Digital transformation in higher education: the use of communication technologies by students

Abstract Considering the growing number of students accessing the Internet through mobile devices, universities have been increasingly interested in accepting new communication technologies in the teaching context, enhancing the digital transformation of these institutions. Thus, it becomes relevant to have instruments that allow the characterization of the use of these technologies in the context of higher education. This paper is the result of a more comprehensive research project and aims to analyze the students’ perspective on the use of those technologies to communicate with their teachers, to investigate with what goals and functions students use the technologies, and to understand what their expectations are. To support the study, an analysis model was conceptualized and deployed in a case study conducted at a Portuguese university. Data collection was carried out through the administration of an online questionnaire to students in 2018. The results show that applications that allow interpersonal communication as well as publishing and sharing technologies are preferred by students to communicate with their teachers. In addition to the use, we analyzed the answers regarding the ease of use, expectation, attitude toward using, satisfaction, frequency of use, among other variables considered in the analysis model and presented in this paper.