Note: These results exclude cases where more than 50% of items are missing.
Number of cases: 2,087
Number of cases with at least half of items completed: 1,917
Response rate for module: 46.3%
Margin of error for module: ±2.0%
Hardware
1. Which of the following devices do you own? Check all that apply.
| 789 (41.2%) Personal desktop computer |
| 1556 (81.2%) Personal laptop computer |
| 153 (8.0%) Personal digital assistant (PDA) such as Palm or PocketPC |
| 40 (2.1%) Smart phone (combination cell phone and PDA), such as Treo |
| 1804 (94.1%) Cell phone (mobile phone) |
| 765 (39.9%) Working regular telephone (land line) |
| 1266 (66.0%) Portable digital music player (such as iPod) |
| 84 (4.4%) Portable electronic translation device |
| 321 (16.7%) Webcam |
2. Which of these best describes your personal desktop computer?
| 1039 (55.2%) Don't own [skip to the next item] |
| 747 (39.7%) Generally adequate |
| 76 (4.0%) Barely adequate |
| 21 (1.1%) Not at all adequate |
2a. What is the primary operating system on this computer?
| 1078 (81.1%) Windows |
| 125 (9.4%) Macintosh |
| 24 (1.8%) Linux |
| 3 (0.2%) Other Unix |
| 100 (7.5%) Other, please specify: [Open-ended text field] |
3. Which of these best describes your personal laptop computer?
| 329 (17.3%) Don't own [skip to the next item] |
| 1425 (75.0%) Generally adequate |
| 123 (6.5%) Barely adequate |
| 22 (1.2%) Not at all adequate |
3a. What is the primary operating system on this computer?
| 1302 (81.1%) Windows |
| 274 (17.1%) Macintosh |
| 17 (1.1%) Linux |
| Other Unix |
| 13 (0.8%) Other, please specify: [Open-ended text field] |
3b. How often do you bring your laptop to class this semester?
| 757 (46.9%) Never |
| 522 (32.4%) Sometimes |
| 151 (9.4%) Often |
| 183 (11.3%) Always or almost always |
4. How do you most often connect your personal computer to the Internet at your local residence?
| 59 (3.1%) Dial-up modem to UC Berkeley (Home IP service, SHIPS) |
| 36 (1.9%) Dial-up modem to other service provider (such as AOL, Earthlink, MSN) |
| 56 (2.9%) Wireless connection to AirBears |
| 373 (19.5%) Direct Ethernet connection |
| 593 (31.0%) DSL (such as SBC/Yahoo! DSL) |
| 507 (26.5%) Cable modem (such as Comcast) |
| 146 (7.6%) Other high-speed Internet access (such as satellite dish) T-1 or fiber optic |
| 34 (1.8%) Do not connect to Internet from home |
| 47 (2.5%) Don't know |
| 62 (3.2%) Other, please specify: [Open-ended text field] |
5. How do you most often connect to the Internet while on campus?
| 882 (46.3%) Use a university computer (in a computer lab, library, etc.) |
| 783 (41.1%) Use my own computer with wireless connection to AirBears |
| 8 (0.4%) Use another electronic device (PDA, mobile phone, etc.) |
| 202 (10.6%) Do not connect to Internet while on campus |
| 30 (1.6%) Other, please specify: [Open-ended text field] |
Technology & The Student Experience
6. During this academic year, how often have you engaged in the following activities?
| Almost every waking hour | Several times a day | Once or twice a day | 3-5 days a week | 1-2 days a week | Every few weeks | Once or twice | Never | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used the Internet from a computer or other electronic device | 575 (30.1%) | 1068 (55.9%) | 156 (8.2%) | 47 (2.5%) | 23 (1.2%) | 12 (0.6%) | 18 (0.9%) | 12 (0.6%) |
| Used a cell (mobile) phone | 186 (9.7%) | 1060 (55.4%) | 444 (23.2%) | 100 (5.2%) | 45 (2.4%) | 20 (1.0%) | 24 (1.3%) | 33 (1.7%) |
| Communicated with a professor by email | 20 (1.0%) | 33 (1.7%) | 52 (2.7%) | 139 (7.3%) | 261 (13.7%) | 711 (37.2%) | 578 (30.3%) | 116 (6.1%) |
| Communicated with a professor by instant messaging (IM) | 14 (0.7%) | 15 (0.8%) | 11 (0.6%) | 19 (1.0%) | 15 (0.8%) | 24 (1.3%) | 25 (1.3%) | 1786 (93.6%) |
| Communicated with a GSI by email | 17 (0.9%) | 27 (1.4%) | 46 (2.4%) | 155 (8.1%) | 398 (20.9%) | 802 (42.0%) | 378 (19.8%) | 85 (4.5%) |
| Communicated with a GSI by IM | 11 (0.6%) | 11 (0.6%) | 10 (0.5%) | 20 (1.1%) | 23 (1.2%) | 47 (2.5%) | 63 (3.3%) | 1709 (90.2%) |
| Communicated with other students about class assignments by email | 18 (0.9%) | 67 (3.5%) | 94 (4.9%) | 229 (12.0%) | 444 (23.3%) | 581 (30.5%) | 323 (17.0%) | 149 (7.8%) |
| Communicated with other students about class assignments by IM | 36 (1.9%) | 110 (5.8%) | 126 (6.6%) | 198 (10.4%) | 281 (14.7%) | 253 (13.2%) | 243 (12.7%) | 665 (34.8%) |
| Communicated with your parents by email | 12 (0.6%) | 35 (1.8%) | 70 (3.7%) | 198 (10.4%) | 365 (19.1%) | 431 (22.6%) | 258 (13.5%) | 540 (28.3%) |
| Communicated with your friends by email | 45 (2.4%) | 165 (8.6%) | 195 (10.2%) | 339 (17.7%) | 432 (22.6%) | 400 (20.9%) | 210 (11.0%) | 126 (6.6%) |
7. During this academic year, have you done any of the following?
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Created art, music or video using a computer | 755 (39.6%) | 1152 (60.4%) |
| Shared your own art, music, or video on the Internet | 609 (32.0%) | 1297 (68.0%) |
| Searched for personal information about another student using a search engine (such as Google) | 837 (44.0%) | 1065 (56.0%) |
| Advertised or invited other students to an event or meeting | 980 (51.6%) | 920 (48.4%) |
| Searched for personal information about another student using a social networking site (such as Facebook or myspace) | 1558 (81.8%) | 346 (18.2%) |
8. During this academic year, how frequently have you done each of the following?
| Never | Rarely | Occasionally | Somewhat often | Often | Very often | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used a library catalog such as Pathfinder or Melvyl | 275 (14.4%) | 343 (18.0%) | 561 (29.4%) | 321 (16.8%) | 255 (13.4%) | 155 (8.1%) |
| Searched a library-provided database for journal articles | 321 (16.9%) | 374 (19.6%) | 525 (27.6%) | 286 (15.0%) | 249 (13.1%) | 150 (7.9%) |
| Used a non-library search engine (such as Google) for research | 54 (2.8%) | 142 (7.5%) | 323 (17.0%) | 390 (20.5%) | 453 (23.9%) | 536 (28.2%) |
| Read or printed e-books and online full-text journal articles | 363 (19.1%) | 395 (20.7%) | 412 (21.6%) | 306 (16.1%) | 280 (14.7%) | 149 (7.8%) |
| Brought your own laptop to the library and used a wireless connection | 753 (39.5%) | 270 (14.2%) | 299 (15.7%) | 194 (10.2%) | 197 (10.3%) | 193 (10.1%) |
9. Which of these best represents your opinion on the following statements?
| Strongly disagree | Disagree | Agree | Strongly agree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I would like more professors to use Powerpoint slides in their lectures | 237 (12.4%) | 502 (26.3%) | 635 (33.2%) | 353 (18.5%) | 183 (9.6%) |
| The Internet has helped me better communicate with my instructors | 33 (1.7%) | 177 (9.3%) | 954 (50.1%) | 658 (34.5%) | 83 (4.4%) |
| The Internet has helped me better communicate with my classmates | 25 (1.3%) | 118 (6.2%) | 822 (43.1%) | 892 (46.8%) | 51 (2.7%) |
| The Internet has made it more difficult to complete assignments | 535 (28.1%) | 861 (45.2%) | 319 (16.7%) | 114 (6.0%) | 76 (4.0%) |
| I am more comfortable asking questions of my instructors in office hours rather than by email or instant messaging | 149 (7.8%) | 851 (44.6%) | 510 (26.7%) | 224 (11.7%) | 173 (9.1%) |
| I would prefer to buy printed course packets/readers instead of downloading readings from the Internet | 384 (20.1%) | 537 (28.1%) | 489 (25.6%) | 377 (19.7%) | 122 (6.4%) |
| Sometimes the use of information technology in the classroom makes it harder to do well in my classes | 343 (18.0%) | 871 (45.6%) | 409 (21.4%) | 100 (5.2%) | 187 (9.8%) |
| I prefer to do research on the Internet when possible rather than go to the library | 57 (3.0%) | 271 (14.3%) | 754 (39.7%) | 714 (37.6%) | 105 (5.5%) |
10. Would you like to be able to download a greater number of my class lectures in the form of podcasts (audio) or webcasts (video)?
| 523 (27.4%) No (Skip to next item) |
| 1384 (72.6%) Yes |
10a. Why? Please check all that apply
| 755 (39.4%) It saves me time |
| 779 (40.6%) It is as if I can choose what time I want to go to lecture |
| 1012 (52.8%) I like to review my notes while replaying the lecture |
| 110 (5.7%) I am not a native English speaker and it helps to be able to review the lecture |
| 1213 (63.3%) I can use it in case I miss lecture |
11. Which of the following best describes you?
| 203 (10.7%) I love new technologies and am among the first to experiment with them and use them |
| 391 (20.5%) I like new technologies and use them before most people I know |
| 962 (50.6%) I usually use new technologies when most people I know do |
| 276 (14.5%) I am usually one of the last people I know to use new technologies |
| 71 (3.7%) I am skeptical of new technologies and use them only when I have to |
This next section is all about the website Facebook.
12. How often do you use Facebook?
| 72 (3.8%) Almost every waking hour |
| 344 (18.0%) Several times a day |
| 442 (23.2%) Once or twice a day |
| 262 (13.7%) 3-5 days a week |
| 206 (10.8%) 1-2 days a week |
| 153 (8.0%) Every few weeks |
| 83 (4.4%) Once a month or less |
| 80 (4.2%) Used it in the past but not now |
Why did you stop?
[Open-ended textarea field]
Never used it
Why not?
[Open-ended textarea field]
(If you do not currently use Facebook, please skip to the end of the questionnaire.)
13. Generally speaking, how important is Facebook to you?
| 270 (16.2%) Not important | 472 (28.3%) Not very important | 544 (32.6%) Somewhat important | 238 (14.3%) Important | 87 (5.2%) Very important | 58 (3.5%) Essential |
Please explain:
[Open-ended textarea field]
14. About what proportion of these students do you think use Facebook?
| <25% | 25-50% | 51-75% | >75% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Cal students | 28 (1.7%) | 185 (11.1%) | 702 (42.1%) | 753 (45.1%) |
| Closest male friends at Cal | 98 (6.0%) | 222 (13.6%) | 452 (27.6%) | 864 (52.8%) |
| Closest female friends at Cal | 53 (3.2%) | 131 (8.0%) | 397 (24.2%) | 1058 (64.6%) |
| Closest friends at other schools | 123 (7.5%) | 243 (14.9%) | 543 (33.2%) | 725 (44.4%) |
15. Which of these have you uploaded to Facebook?
| 1378 (71.9%) Photo of myself |
| 823 (42.9%) Photos of friends. About how many? |
Please type the number:
[Among numeric entries: mean = 56; median = 30; mode= 20; range = 0-754]
| 1440 (75.1%) My email address |
| 1200 (62.6%) List of my current classes |
| 1249 (65.2%) Lists of favorite music, movies, food, or similar things |
| 949 (49.5%) Whether I am in a relationship |
16. Including photos that other people may have uploaded, how many photos of you do you think are on Facebook? Please type the number:
[Among numeric entries less than 1,000,000: mean = 66; median = 30; mode= 20; range = 0-999]
17. Many students belong to groups on Facebook. What is one group to which you belong that is particularly significant to you?
[Open-ended text field]
17a. Why is that group important to you?
[Open-ended textarea field]
18. Have you ever decided not to post photos or other information about yourself because it might be read by current or future employers, Cal administrators, or other non-students?
| 1036 (64.3%) No |
| 576 (35.7%) Yes |
19. What is the BEST thing that has happened to you as a result of using Facebook?
[Open-ended textarea field]
20. What is the WORST thing that has happened to you as a result of using Facebook?
[Open-ended textarea field]
For sampling of responses, see Undergraduates & Technology Fact Sheet 2006.