The Well-Equipped Student

What technology does the average student possess? Many things, but according to the fourth ECAR study (2007) the short answer is that pretty much everyone has a computer and a mobile phone and most have an iPod.

ECAR is the Education Center for Applied Research, and over the past three years it has conducted a series of studies entitled The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. The 2007 study found, in simple terms, that

• 98.1% owned a mobile (cell) phone
  
• 98.4% owned a computer (75.8% a laptop, 58.1% a desktop, 35.7% both)
• 74.7% (and growing fast) owned an electronic music/video device
  

The main trends were a large increase in laptop ownership over the previous two years (up from 52.8%), a small decline in desktop ownership, and a very large increase in ownership of iPods and the like (up from 37.0%).

What do students with their devices? Daily activities were email, instant messaging, social networking. And alas, although 94.7% say they use the library or its website, they don't do this very often.