EFFECTIVENESS OF LAPTOP USAGE IN UAE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING

ABSTRACT

Laptop use for undergraduate students is increasingly becoming commonplace, and is often deemed a necessity. Students are using laptops for academic as well as non-academic activities. Researchers are debating the effect of this trend on students’ educational and learning outcomes, thus, there is a need for investigation to determine how efficient the use of laptops is in the educational process. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the use of laptops in enhancing learning at the undergraduate level. This is achieved by collecting data from a random sample of students at the United Arab Emirates University’s Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Information Technology. The data are also analyzed to explore if students perceive that instructors should have control over the use of laptops in their classes, students’ Information Technology (IT) knowledge and the effect of the use of laptops in class on the consultation of text books.