The
vast majority of students, faculty, and administrators say they believe digital
course materials will play an important role in meeting systemic challenges
faced by higher education, according to the report Digital appetite vs. what’s on
the table: Student attitudes toward digital course materials in 2016, derived
from a recent Pearson Education survey.
More
than 80% of both students and faculty view digital materials and courseware as
the future of education. In addition, 78% of faculty realize that digital
courseware benefits students and 70% see the migration from print to digital content
as important to themselves personally. However, implementation and use has some
catching up to do, as only 56% of students and instructors said half or more of
their courses had used digital materials in the past six months.
“Educators’
appetites for digital course materials and courseware are growing, the
capabilities are available, but the stark reality is that they—and their
students—just aren’t biting,” the report said.
Forty-four
percent of students said they still prefer to have all their learning materials
available in a print format. Almost 60% declared that it’s the learning institution’s
responsibility to help them shift from a reliance on print to greater use of
digital content.