Developments in information and communication technologies have raised the issue of how a kind of intergenerational digital divide can take place between "digital natives" and "digital immigrants". This can in turn have important consequences for the organization of educative systems. In this paper we present the result of a research performed during the course of 2008 to study how university students in Italy make use of digital technologies. The methodology was based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches. A survey research was done, on a sample of 1186 students of the University of Milan-Bicocca, based on a questionnaire administrated through the Intranet of the University. A series of focus groups and in depth interviews with students, parents, and new media experts was furthermore performed. The results are consistent with the presence of a strong intergenerational divide. The implications of the results for the future organization of educative systems are discussed in the paper. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Ferri, P., Cavalli, N., Costa, E., Mangiatordi, A., Mizzella, S., Pozzali, A., et al. (2009). Italian university students and digital technologies: Some results from a field research. In M.D. Lytras (a cura di), Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All. Second World Summit on the Knowledge Society, WSKS 2009, Chania, Crete, Greece, September 16-18, 2009. Proceedings (pp. 357-365). Springer Berlin Heidelberg [10.1007/978-3-642-04757-2_38].
Italian university students and digital technologies: Some results from a field research
FERRI, PAOLO MARIAPrimo
;CAVALLI, NICOLA;COSTA, ELISABETTA IDA;MANGIATORDI, ANDREA;MIZZELLA, STEFANO;POZZALI, ANDREA;SCENINI, FRANCESCA
2009
Abstract
Developments in information and communication technologies have raised the issue of how a kind of intergenerational digital divide can take place between "digital natives" and "digital immigrants". This can in turn have important consequences for the organization of educative systems. In this paper we present the result of a research performed during the course of 2008 to study how university students in Italy make use of digital technologies. The methodology was based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches. A survey research was done, on a sample of 1186 students of the University of Milan-Bicocca, based on a questionnaire administrated through the Intranet of the University. A series of focus groups and in depth interviews with students, parents, and new media experts was furthermore performed. The results are consistent with the presence of a strong intergenerational divide. The implications of the results for the future organization of educative systems are discussed in the paper. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.