Student tablet ownership on the rise

The Pearson Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of the Pearson Education Group, has recently published its findings from a survey conducted earlier this year on students and tablets, Universal Textbook Traders writes.

The survey was conducted between 9 and 27 January, aiming to highlight and provide knowledge on the ways in which students, from both college and high schools, utilise mobile technology, as well as identifying their perceptions of such devices when it came to education and learning.

The main findings from the survey include:

Firstly, a year ago, tablet ownership among college students was sitting at 7% of total college students. Today, this has more than tripled to 25%. Furthermore, it was identified that a large number of students plan to purchase a tablet in the next six months, increasing the already growing ownership level. A third of college students who own a tablet device are said to also own an e-book reader, and almost half of existing tablet owners among college students say they have the intention to purchase another tablet within the next six months.

This year's poll also found that the respondents preferred digital books over printed ones, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

It's a reversal of last year's results and goes against findings of other recent studies, which concluded that students tend to choose printed textbooks. The new survey found that nearly six in 10 students preferred digital books when reading for class, compared with one-third who said they preferred printed textbooks.

The new survey results arrive as several new tools have emerged this year to simplify digital publishing, including Apple's self-publishing software and Inkling's enterprise platform for large companies.