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International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education
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Students in higher education: Social and academic uses of digital technology

El estudiante en la educación superior: Usos académicos y sociales de la tecnología digital

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education volume 12, pages 25–37 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

This article presents the results of an in-depth interview of twenty Education students at a public face-to-face university in Catalonia on how they use digital technologies in their social and academic lives. The results show that while students have a certain level of competence in digital technology, the way they use the technologies varies according to their purpose. The results also show that social networks and WhatsApp are the most important applications for students, because they enable them to contact others, communicate with each other over long distances, and contact people with shared interests.

Resumen

Este artículo presenta los resultados de una entrevista en profundidad realizada a veinte estudiantes de Educación de una universidad presencial pública de Cataluña sobre cómo utilizan las tecnologías digitales en el aspecto social y académico. Esta investigación demuestra que, si bien los estudiantes tienen un cierto nivel de habilidades en tecnologías digitales, cómo las utilizan varía en función del propósito que ellos les dan o según una tarea determinada. Los resultados expuestos evidencian que las redes sociales y el WhatsApp son las aplicaciones más importantes para los estudiantes porque les permiten ponerse en contacto con otros, comunicarse a pesar de las distancias y estar en contacto con personas con intereses comunes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Rovira i Virgili University, Sescelades Campus Carretera de Valls, s/n, 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Eliana Gallardo Echenique (Doctor in Educational Technologies) & Luis Marqués Molías (Dean)

  2. 2416 W. 8th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V6K 2B1, Canada

    Mark Bullen (Specialist in education and e-learning at the Commonwealth of Learning)

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  1. Eliana Gallardo Echenique
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  2. Luis Marqués Molías
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  3. Mark Bullen
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Correspondence to Eliana Gallardo Echenique.

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Gallardo Echenique, E., Marqués Molías, L. & Bullen, M. Students in higher education: Social and academic uses of digital technology. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 12, 25–37 (2015). https://doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v12i1.2078

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