KEY FINDINGS

* 90% of respondents owns a laptop which is less than 1 year old. * 63.3% do not own notebooks/tablets, showing that adoption rate is still not as high *
KEY FINDINGS

* 90% of respondents owns a laptop which is less than 1 year old. * 63.3% do not own notebooks/tablets, showing that adoption rate is still not as high *
4. TECHONOLOGY USED & OWNERSHIP

4.1 Student Technology Adoption Trends

In our student survey, respondents were asked to choose a statement that best described them. We then categorized their responses according to the Everett Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation theory (Table 4-1)

Which of the following best describe you? | Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation | I’m skeptical of new technologies and use them only when I have to. | Laggards | I’m usually one of the last few people I know to use new technologies | Late Majority | I usually use new technologies when most people I know do | Early Majority | I like new technologies and use them before most people I know | Early Adopters | I love new technologies and am among the first to experiment with and use them | Innovations |
(Table 4-1)

The findings shows that close to half of the respondents (45%) identify themselves as being Early Majority, who would use new technologies when others do so. While percentages for innovators (13.3%) and late majority (11.7%) are almost the same, very little percentage of respondents are more skeptical to new technologies (5.8%). (Figure 4.1)

(Figure 4.1)
Gender difference plays a part in new technology adoption as well, from our study we notice that male respondents see themselves as innovators and early adopters (27.5%) and more female respondents identify with early majority (28.3%). (Figure 4.1.2)

(Figure 4.1.2)

We can see that there is a potential market among the male students who are open to experiment with new technologies. Overall, the students like new technology and would use when most of their peers are using. (Figure 4.1.3)

(Figure 4.1.3)

4.2 TECHNOLOGY OWNERSHIP

To find out the most commonly use technological platform that the target market would use, we asked respondents if they owned a desktop (43.4%), a netbook/tablet (36.7%), a laptop (90%), dedicated E-book reader (14.2%) and handheld device (82.5%) such as “iPhone, Blackberry, other internet-capable cellphones, etc.” (Figure 4.2)

We found that the trend in technology owned by students is moving towards mobility, shown by the high percentage of students owning a laptop, and would continue to do so. A small percentage of students own dedicated e-book reader and it’s not surprising that its so few as students we interviewed tell us the limitations they experience with e-book reader: “the screen is too small.”; “Cant take down notes quickly and straining to the eyes”.

Desktop
Netbook/Tablet
Laptop
E-Book Reader
Handheld Device

Desktop
Netbook/Tablet
Laptop
E-Book Reader
Handheld Device

(Figure 4.2)

From our findings: (Figure 4.2.1)

* Majority of students do not own desktops and transited into using laptops immediately, desktop is in a decline stage * The most widely adopted device is laptops, in the maturity stage. * 63.3% do not own a netbook or tablet, which shows that adoption rate is not high. It’s in a growth stage.

(Figure 4.2.1)
(Figure 4.2.1)
Best Education should look into the laptop and handheld device market, and also consider developing products that can suit those who own notebooks/tablets as it’s a growing potential market.

4.3 OWNERSHIP OF INTERNET-CAPABLE HANDHELD DEVICES

(Table 4-3)

Our findings (Table 4-3) reflect our secondary research that smartphones and Internet have received a high penetration rate among respondents. There’s a high ownership of internet-capable handheld device (89%) among students.
Respondents who do not own a internet-capable device (11%) tells us they plan to purchase one in the next 12-months (8%) which we identify as potential users of new technology while 3% (non-users) have no intention to purchase.
Of those who own an internet-capable device, 80.8% uses the Internet on a daily basis; we identify them as power users. It seems that using Internet from handheld device is becoming more mainstream. Best Education should prepare for this rising trend of mobile-internet users and tap on the power-user market that closely form the majority of the student population, however potential users should not be overlooked. (Figure 4.3)

Nonusers
Potential Users
Power Users
Occasional Users

Nonusers
Potential Users
Power Users
Occasional Users

(Figure 4.3)

5. STUDENTS AND TECHONOLOGY

5.1 HOURS SPENT ONLINE

Hours spent online daily
Hours spent online daily for school-related activities

Hours spent online daily
Hours spent online daily for school-related activities

(Figure 5.1)

Respondent’s time spent online doing activities for school, work and recreation varies widely More than half (58.4%) are online for 8 hours or less daily, 41.7% are online for more than 8 hours. (Table 4-4)

However, 60% of these students only spend up to a maximum of 2 hours online for school related activities. As shown in the literature review, the high Internet penetration rate does not mean a high level of learning online. Students engage in different activities online.

In the responses to our phone interview, most of the students tell us that they often engage in other online activities while doing academic work. One respondent said, “Yes, I do. I use YouTube, Facebook and twitter. Sometimes I check my e-mail”. Another had the same sentiment “I get very easily distracted by the Internet things like videos etc, it comes into (distract) my academic work.”

(Table 5-1)
5.2 INTERNET ACTIVITIES FROM HANDHELD DEVICE

(Figure 5.2)

Respondents were asked what activities they do from their handheld device (selecting from 14 activities), Table 5.2 shows the top 5 most popular Internet activities students engage in.

Activity | Percentage | | Social Networking | 91.7% | Maps | 85.0% | Instant messaging | 82.5% | Check information | 71.7% | Online Games | 57.5% |
(Table 5-2)

91.7% uses handheld device for social networking. These activities are high in interactivity and connectivity, revealing respondents’ desire of “connectiveness”. Only 35.8% of respondents said they use E-Books from their handheld device, this indicates that digitalizing of books does not equate to high adoption rate, especially on handheld device.

We then asked students, from a list of 9 activities (Figure 5.2.1 & 5.2.2), for the most preferred device they would use. The findings show that students prefer using their handheld device for leisure activities like listening to music (60%) and playing games (46.7%). Most prefer to use laptop (50%) for reading lesson’s notes and class assignments (55.8%). But students seem to prefer using tablet/netbook for leisure reading, it could be associated with the benefit of mobility and convenience tablet/netbook brings as its lighter in weight.

(Figure 5.2.1)

(Figure 5.2.1)

(Figure 5.2.2)

Laptop and Tablet seems to be the preferred choice of students when it comes to reading, thus Best Education should design their products based on these.

6. IT AND ACADEMIC RELEVANCE

* Blah blah…. * Insert after all the rest are done… * Blah blah…. * Insert after all the rest are done…
6.1 KEY FINDINGS

6.2 COMMON TECHONOLOGIES USED BY STUDENTS IN ACADEMIA

(Figure 6.2)

The two most common technology used by respondents are presentation software and spreadsheets, which are commonly used for project work. E-books are not widely use as adoption rate (32.5%) is relatively low. Reasons digital textbooks are still not very affordable at this stage and schools are still encouraging students to purchase traditional textbooks.

6.3 COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

(Figure 6.3)

(Figure 6.3)

84% of the respondents say they use CMS in their course while 16% (majority of the respondents are from Republic poly) do not use CMS.

Majority of students rely on CMS for their academic work. Half of the respondents who use the CMS (50%) log into the CMS almost on a daily basis. Out of the 84% of the respondents who use the CMS, 54% had positive experience with their institution’s CMS system while 30% had negative experiences. (Figure 6.3)

(Table 6.3.1)

(Table 6.3.1)

(Table 6.3)

(Table 6.3)

(Table 6.3.2)

(Table 6.3.2)

When asked to rate the various CMS features on a scale of 1(least useful) – 5(most useful). A mean score of 2.3 to 2.87 was derived for each.

Some features that are lacking in the current CMS system are – online discussion board; getting assignments back from instructors with comments and grades; online sharing of materials and keeping track of assignments and test grades online.

Table 6.3.3

Once again we see the student’s desire for an interactive platform appearing from the results. They want a system or product that allows them to discuss problems and interact with one another.

6.4 HOW STUDENTS LIKE TO LEARN

Figure 6.4

Face-to-face learning is the most preferred mode of learning (90.8%) and students also like to learn from programs they can control (73.3%). When asked if they would skip classes when materials from course are available online, 65.8% disagreed. This proves that even with greater convenience of IT (figure 6.4.1), students still wants face-to-face interaction.

Best Education product should not be a replacement of face-to-face learning but it should serve as a supplement and the product needs to be highly interactively as students like to learn through programs they can control

Figure 6.4.1

6.5 BENEFITS OF IT IN COURSES

When asked for the most valuable benefits of IT (figure 6.5, 69% of respondents valued convenience more than other factors. Improvements in learning through IT (16%) and management of course activities (12%) presumably through course management system (CMS) were other benefit that matters to students. More than half of the respondents agreed that IT makes their course activity more convenient (88.3%) and they are more actively involved in course that uses IT (63.4%). Almost all students (90.9%) agree or strongly agree that IT improves their learning (figure 6.4.1).

Figure 6.5

6.6 PREFERENCE OF IT IN COURSES

Because IT is so strongly integrated in many activities of the students live and our findings indicates that students value the convenience of IT. However most respondents (41.7%) when asked for their preference, prefers only a “moderate level” of IT in their courses.
The current hybrid model of learning in schools that utilize CMS, library websites, presentations software, and other tools in addition to face-to-face learning may just be the right amount of technology students can accept.

6.7 PREFERENCE OF DIGITAL-TEXTBOOKS

76.6% of our respondents uses traditional textbooks in their course for a varied purposes as show in (table..)

When asked for their preference for digital textbooks (65.8%) over traditional textbooks (34.2%), more than half of the students still prefer using traditional textbook for academic work (table…).

What is surprisingly in our study is that majority of students (20%) who prefer using digital textbooks are those who actually prefer a “moderate amount of IT”.
From our findings, we can say that students are likely to perceive digital textbooks as an acceptable amount of technology for them if introduced and will be open to use it in their course.

We also asked the students what are some barriers that discourage them from using digital textbooks. The no.1 barrier student chose was unable to take down notes (71.7%) and highlight (65.8%) unlike traditional textbooks that allows them to write and highlight on the pages.

In the responses to the survey’s open-ended question, a few students expressed why they think digital textbooks will replace traditional textbooks?

* “I find buying textbooks a financial burden. Using e-books would definitely cost cheaper than using textbooks” * “Textbook is thick and inconvenient to carry around” * “Devices will slowly be replacing paperbooks, more design and apps, many options of mobile devices” * “One e-book can keep many textbooks together”

And why not?

* “It is easier to make notes on printed material and if I use e-books during lecture, I may get distracted by facebook, twitter” * “You’ll need a device to access these materials. Problems such as finding a power point and having Internet access are vital in helping to gain accessibility to e-books.” * It causes inconvenience when I am being logged out of my account while accessing my e-book. * “Incompatibility issues with current devices, unable to take notes, difficult to read,

References mad use: rogers’ diffusion of innovation model http://www.provenmodels.com/570 7. CONCLUSION

The face of Singapore higher education is clearly in the midst of dramatic transformation brought by the rapid growth of information technology.
We set off to find the technology use by Singaporean higher education students and in conclusion, our findings can be sum up in the words of Keith Krueger:

“It is important to remember that educational software, like textbooks is only one tool in the learning process. Neither can be substitute for a well-trained teacher”
Keith Krueger (CEO of CoSN)

Objective 1: Most Feasible Technological Platform for Target Market | Technological Device | Current: Laptop and Handheld device * Combination of smart phones and music/video devicesUpcoming: Netbook and Tablet computers | Recommended price range | $0 - $100(Based on price range that students spend on textbooks) | Trends | * High internet penetration * Need for interactivity and connectedness * Value convenience and easy to use products | Implications for Best Education | * Product needs to meet the need for social interactivity desired by students * Must be integrated and compatible with devices/programs students use * Well designed user interface with easy navigations * Allow usage with other programs concurrently | Trends | * Preference on the use of laptops for school activities * Increasing transition towards using tablets/netbooks for leisure activities | Implications for Best Education | * Focus on seamless integration of contents that best utilizes the features of the device * For instance, streamlined versions of contents that utilizes touch screen effects if it were to be published on tablets | Trends | * Students engage in learning in non-classroom situations * Likelihood of adopting a new technology with friends | Implications for Best Education | * Possibility of improving on the current problems that they encounter when using devices to access learning materials * Possibility to integrate new ways of learning into the lifestyle of students. * For instance, introducing audio lectures or classes that are compatible for music/video devices students currently own. * Great promotional efforts will be required to encourage use of new product * Must be capable of identifying trend starters |

Objective 2: Identify Students’ Perception Towards E-learning | Trends | * Students spend large amount online daily * Not much time dedicated to studies online | Implications for Best Education | * Product must be engaging enough to capture the interests of students * The “Interaction” factor must be integrated into the product to encourage the use of product | Trends | * Preference for face to face interaction and interactive learning modes * Preference for moderate to extensive use of technology * Preference for traditional textbooks over digital textbooks | Implications for Best Education | * Product should serve as a supplement or complementary benefit for learning and not to replace classroom learning * Should enhance learning experience through the benefits of technology * Attempt to resolve current issues students face | Trends | * The benefits of CMS and E-learning in schools are not maximized * Unresolved issues like incompatibility problems influences students preferences for traditional learning methods | Implications for Best Education | * Introduce new market solutions to current problems * Enhance features of current programs * Identify trend starters (innovators) in the market and engaging them as beta testers |