The Use of Mobile Applications in Higher Education Classrooms: An Exploratory Measuring Approach in the University of Aveiro

The proliferation of mobile devices and mobile applications has changed the way people communicate, work, and study, namely in higher education contexts. However, users have very different application usage habits from each other, and the data collecting instruments that typically support the studies usually rely on the perception that users report on their use. Hence, the reported user perception may not match the actual usage. Based on an exploratory approach, this article aims to analyze the use of mobile applications by students at the University of Aveiro. The study has a mixed approach that contemplates non-participant observation, the application of a survey, and log analysis. The triangulation between log records, the obtained data from the non-participant observation, and the surveys allows for a more objective assessment of the user profiles and will help to identify potential discrepancies between self-perception and actual use of mobile devices. The main conclusions show that the usage is quite significant and there is a huge tendency for the use of social media during classes. The most used applications are social networks which had a more intensive use than reported in the surveys. The methodology is also an important output of this study.