The Interfolio Blog

Technology use by undergraduates has been a topic under much discussion over the last year, with strong and continuing efforts to educate faculty and administrators about the importance of understanding a shift in student behavior and learning preferences.

Much of this discussion has centered around social networking, and how it can be understood from the standpoint of teaching and fostering collaboration in the classroom.

Rapidly evolving student attitudes about technology has farther-reaching effects than many realize.  This week, the University of Wisconsin-Madison released a study concluding that a full 82 percent of undergraduates would prefer to experience lectures or classroom experience online and remotely, either in real-time or recorded for later use. The study polled over 29,000 students, and concluded that there are a number of factors that contribute to the preference for online learning. The most popular include:

• Ability to make up missed classes
• Convenience of being able to experience the class at any time they prefer
• Access to lectures as a reference, even after the semester is over

While many colleges are concerned about the cost barriers to the technology upgrade required for this kind of course recording and distribution, over 60 percent of the students polled answered that they would be willing to pay an extra technology fee to cover the cost of having these options available.

What does this mean for colleges nationwide? While many may not begin to offer online courses or lectures on-demand any time soon, this study reveals an important fact. Undergraduates, and increasingly graduate students, are not only technology savvy and well-connected, they feel increasingly more comfortable learning and working in an online environment, expect technology to be an integral part of their university experience, and prefer the freedom to experience their education as they would any other aspect of their wired world.

With options for online learning increasing and universities continuing to see budget cuts and increased tuition rates, it will be vitally important to watch carefully how students increasingly make "purchasing", ie application and admission, decisions based on the availability of these technology benefits.

We must begin to see technology in universities as more than understanding facebook and allowing students access to Blackboard. The long-term technological shift for universities is just beginning, and will mean significant changes in the learning environment in the coming years.