Academic work, the Internet and U.S. college students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore, based on a nationally representative sample, U.S. college students' uses of the Internet in their studies and their perceptions of academic life online, and changes in both perception and use since a 2002 report on the topic. Findings show that overall Internet use for academic purposes has increased. Students report generally positive opinions about the Internet's utility for academic work, but satisfaction with it for academic interactions may be on the decline.

Introduction

With record levels of college enrollment (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006), large numbers of young Americans are spending their college years at institutions of higher learning that in many ways appear quite dissimilar from those attended by their parents and generations previous. Information and communication technology (ICT) and the Internet have become central to academic life on countless college and university campuses across the United States. From the rise of “e-learning” and web-based instruction, to online libraries and research tools, to computer-mediated student–professor interaction, college students today negotiate many aspects of their academic lives online.

The 2002 Pew Internet and American Life Project report, “The Internet Goes to College” (Jones) examined college students' use of the Internet. (NB: All references in the text to the “2002 report” or “2002 survey” are to this report.) Jones reports that in addition to recreational and social uses, students made significant use of the Internet in their academic lives, “as an educational tool supplementing traditional classroom education” (p. 19) that has “greatly changed the way they interact with others and with information as they go about their studies” (p. 2). Reports on students and faculty perceptions of ICT and feelings about their impact on college life are mixed. Some express optimism about the pedagogical potential of Internet-based instruction and research tools on university campuses (Cramer et al., 2007, Grabe et al., 2004–2005–2005). Others express concern that technologies are being used in limited ways (Selwyn, 2007), and that students are not equipped to evaluate much of the information they encounter online (D'Esposito and Gardner, 1999, Janes, 2007, Jenson, 2004, Metzger et al., 2003, Wang and Artero, 2005). Academics and public commentators have weighed in on these issues, but how do students feel?

Kirkwood and Price (2005) stress the importance of hearing directly from students regarding their perceptions of and attitudes towards the Internet and ICT as educational tools and (increasingly important) aspects of student life. They assert, “students' perceptions of the educational benefits of a medium are more significant than its intrinsic characteristics” (p. 270). Moreover, scholars suggest that students' attitudes towards and perceptions of the Internet affect their Internet self-efficacy (Peng, Tsai, & Wu, 2006). It is thus of central importance to assess students' perceptions of their academic environments and the role that the Internet plays, as Internet-based tools become increasingly commonplace and central to students' experiences at institutions of higher learning.

The aim of this study is to explore, based on a nationally representative sample, college students' uses of the Internet in their studies and their perceptions of academic life online, and changes in both perception and use since the 2002 report. What does the incorporation of ICT, Internet-based instruction, and online research tools, to name a few, mean for today's college students' university experiences? What role does the Internet play in college students' academic routines? Has this changed since 2002, and if so, in what ways? What are the implications for faculty–student interactions? How does the Internet affect students' research and writing habits during university? What are the consequences for students' information literacy? This study aims to look at college students' academic uses of and attitudes towards the Internet, and compare the findings to those of the 2002 report.