Students' experiences of using new media in higher education

The present study explored university students' experiences of using new media in their academic life at the University of Edinburgh. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with postgraduate students and their teachers at this university. It was found that new media students mainly use for learning are academic search engines, electronic resources and anti-plagiarism software. These media help students learn and do research more easily, but they also pose challenges, such as causing distractions from learning. One major implication of the findings is that how students are influenced by new media depends on how they use the media in learning. This study also suggests that future research in this field should aim at developing a deeper understanding of students' reading difficulties in the digital learning environment.