Examining Student and Educator use of Digital Technology in an Online World

Over the past thirty years, institutions of higher learning across the world have increasingly embraced digital technology for teaching and learning. Many institutions have begun to offer mobile, hybrid, and online courses and programs for enhanced relevance and accessibility. Universities and colleges employ digital technology through learning management systems for maintaining and processing educational information/records, offering blended/hybrid learning using asynchronous online student/instructor interaction and collaboration, and web conferencing software for synchronous and asynchronous virtual classroom functionality. Thus, it is critical for us to gain a better understanding the nature of these technological changes and the factors affecting the online realities of 21st Century teaching and learning. The study reported here involved students and instructors at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Oshawa, Canada using the General Technology Competency and Use (GTCU) Survey, in which they assessed the purpose and frequency for which they used a variety of digital technologies, and the confidence they had in using various digital technologies. Preliminary results indicated high scores in both confidence and frequency of use for computers/laptops and smartphones, and low scores for frequency of use and confidence with newer technologies, such as “wearables” and the “Internet of Things”