This is the set of slides I have used at the PLE 2013 conference in Berlin on 11 July 2013 for our presentation.

1. University students’ use of social
media and digital devices: insights
into their personal learning
environments
Palitha Edirisingha, Tracy Simmons (University of Leicester, UK)
and Arunangsu Chatterjee (University of Plymouth, UK)
A research project funded by the College of
Social Sciences, University of Leicester
PLE 2013 Conference, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, 10 - 12 July 2013
#CS01

2. Research questions
• How do university students’ use digital devices
and web 2.0 technologies within their formal
learning context?
• What are the digital literacy issues that might
emerge in using web-based resources and
tools?
• How might we recognise students’ informal
use of these tools and resources as part of
their Personal learning environments?

3. Background
Top-down
‘culture
industry’ model
of education
Bottom-up
‘participatory’
culture
Jenkins et al (2008),
Francis (2010)
Adorno (2001)

4. Background
Representation Language
Audience Production
Digital
literacy skills
Buckingham (2007)

5. Methods
1st round
(2010-11)
2nd round
(2011-12)
3rd round
(2012 – 13)
Questionnaire surveys of
undergraduate and postgraduate
students to identify their ownership
of and use of digital devices and web
2.0 tools
(based on Francis, 2008)
53 students 41 students From July
Focus groups (4) with students (3 – 4
in each group) to gain a deeper
insight into their use of web 2.0 tools
in a learning context
3 groups, 10
students
3 groups, 11
students
From July
Workshops with students to observe
their online activities and digital
practices
8 students From
August

6. Findings / themes
Transition into a new
academic culture
Access to and use of digital
devices, web-based tools
and resources
Approach to an assessed
piece of work
Use of web-based tools
and resources for their
formal learning

7. Ownership of computer and other digital devices (% reporting)
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%
Desktop
Laptop
Smartphone
Phone
Digital Camera
MP3player
Tablet
eReader
Gaming device
Other
2011-2012
2010-2011
Note: 2010 – 2011, n= 53; 2011 – 2012, n=41

8. The most important device(s) for your studies / study-related activities
Note: 2010 – 2011, n= 53; 2011 – 2012, n=41
89.4%
56.8%
44.4%
91.3%
38.2%
25.0%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%
Laptop
Smartphone
MP3player(R1)/Camera(R2)
2011-2012
2010-2011

9. The devices used to access internet during term-time
Note: 2010 – 2011, n= 53; 2011 – 2012, n=41
81.1%
100.0%
54.7%
15.4%
0.0%
84.4%
98.7%
70.1%
6.5%
11.7%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%
University computer
Own computer(laptop)
Mobile phone
iPod touch
Others
2011-2012
2010-2011

10. Locations where you use computers during term time
Note: 2010 – 2011, n= 53; 2011 – 2012, n=41
94.3%
94.3%
11.7%
24.5%
64.2%
11.3%
30.2%
13.2%
28.3%
20.8%
9.6%
96.1%
96.1%
11.7%
39.0%
68.8%
7.8%
32.5%
18.2%
36.4%
26.0%
3.9%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%
Term-time accommodation
University library
Public library
Lecture/seminar rooms
Computer room in the university
Office or workplace
Cafes at the university
Cafes elsewhere
At friends, relatives
On the move
Other places
2011-2012
2010-2011

11. Top three locations for computer use during term time
(2010 – 2011 data)
University computer rooms
57%
27%
University library
65%,
Term-time accommodation

12. Online activities
(2011-12 data)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Update social network
Watch TV programmes
Listen to radio on the computer or mobile phone
Write your blog
Use social bookmarking sites
Contribute to wikis
Play video games
Download/share music
Use 3D vitural world
Chat using instant relay text
Make voice calls using Internet
Share digital photographs
Share videos
Record your own music
Mix music
Make graphic art
Contribute to onlin discussion
Microblogging
Subscribe to RSS
Programming
eBay trading
Online shopping
Online banking
Use apps
Rarely
Sometimes
Always

13. Please go to the following URL and view /
download the data from the 2010-2011
questionnaire survey
http://goo.gl/kraQF

14. Approaching an assessed piece of work – patterns of navigation
and study environments
classroom
(face-to-
face)
VLE (lecture notes, slides, readding lists)
LIBRARY (books, articles, learning space)
CAFE (learning space)
WIKIPEDIA
(introductions,concepts, references)
GOOGLE (books, articles)
TRANSLATION SOFTWARE / TOOLS
ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK
(friends, family)
PERSONAL TUTOR

15. Mostly used web-based resources and tools for learning

16. Web tools and resources that students use for their formal
learning
Google, Google
Scholar
YouTube
Podcasts
Twitter
Blogs
Wikipedi
aWebsites
(Govt. and
non-govt.
organisatio
ns)
Websites
(media
org.)
Websites
(other)
Recom
mendati
on tools
Google
Books

17. NON-WESTERN Web tools and resources that students use for
their formal learning
Baidu
Youku
Podcasts
Weibo
RenRen
Baidu
WikiWebsites
(Govt. and
non-govt.
organisatio
ns)
Websites
(media
org.)
Websites
(other)
Recom
mendati
on tools
QQ

18. Recommendation sites / tools
P(J): I want to mention a special website. It’s a Chinese website and its
name is Douban. I find, it’s a very useful website for me, because if I want
to read a book and I search the book in Douban, I will find the book. There
is specific webpage for this book and some recommendations and some
comments from other readers, their recommendations, their comments
about this book. Besides, this website allow people to use tags about
books, music or films, so members of this website can just search these
tags and they can find relevant resources and besides that, the website
will give you recommendations. If I search a book, and the website
itself, will give some, some most relevant search results about, relevant to
books. It means that, besides the book that I am searching it will display
several books on the same topic, in the same theme, or several books
most of the readers of this book were also interested in. So, for me, I
suppose, it’s a very useful website for learning. But I haven’t found English
websites that have the same function. [2011. FG2]

19. Twitter
Y: I find it quite useful for my academic work because all the
people I know, professors here [at the university], are on
twitter but it is not easy to find these professors on Facebook.
When I follow my supervisor on Twitter I can also see others
who are also following him on twitter who are also professors
so we can have useful conversations. [2012. FG3]
Interviewer: What are the advantages of following your
professor on Twitter?
Y: He always updates on some academic news, what he has
found out, his recommendations ….

20. Final remarks
• Vertical and horizontal space of the new media
environment raises a number if challenges
• Expert and ‘non-expert’ information
• Moving across ‘expert’ or ‘academic’ information that
flows downwards: reading lists, Library e-
link, alongside peer to peer (horizontal) information.
• Seamless spaces on-line QQ, off-line: group study
rooms in the library.
• Students have useful mobile technology an iPhone
provides multiple uses: mini photocopier, access web
material, arrange group meetings etc.

21. Challenges
University VLE-
based formal
learning
Web 2.0-based
personal
informal
learning

22. Research questions
• How do university students’ use digital devices
and web 2.0 technologies within their formal
learning context?
• What are the digital literacy issues that might
emerge in using web-based resources and
tools?
• How might we recognise students’ informal
use of these tools and resources as part of
their Personal learning environments?

24. Special thanks to our PhD students for
their contributions
• Dimitrinka Atanasova (Media and
Communication, Leicester)
• Mengjie Jiang (Institute of Learning
Innovation, Leicester)
• Nan Yang (University of Trento, Italy)

25. Selected references
Adorno, T. W. (2001). The Culture Industry : Selected Essays on Mass Culture . London: Routledge.
DCMS (2009) Digital Britain: Final Report London: TSO. Available at
http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/being-digital/getting-britain-online/. [Accessed September 2009].
Dijk, J. V. 2005. The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society. London: Sage.
Francis, R.J., (2010) The Decentring of the Traditional University: the future of (self) education in virtually figured
worlds,
Francis, R.J., (2008), The Predicament of the Learner in the New Media Age, DPhil thesis submitted to University of
Oxford.
Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated Language and Learning: A critique of traditional schooling, Abington, Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M., & Robinson, A. (2006). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory
Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: Comparative Media Studies Programme at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Available at: http://www.projectnml.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf
[Accessed 2 Nov 2010].
Melville, D. (2009) Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World: Report of Committee of Enquiry into the Changing Learner
Experience, Available at: http://www.clex.org.uk/CLEX_Report_v1-final.pdf. [Accessed 29 May 2009].
Lave, J., and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ofcom (2011b). UK adults’ media literacy.London: Ofcom.