What do you do with your tablet computer? Undergraduate Student’s Perceptions of their Tablet Computers and its use in their learning at the University of the South Pacific

Abstract

Individual access to mobile devices in higher education has increased tremendously in recent years as tablet computers (hereinafter mentioned as tablets) are now widely available giving students greater access to these technologies than ever before. The increasingly widespread diffusion of tablets at The University of the South Pacific (USP) brings to the forefront questions about its usage and perceptions among undergraduate students. Against this backdrop, using a mixed-method approach, this study sought to evaluate the usage of tablets by undergraduate students at the university. Three hundred and fifty-two participants were administered a questionnaire that contained Likert scale items and open-ended questions to elicit information pertaining to their use and perception of tablets, while in-depth interviews were conducted with five undergraduate students. The findings of the study indicate that students are favourably disposed towards the use of tablets in their studies as it helps them engage with their learning activities, mainly in accessing academic resources, communication and collaboration with their lecturers and peers. However, several technical issues with the tablets were identified by the students that the university needs to address to improve the adoption, implementation and diffusion of this device in students’ learning.