Lenart Celar, Eva Brittin-Snell and Lucy Hensher are the University of Sussex Library’s SAGE Undergraduate Scholars. They are part of a three year project that will help the Library to learn more about students’ information and learning behaviours.
They write regular blog posts on topics ranging from “5 books that got you through your first year” to “Print v Digital – which do you prefer for studying?”.
In this latest post to mark Mobile Technologies Week here at the University of Sussex Lucy Hensher (@hensherlucy) gives us an insight into the role technology, and in particular mobile technology, plays in her learning.
Screenshot of David Sibley’s book on my phone.
I use several devices each day for my personal life and academic study. It starts off with checking my iPhone when I wake up to see what emails I’ve received or if there are any changes to lecture scheduling for the day. I’ll also check my calendar on my phone for the day’s events. If it’s raining (which it has been doing solidly throughout November) I’ll ditch my bike and catch the bus where I’ll pass the time reading either on my Kindle or my iPhone.
I have the Kindle app which transfers all your purchased books onto your phone (if digitally available) however, I prefer the bigger non-back-lit screen on my Kindle so tend to read on there instead. I tend to make paper notes in lectures unless the module requires a laptop such as my careers module where we usually look at internet content and carry out activities online.
I do almost all of my academic reading on my laptop each week as links are posted by lecturers on the VLE/Study Direct. These links include academic journals, articles, book chapters and sites of interest. The exception to reading on my laptop would be when I need a whole book and want to refer back to certain chapters at my own leisure. I bought two core books for one of my modules and one, “Geographies of Exclusion” (David Sibley), is available digitally, so I have the paper copy and a copy to read on my kindle/phone as well.
Sussex Mobile App
I access the VLE/Study Direct on my phone via the SussexMobile app which is extremely useful for checking my email on the go. It’s also really good for gaining quick information such as where I need to be or an email address to contact my lecturer.
Generally I don’t use the app for any more than that as the screen is too small for me to do my weekly readings or to check module feedback. For a longer session I will access the VLE on my laptop or a library computer/Chromebook. I have found the introduction of borrowing a library Chromebook for the day really useful, especially if I arrive at peak times.
I’m using one now to write this blog as I cycled in today and didn’t want to carry a heavy laptop in my bag to my classes. Speaking of which I had better return this, check my SussexMobile app and hurry along to my next seminar!
To view the full SAGE Students blog, please see http://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/sagestudents. You can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the top left-hand side ‘cog’. This will allow you to add your email to the subscription area on the bottom left. You’ll receive the SAGE post each time it is published, delivered straight to your inbox.
Head of Technology Enhanced Learning, University of Sussex
