
 Mobile phone for voice calls and with internet access
 LMS (Moodle)
 RSS feeds using a variety of web sources
 Social networking sites (eg Facebook, Twitter, Google +)
 Social bookmarking / tagging (eg del.icio.us, Diigo) GPS
tagging of photos on the web (eg Flickr, Picasa, etc)
 3D Virtual worlds
 Blogs and Wikis
 Online multi-user computer games (eg WoW, Everquest)

11.  Library search engines (eg e-journals / electronic databases)
 Internet search engines (eg Google, Yahoo)
 Podcasts or webcasts (eg watching or listening to You Tube)
 Software used to create audio/video materials (eg Garage
Band, Director, iMovie)
 Presentation software (eg PowerPoint, KeyNote)
 Web development software (eg HTML editors such as
Dreamweaver or Front Page)
 Interactive whiteboards
 Data analysis software (eg spreadsheets and databases)
 Google docs
 Tablet computer (eg iPad)

12. Top 10 tools used outside study
1200 1137
N=1181
1121
1061 1047
1000 907
851
800
633 622
600 551
413
400
200
0

13. Top 10 technologies used by students in their
everyday lives
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
X
40%
30%
20%
X
10%
0%
Search engines -google
Text message -SMSEmail
Mobile Social networking - Facebook, Twitter messaging -MSN - internet - journals, databases
phone - voice calls Podcasts -You Tube Mobile phone
Instant Library search engines Google docs

14. The computing equipment
they have access to
1200
90% N=1181
1055
1000
67%
785
800
610
600
510
368
400
318
211 207
200
47
0
Desktop Laptop Laptop on Laptop on Computer labs Computer at Mobile phone IPad or Android Gaming
computer at computer at campus with no campus with on campus work with internet pad with console with
home home internet wireless access wireless internet access
connection internet internet

15. Primary Internet access
800 N=1181
707
700
600
500
400 60%
300
177
200
91
100 67 66
26 33
14
0
Dial Up ADSL (1 or 2) Cable Satellite 3G 4G Wireless (no plan) Through Uni or
other third party

16. Example
1000 N=1181
944
900
800
700
600
500
400
326
267 279
300
239
200
101
66 64 70
100
6
0
Never or Rarely A few times a SEMESTER A few times a MONTH A few times a WEEK One or more times a DAY
CURRENTLY do this WOULD LIKE TO do this

17. Some interesting shifts
1000 942 965 N=1181
900
800 747
721
700
681
600
500 492 539
400
300 333 448
200
175
100 183
0 187 Current use
Future use

18. Technologies for learning
600
N=1181
540
500
479
486
400
344
300 16%
184 253
200 210
14%
100 47 79 172 185
Current use
0 Future use
23

19. Technologies for learning
700
N=1181
600 616
596 606
500
481
438
400 380
300
313
200
116
102 137 226
100 136
Current use
0 Future use
ePortfolio for
study ePortfolio for
career Web
conferencing Web
com's conferencing Mobile phone
lectures to contribute Tablet to
contribute

20. Student with staff
Student with student
900
862
N=1181
800 847
748 781
700
682 704
600
632
500 523
454
400 Current with staff
368
281 308 Future with staff
300 292 Current with staff2
200 Future with student
173
119
75
100
0
Instant messaging
Text messaging
Email
In LMS

21. Technologies for Admin Purposes
67% Twitter RSS feeds
346
781 350
800
300 247
700 213
250 199
600 176
500
200
400 150
300 100
160
200 101 78 50
61
100 0
0
Not At All A Little Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful
Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful Useful Useful Useful
Useful Useful
Email Paper-based letters or memos
700 632
350 305 306
600
300
243
500
250 204
367
400
200
300 123
150
200 118
100
100 44
20
50
0
0
Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful
Useful Useful Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful
Useful Useful

22. Technologies for Admin Purposes
Facebook Mobile voice calls
384 343
400
350
350
300 246 248
300
229 250
250 210 189
186
172 200 155
200
150
150
100 100
50 50
0 0
Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful
Useful Useful Useful Useful
Mobile apps Comm’s through LMS
400 362 450 406 406
350 400
295
350
300
226 300
250 216
250
200 165
200
133
150 150 104
100 100 49
50 50
0
0
Not At All A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful
Not At All Useful A Little Useful Moderately Quite Useful Very Useful Useful Useful
Useful

23. Conclusion
 Lots of students use Twitter, Facebook, etc., so they will
want to use it for their studies
 Yes quite a few do, but only a few are interested in using them for
study
 We build it (engaging stuff) and they will come
 That is true in relation to the use of LMS and online conferencing,
vod/pod casting and particularly for the self testing of knowledge
 Staff now all have iPads so the students must also want to
be using them
 Students are mostly using laptops for study
 New technologies can do a better job than some more
traditional approaches
 To some degree we are clearly seeing a trend to using more online
technologies

24. HTML5 Symposium
http://www.usq.edu.au/html5-symposium