Student's perception about the use of communication technologies in portuguese public higher education

Within this article we present some results of an investigation that aimed to identify and characterize the students' use of Communication Technologies to Support Learning (CTSL) in Portuguese Public Higher Education (PPHE). In order to achieve the goals set, a nationwide descriptive study was developed and an online questionnaire was elaborated and provided for data collection. This article presents the results obtained concerning the students' perception about: (i) the provision of CTSL by PPHE; (ii) the type of classes that use CTSL; (iii) the main purposes of using CTSL; (iv) the teachers' use of CTSL; and (v) the activities promoted through the use CTSL. The main results obtained allow us to conclude that the access to CTSL in the PPHE is free, and the CTSL are used in most classes. In terms of use purposes, the results suggest that most students use CTSL to access and gather information and / or content related to their learning activities. The relevance and main contribution of this study is to enable the identification and characterization of the current situation regarding the student's use of CTSL in PPHE.