EDUCAUSE Live! | Geographies of Learning: How Students Navigate, Use and Learn from Digital Resources

We report key findings from a large-scale study of students' use of digital resource sponsored by the National Science Foundation. We surveyed a broad sample of students in postsecondary education in the United States through the use of some innovative sampling methods that captured representative students from all sectors of higher education. The students were surveyed about learning preferences and differences between their information-seeking habits in academic situations versus those related to personal interest. We found students' approaches to information seeking are dependent on context and that their information-seeking behaviors are shaped by different factors. We used these factors to develop profiles of personas of students that describe four distinct types of students based on their approaches to learning and information seeking. The mix of research methodologies and techniques we employed as well as our findings may be useful to instructors in teaching and administrators planning technology strategy for their institutions.