[NLII 2005] Bob Kvavik on Student Use of IT

Bob Kvavik is talking about the findings from the ECAR Survey of Student Technology Use.

They surveyed freshmen and seniors for this.

One of the differences found was that seniors use specialized software (spreadsheets, presentation software, discipline-specific software) a good deal more than freshmen. That's due to the use of those applications in the courses within a major that causes students to use that kind of software.

It's interesting to think about this in the context of John Bransford's talk this morning - students are using these kinds of software to problem-solve, synthesize, analyze, and compose their thoughts within a specific domain where they are beginning to build expertise.