University Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Technologies in Educational Activities and Mental Effort Invested

Abstract

Different generations (digital natives, resident students, generation Y, X, or Z) show a preference towards technologies and the digital world. This “ex-post-facto” study is presented to learn the preferences that university students have regarding the use of different resources for various educational activities, as well as the investment of mental effort and perceived ease of learning concerning different means and technological resources. The sampling used is non-probabilistic, conventional, and intentional. 2,148 university students from different scientific fields of twelve Spanish public universities participate in it. To do this, an “ad hoc” instrument is designed whose data show high reliability and validity indices. The results indicate that students tend to have different perceptions regarding the various means and resources presented, in terms of the level of mental effort needed, along with the degree of easiness to learn through them. In this sense, the casuistry of the results is discussed and compared with the theory of mental effort proposed by Salomon (1981). The findings can be explained by the result of the interaction of three elements: the symbolic systems mobilized to elaborate messages, the message, and the technology that packages, formalizes, and transmits them. In the same way, it concludes by discussing the applicability of the results for the improvement of the digital competence of the students.