How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

A survey of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers shows that digital tools are widely used in their classrooms and professional lives. Yet, many of these high school and middle school teachers worry about digital divides when it comes to their students' access to technology and those who teach low-income students face obstacles in bringing technology into their teaching

Digital Use and Internet Access in Fayetteville, Arkansas

A report on data gathered from a spring 2019 survey by the UA Center for Communication Research. The data will provide the City of Fayetteville with a baseline picture regarding residents’ current levels of internet access, their daily activities online, the importance of the internet to them, and the barriers they see to enhanced online access. Future study will consider the homework gap in homes with K-12 students as well as general internet access issues for residential multi-tenant environments. Data from this survey will inform the City of Fayetteville\u27s Digital Equity Plan

E-Pedagogy of Handheld Devices 2013 Survey: Patterns of student use for learning

The Pedagogy of Ebooks (E-Ped) project began in 2012 and seeks to document, analyse and explain the changing study practices of UK distance learning students as they employ, adapt and integrate the use of new portable digital devices such as e-book readers and tablets into their learning. This report describes the results of an undergraduate survey undertaken in 2013 at the Open University (UK) which asked students how they used e-readers, tablets and smartphones for study. This research represents a snapshot of the rapidly changing interaction between technology and education, and highlights issues and opportunities for Higher Education in supporting student adoption of appropriate technologies and development of effective new methods of study

Too old for technology?: age stereotypes and technology use by older adults

Older adults are less likely to use information and communication technologies, limiting their ability to live independently in an increasingly digital world. Despite being stereotyped as lacking technological competence, the influence of age stereotypes on older adults’ use behaviours remains largely understudied. This work aimed to investigate whether and how age stereotypes determine technology use in late adulthood. According to stereotype threat theory, the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about their age group may lead older adults to avoid using technology. Across three studies based on longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, higher levels of stereotype threat were associated with lower rates of technology use. In line with the technology acceptance model, this relationship was mediated by anxiety, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioural intention. In turn, as implied by stereotype embodiment theory, the internalization of age stereotypes endorsed earlier in life into self-perceptions of ageing later in life may deter older adults from using technology. Across three studies based on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study and the German Ageing Survey, more positive self-perceptions of ageing were associated with higher levels of technology use. Cognitive functioning mediated this relationship. By confirming the assumptions of both theories, these findings suggest that age stereotypes influence technology use in late adulthood through complementary processes. Future studies should further explore these relationships by integrating both theoretical approaches. Interventions and policies promoting positive intergenerational contact and positive views on age and ageing should thus contribute to the digital inclusion of older adults.As pessoas mais velhas têm uma menor probabilidade de usar tecnologias de informação e comunicação, impedindo que vivam de forma independente num mundo cada vez mais digital. Apesar de serem estereotipadas como tendo menos competências tecnológicas, a influência destes estereótipos nos seus padrões de utilização permanece pouco estudada. Este trabalho pretendeu investigar se e como os estereótipos etários determinam os comportamentos de utilização de tecnologias das pessoas mais velhas. Segundo a teoria da ameaça do estereótipo, o receio de confirmar estereótipos negativos pode fazer com que os mais velhos evitem usar tecnologias. Três estudos longitudinais e correlacionais verificaram uma relação entre maiores níveis de ameaça do estereótipo e menores taxas de utilização de tecnologias, sendo esta mediada pela ansiedade, facilidade percebida, utilidade percebida e intenção comportamental de acordo com o modelo de aceitação de tecnologias. Por sua vez, segundo a teoria da incorporação do estereótipo, a internalização de estereótipos etários em autoperceções de envelhecimento pode demover os mais velhos de usar tecnologias. Três estudos longitudinais verificaram uma relação entre autoperceções de envelhecimento mais positivas e maiores níveis de utilização de tecnologias, sendo esta mediada pelo funcionamento cognitivo. Ao confirmar os pressupostos das duas teorias, estes resultados sugerem que os estereótipos etários influenciam os comportamentos de utilização de tecnologias das pessoas mais velhas através de processos complementares. Estudos futuros deverão explorar estas relações integrando ambas as teorias. Intervenções que promovam contactos intergeracionais positivos e visões positivas sobre a idade e o envelhecimento poderão contribuir para a inclusão digital deste grupo etário

Too old for technology?:age stereotypes and technology use by older adults

Information and communication technology holds great promise in supporting the growing population of older people. However, older adults are less likely to use technology compared to the general population, limiting their ability to live independently in an increasingly digital world. Besides being commonly stereotyped as less technologically competent than younger age groups, older adults often mention their age or being “too old” as reasons for not using technology. Surprisingly, the potential influence of stereotypical perceptions about older people and the ageing process on older adults’ use behaviours remains largely understudied. This work aimed to fill this gap by investigating whether and how age stereotypes relate to technology use in late adulthood. Findings from six studies suggest that age stereotypes determine technology use among older age groups through distinct, yet complementary processes. Interventions and policies promoting positive intergenerational contact and positive views on age and ageing should therefore contribute to the digital inclusion of older adults

Baby Boomers and Technology: Factors and Challenges in Utilizing Mobile Devices

This exploratory dissertation study reports an investigation of Baby Boomers utilizing mobile technology to determine how Baby Boomers were utilizing mobile devices and if there were any types of challenges and affecting factors some Baby Boomers could face when searching for information in an online mobile environment. Fifty Baby Boomer participants were recruited by a purposive snowball sampling method and were divided into two groups, twenty-five Younger Boomers and twenty-five Older Boomers to look for comparisons and differences among the Baby Boomers in regards to mobile technology usage, search activities, environmental context, frequency and duration of search activities, as well as the factors and challenges they could encounter while using a mobile device since the age range spans nineteen years. The study was designed to answer two research questions: How are Baby Boomers utilizing a mobile device to search for information in terms of the mobile device types, the environmental contexts and the types of information searched?; and What are the challenges concerning Baby Boomers utilizing a mobile device in searching for information and their affecting factors? This exploratory dissertation study used a qualitative methods approach based in grounded theory to analyze the data. Participants were given a choice of using print or electronic instruments to participate in the study. Multiple collection methods were used to gather the data, consisting of a questionnaire and solicited diaries that were kept for a period of seven days with follow-up interviews given to all participants. The grounded theory approach created a coding schema of ten types of challenges representing five major categories and twenty-three affecting factors. The comparison and interpretation of the search activities, the types of challenges and the affecting factors led to the development of the Baby Boomer Mobile Device Information Searching Model. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications that include system design and library services have been discussed providing suggestions to system designers, researchers and information professionals within and outside the Library and Information Science field

Digital news report: Australia 2015

This report gives a clear picture of how the Australian news consumer compares to eleven other countries surveyed in 2015: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK, USA and urban Brazil. The Digital News Report: Australia is part of a global survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Further in-depth analysis of Australian digital news consumption has been conducted and published by the News & Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra

A tablet-based application for older adults to enhance memory: Communication with archiving stories

Sharing emotion is one aspect of communication between humans. Throughout human history people have regularly met face to face in order to share or collect information and to experience emotional interaction. As technology rapidly developed the means of communication have dramatically moved to online space through social communication methods or through online information spaces where people comment or write their ideas and thoughts. Although most audiences now use online communication methods, the older population has been relatively neglected in the industry because they are sometimes considered customers outside the major market. The main goal of this study was (1) to develop a technology-friendly interface design prototype based on a touch-based tablet application using universal design principles and (2) to assess the prototype design through several research methods such as field observation, surveys, and interviews. This study can expand designers’ knowledge for the next step of application of development for older adults. This study found that even though older adults are sometimes isolated from society, they might think of relationships as an important part of their later life. Although technology may be harder for older adults to learn, this study found it possible if older adults are willing to learn and use a communication application. This study also found that intuitive visual cues might play an important role in aiding older adults to grasp and understand the structure of an application. Technology-friendly interface design can enable older adults to use technology routinely in their daily lives. The designer’s role in this process would be to seek better understanding through the user study and to find the visual elements to provide a technology-friendly environment for older adults

Understanding how older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices

This thesis reports on a Constructivist Grounded Theory study that investigated older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices in their daily lives. A growing number of studies have revealed that information literacy is an important concept for older adults, and that considerably more work exploring the phenomenon is needed. While previous studies explored how older adults experienced information literacy, they did not focus on this phenomenon in the context of mobile devices. We live in, not just an information age, but also a technological age. Thus, this research project explores the following research question: How do older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices? Emanating from this proposed research question, the study’s objectives are: to contribute new knowledge (i.e., a new theoretical understanding) about how older adults experience information literacy using mobile devices; and to explore what this new knowledge may contribute to information literacy education and consumer information research using mobile devices. The findings may be used to support the information needs of older Australians. This research adopts the Constructivist Grounded Theory method. Australians aged 65 years of age or older who use mobile devices were invited to take part in an indepth, semi-structured interview. Twelve older Australians living in a regional town in Queensland participated in interviews. The participants conversed in-person about how they use their smartphone and/or tablet computer as part of their information literacy experience in their everyday lives. The outcome of this study is a substantive theory named Older Australians’ Mobile Information Literacy: A Grounded Theory, which provides a holistic view of older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices. This theory consists of 6 categories, which are interconnected and were constructed through a Constructivist Grounded Theory analysis process. These categories are: Ageing; Learning to use and manage mobile devices; Being entertained; Enacting everyday life; Learning; and Managing relationships. This work is of interest to the domains of information literacy, to mobile devices (including building and devising them for the seniors market), to library and information sciences and to information literacy community education research. It also contributes to our understanding of older Australians and their use of technology. Further, this study adds new understanding about older adults’ engagement with information using mobile devices in their everyday life. This research contributes to the expansion of information literacy research from a sociocultural perspective in a community context, with new knowledge and understanding about how older adults experience information literacy and how their information literacy experiences are socially and culturally influenced by their interactions within that community