Experiences of international students using information communication technology in college in the United States

The economic, social and political landscape of universities in the United States has been changing under the pressure of internationalization of education globally as well as with rapid progressive technology development. There is an urgent need to learn how the increasing population of international students adapts to the digital culture.;This study surveyed 262 international students at two four-year institutions of higher education regarding their experiences with technology while in college in the United States. The study evaluated frequency of trends of Information Communication Technology usage by means of descriptive statistics. A sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2003) was utilized. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which demographics of international students predict their comfort level with technology. The study further explores the experiences of international students using technology by means of face-to-face interviews to investigate those results in more depth. The researcher used a basic or generic qualitative study design with elements of grounded theory for data analysis.;In this study, it was found that (1) the majority of international students feel comfortable using technology (95.5%); (2) hours a week spent using technology for school related purposes predict international students' comfort level with technology (explains 6% of the variance); (3) the majority of international students learn on their own how to use technology (82%); (4) international students spend almost equal amounts of time using technology for academic and non-academic purposes; (5) students who spend more than 10 hours a week using technology tend to spend more time on non-academic purposes than on academic work; students who spend less than 10 hours a week using technology tend to focus their time on academic work; (6) international students use a wide range of programs/applications/software for various purposes ranging from school work and job search to communication and entertainment; (7) technology fulfills communication needs with family and friends, instructors, mentors, advisors and classmates; (8) international students believe even though there are a few negative aspects of using technology, the positive outweighs the negative, and (9) access to technology, early exposure and use of technology for school purposes help students adapt faster to college life in the U.S.