UNDERSTANDING INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOR IN TECHNOLOGY PERVASIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

ABSTRACT

This research reports findings from a study on information behavior to indicate educationally relevant activity, such as information seeking and sharing, in technology pervasive information environments of the 21st century. Adult learners who are social media users (n = 147) completed an online learning preference survey battery that included the Social Media Learning scale, the Technology Affinity Survey, the Computer Attitude Questionnaire, and the Information and Communications Technology Learning survey. Findings revealed that 23% of the variance in information seeking behavior for this sample was explained by a multiple linear regression model, based on reported perceptions of creative tendencies, attitude towards school, learning with social media, and degree of daily technology use/immersion. Participants with higher preference for information seeking were found to have more positive attitudes toward school, a stronger sense of having creative tendencies, and a higher preference for learning with social media while they also had a lower preferences for continuous immersion in digital communications. Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.