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Pearson Foundation Survey Shows Boost in Tablet Ownership Among Students

• By Tim Sohn
• 03/15/12

A survey conducted by the Pearson Foundation found that ownership of tablet devices by high school seniors and college students has significantly increased since one year ago.

The second annual "Survey on Students and Tablets" was conducted by Harris Interactive from Januarary 9-27 using a sampling of 1,206 college students and 204 high school seniors who plan to attend college.

The survey shows that ownership of tablets by college students has more than tripled, reaching 25 percent now versus seven percent in 2011. Among high school seniors, tablet ownership has quadrupled, increasing from four to 17 percent.

Other survey findings include:

• Among respondents, ninety percent of college students who own tablets said they think it's a good idea to use them for education. Half said that it would be more tempting to use a tablet because of interactive features, including embedded multimedia and social networks;
• Seventy percent of college students who responded said they had read a digital text this year, up from 62 percent in 2011. Sixty-three percent of college students and 69 percent of high school seniors surveyed said they think tablets will be used instead of traditional textbooks within five years;
• Thirty-six percent of college students and 26 percent of high school seniors who responded said they plan to buy a tablet within six months. Forty-six percent of college students who already own a tablet plan on buying a second; and
• Sixty-three percent of college students polled own the iPad, 26 percent the Kindle Fire, and 15 percent the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The majority of college students surveyed said they prefer e-textbooks to physical books, with six in 10 saying they would rather read an e-book for fun, and 58 percent responding that they would prefer them in the classroom. Last year's survey revealed that most college students and high school seniors preferred physical textbooks to digital.

For more information, visit pearsonfoundation.org.