A
new Harris poll found that
college students see tablet computers as the wave of the future. The survey of
1,228 U.S. college students reported that 81% agreed that tablets will
transform the way they learn and 74% said the device made learning more fun.
The 2014 Student Mobile Device Survey also found that
82% of the respondents thought using the device would encourage them to purchase
digital textbooks instead of print. However, 89% reported using their laptops
on a regular basis and 83% said they used their smartphone regularly, while
just 45% said they regularly used a tablet.
A
majority (54%) of the students said they used a single mobile device during a
schoolday, with most using a laptop (89%) or their smartphone (56%) each week
when doing schoolwork compared to 33% who said a tablet. Nearly all also
reported having access to the Internet.
“The
market for tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices has grown
dramatically over the past few years,” the authors of the report wrote. “These
mobile devices have the potential to transform learning and to impact the
delivery of course materials.”
