At UW-Madison, students, faculty and staff keep moving to new technologies

Students at UW–Madison have embraced social networks — not much of a surprise on a campus that is often a trendsetter with new technologies. But in growing numbers, faculty and staff on the Madison campus are following along, using their mobile Internet devices to join the online multitudes at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites.

Recent surveys conducted by UW–Madison’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT) show that students, faculty, and staff are moving rapidly to new technologies for academic and personal use, even as some familiar computing tools remain highly popular.

More than 90 percent of students at UW–Madison rely on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media for communication and information sharing. Social media use by faculty and staff is not as universal, but is growing fast. Among faculty and staff who own tablet computers (such as iPads), use of social media grew from 2 percent in 2010 to 39 percent in 2011. Use of those sites by faculty and staff with mobile devices (such as iPhones and Blackberries) grew from 10 percent in 2010 to 28 percent in 2011.

UW-Madison students value technology for learning. Ninety-six percent have used Learn@UW, the campus’s online course management system, with 89 percent of them reporting a positive experience. Eighty-two percent have used social media in their coursework, with 66 percent reporting a favorable experience. Eighty percent have used course Web sites, with 76 percent of them reporting good results. UW Library online resources are used by 85 percent of students.

Other findings of the 2011 Student Survey included:

• The shift to mobile Internet devices continues. Simple cell phone use dropped from 62 percent to 49 percent in a year, and mobile usage increased from 45 percent to 56 percent.
• Nine of 10 students are either satisfied or very satisfied with the technology provided at UW–Madison.
• Students are security conscious. Almost 60 percent updated or patched their computer software within the last month, and 73 percent can identify a secure Web site (https, lock icon, etc.).
• Use of desktop computers among students has rebounded to 2006 levels, up to 45 percent in 2011 from 32 percent last year. Ninety-two percent of students own a laptop.

The largest shifts in technology usage among UW–Madison faculty and staff are toward small computers and handheld devices. In the last year, use of tablet computers (such as iPads) grew from 6 percent to 23 percent; use of smart phones, iPhones, Blackberries, and other mobile devices from 36 percent to 45 percent; and use of reading devices (such as Kindles and Nooks) from 3 percent to 14 percent. Meanwhile, use of simple cell phones (no Web access) declined from 50 percent to 44 percent.

Other findings included:

• Faculty and staff take their data with them. More than 60 percent report using portable storage (such as flash drives), up from 48 percent in 2010.
• Fifty-six percent reported updating or patching their software within the last month. But 8 percent have never updated or patched their software.

The annual student and faculty/staff surveys were conducted by DoIT to monitor awareness and use of UW computing services. The Web-based student survey sampled 1,600 UW–Madison students, with a response rate of 25 percent. The faculty/staff survey sampled 1,600 faculty and staff, with a 24 percent response rate.