Students in higher education face a de facto expectation that they will supply the personal technology required to participate in learning activities. Although traditional computing devices are most commonly used for academic work, students report significant engagement in their studies via their mobile devices. Understanding the intersection of student behavior and the technology students choose to use could allow instructors and instructional designers to develop digital learning materials that meet students’ expectations. This study examines computer-based learning activities through the lens of several theoretical frameworks to analyze and quantify the types of academic work students are most likely to – and would like to be able to – perform on their smart phones. The results show that most students perform at least some academic tasks on their smart phones but are highly selective about which tasks they choose to carry out. However, it is demonstrated that younger students and students with higher levels of financial need are more dependent on their smart phones and use them to perform a much wider range of learning activities.

As more instructional materials are delivered electronically – particularly within courses in STEM fields – students at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are increasingly expected to be equipped with personal technology that allows them to interact with their academic coursework. Few IHEs directly provide that technology to students, which leaves the students themselves responsible for the selection and purchase of these critical computing devices. The result is that students utilize a wide variety of devices for their academic work – some of which may not meet the expectations of the institutions, instructors, and instructional designers who supervise the selection and implementation of the platforms used to deliver course content. This study will answer the following research questions:1)What computing devices do higher education students in STEM programs own or extensively use?2)What are the barriers higher education students in STEM programs have faced with regards to using their personal technology for coursework?This paper describes a mixed-methods study focusing on students at a large statewide university system in the midwestern United States. The results show that students generally have access to computing devices that allow them to engage in their academic work, but frequently encounter challenges in accessing or using their course materials on the devices they own. Ownership of computing devices varies based on several demographic categories, which results in an immediate divide between subgroups of students. The challenges encountered by students include an inability to perform their academic work on the device of their choice, insufficient computing resources to complete their expected activities, and instructional designs that are sometimes incompatible with the devices students have available.This study hopes to inform the selection of digital platforms used to deliver academic content in courses frequently taken by students enrolled in STEM programs. Further, the study should provide an insight into the students’ computing capabilities so that these factors can be considered during the instructional design and implementation of content delivery platforms.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the transition to near-total online instruction in early 2020. Several studies surveyed students about the impact of the pandemic on their behavior and engagement with their education; however, those studies may not include analysis of actual student behaviors. The field of learning analytics allows researchers to examine the records made while students interact with the educational technology tools that are commonly used to facilitate instruction in Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs). In most universities, delivery of many instructional materials is conducted via a Learning Management System (LMS). In this study, we describe our process to examine student interactions within the LMS to discover any measurable changes to student behavior during the pandemic.We examined the usage logs of the Canvas LMS at a large university in the midwestern US to examine the behavior of students' interactions with high-enrollment STEM courses in two semesters: one prior to and one during the pandemic. The log data was integrated with student demographic data so that the LMS behavior of subsets of students can be compared. Machine learning algorithms including clustering models and association rule mining were applied on the data. The results of this study demonstrate that the students' behaviors did change in the transition to online instruction. Students had more frequent sessions in the LMS on both computers and mobile devices, although the duration of their mobile sessions was shorter after courses were moved online. Further, students in historically underrepresented groups in STEM fields were found to use their mobile devices more frequently for academic work. The information uncovered in this study can be used to inform future instructional design practices with the LMS to promote an equitable experience for all students.

This Work in Progress research paper describes a study that directly compares the impact of a globally themed Information Technology (IT) project on students' global, international, and intercultural (GII) competencies. The authors will compare the change in student competencies by analyzing the impact of a common project with an international theme integrated into three different undergraduate IT classroom modalities: (1) a traditional classroom course with no interaction with students from a foreign university, (2) a virtual exchange context where teams of local students and students from a foreign university collaborate via information and communication technologies (ICT), and (3) a hands-on version of the course project that is implemented by local and remote students collaborating at a foreign university during a short-term study abroad program.This paper directly compares the changes in student GII competencies after executing the classroom project in the first and third modalities: a classroom without international collaboration and in conjunction with students at a foreign university during a short-term study abroad program. Preliminary results suggest that student competencies are more significantly improved when students collaborate with their international peers. However, the results might be influenced by the demographic profiles of students in the various courses. Students who pursue opportunities to study abroad may already have an innate expectation or desire to improve their GII competencies.

The flipped classroom pedagogy has achieved significant mention in academic circles in recent years. "Flipping" involves the reinvention of a traditional course so that students engage with learning materials via recorded lectures and interactive exercises prior to attending class and then use class time for more interactive activities. Proper implementation of a flipped classroom is difficult to gauge, but combines successful techniques for distance education with constructivist learning theory in the classroom. While flipped classrooms are not a novel concept, technological advances and increased comfort with distance learning have made the tools to produce and consume course materials more pervasive. Flipped classroom experiments have had both positive and less-positive results and are generally measured by a significant improvement in learning outcomes. This study, however, analyzes the opinions of students in a flipped sophomore-level information technology course by using a combination of surveys and reflective statements. The author demonstrates that at the outset students are new - and somewhat receptive - to the concept of the flipped classroom. By the conclusion of the course satisfaction with the pedagogy is significant. Finally, student feedback is provided in an effort to inform instructors in the development of their own flipped classrooms.