Millennial and centennial student interactions with technology (Extended Version): implications for student learning

Students are increasingly spending a considerable amount of time online. Technological advances over the last few years have led to dramatic increases in the use of various technologies such as personal mobile devices, agent-based technologies, and advances in pervasive/ubiquitous computing. Social networking has led to enormous changes in the way students use the same technologies for both academic works and personal use. Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed constant access to the Web for many users. The widespread use of apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Instagram and many other specialized tools has also impacted on user experiences in this area. The smartphone is now a powerful personal computing device providing access to interactive services wherever you happen to be and the tool of choice for many students. It may therefore make sense to make this an integral part of the student experience by design. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how student interactions with technology are changing and impacting on the online learning experience and their daily lives.