Smart Phone Use in a Higher Educational Setting
INST 525 Eileen O'Sullivan
About Smart Phones
Key Features
- Often feature touch screens
- Texting capabilities
- IM capabilities
- Social networking capabilities
- Downloadable applications "Apps"
- Internet connectivity
- Cellular and wireless service
- Small form factor
- Camera and video recording capabilities
- Often include voice recorders
All but a handful of the phones offer a touch screen, driven by consumer friendly and computer-like operating systems, along with access to multiple e-mail accounts and a slew of downloadable applications.
The hottest phones usually include new features, such as a second, front-facing camera for two-way video chats (the iPhone 4 and Evo 4G) and the ability to act as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for multiple devices (the Droid X, Evo 4G, Google Nexus One, and Verizon’s Palm Pre and Pixi Plus). (Consumer Reports, 2010)
What College-Aged Students Use Their Smartphone For
About 63% percent of surveyed students own an Internet-ready handheld device. Of these respondents, about one-half use theses gadgets for Internet use, with 8 in 10 using it for updating themselves on news, weather, sports, etc. (Smith, Caruso, & Borreson, 2010)
Ball State's research on college students from April 2009, indicates the following:
Students use cell phones to keep in touch with family and friends with 59% texting, 17% using voice, 9% sending IMs and 7% using e-mail.
Cell phone camera usage has surged, with 72% of respondents reporting that they take and send photographs via their cell phone, up from 30% in 2005.
About 39% of students take and send video using their cell phone, up from 4% in 2005. (Survey Finds Smartphones Transforming Mobile Lifestyles of College Students, cellular-news)
More than 30% of respondents surveyed feel mobile is the most important medium to access breaking news, compared to 29% who prefer the desktop web, 21% who prefer television, and a mere 3% who chose newspapers as their the most important medium for breaking news. (Mobile Web Overtaking Computers for Breaking News Stories, cellular-news)
Mobile devices have gained tremendous popularity as a viable method for consumer purchases, with 69% of respondents indicating they had used their mobile device at least one time over the past year to make a purchase. (Mobile Web Overtaking Computers for Breaking News Stories, cellular-news)
About 63% percent of the students own an Internet-ready handheld device. Of these respondents, about one-half use theses gadgets for Internet use, with 8 in 10 using it for updating themselves on news, weather, sports, etc.
Endnotes
- (2010). Smart phones. Consumer Reports, 75(9), 24-27. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
- Smith, Shannon D. & Caruso, Judith Borreson with an introduction by Joshua Kim. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010 (Research Study, Vol. 6). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2010, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
- (2009, April 7). Survey Finds Smartphones Transforming Mobile Lifestyles of College Students. cellular-news. Retrieved from http://www.cellular-news.com/story/36898.php on Sep 19, 2010.
- (2010, Dec 13). Mobile Web Overtaking Computers for Breaking News Stories. cellular-news. Retrieved from http://www.cellular-news.com/story/46936.php on Dec 13, 2010.