DIGITAL COMPETENCES: ARE MY STUDENTS READY FOR LEARNING 2.0?

Social computing or web 2.0 applications have been developed all over the world by key research centres in a number of projects that aim to assess the impact of web 2.0 trends on the field of learning and education. The new millennium learners, as described in the literature, still provoke profound discussion about how and when institutions must use innovative Learning 2.0 approaches. This paper is a result of a study conducted at the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda - Portugal, to identify the "typical" properties (Technology usage, Multi-tasking, Individualisation and personalisation, Increased connectedness, Immediacy and Multiple media types) of these new students in an effort to make learning more efficient, equitable and innovative in higher education. The study presents the outcomes and synthesizes the insights collected through a survey of a total of 1,354 students from four schools (Education, Technology and Management, Health and Tourism). With regard to student opinion on certain activities involving ICT, we find greater agreement among statements related to the frequency and the ease of use of various media simultaneously. Contrastingly, the more negative opinion of respondents regarding the use of ICT to perform social activities such as studying or simply chatting denotes a greater appetite for traditional social relationships and for personal contact.