Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / Traditional aged college students currently enrolled at institutions of higher education have never known a time without technology and through social media, can interact and engage with one another regardless of physical space. Technology provides fast, easy, efficient, and constant means of communication, and students use social media while simultaneously engaging in campus activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student use of socially interactive technology (SIT) and engagement and involvement in the undergraduate experience. Social media included in this study refers to cell phones, text messaging, Instant Messaging, email, and social networking sites (SNS). Borrowing items from the Net Generation Survey and the National Study for Student Engagement (NSSE) an instrument was created to analyze time dedicated to technology, use by demographics, technology as a predictor student of engagement, as well as qualitative data. Results from 154 participants show that students use technology for approximately eight hours per day, male students in the sample are overrepresented at the lowest levels of social media use, and social media types are correlated with one another. Following a factor analysis on the independent technology items and the dependent engagement items, regression analyses were employed to explore this relationship. Qualitative data illustrate that technology use can distract students from academic activities, and limits interpersonal communication. Conversely, it is beneficial in that students are constantly updated on class discussions, campus events, and with peers and family. Given these findings, because of students' frequent use of technology while engaged or involved in campus activities, concerns regarding the quality of these experiences are discussed. Additionally, redefining the traditional meaning of campus involvement is appropriate. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_101372 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Ericson, Brent Eric |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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