Adoption of web and mobility technologies in a multicultural population of hospitality and leisure students

Search for empirical evidence

Abstract

The aim of the research is to gather empirical evidence on the current use of Web 2.0 and mobile technology in the population of first semester international students. The evolution of usage over time is analyzed. A quantitative analysis, comparing the results at an institute of higher education in Switzerland with those of three Australian universities was performed. The results from the research demonstrate that on average, 2010 students use computers more than their Australian counterparts in 2006. Significantly fewer students in 2010 did not use Web 2.0 technologies and mobile devices compared to 2006, which is important for learning styles and delivery of blended learning practices. The results of the first stage of this research support the notion that this cohort of students uses Web 2.0 and mobile technologies to communicate and consume content.