Disciplinary difference in students' use of technology, experience in using eLearning strategies and perceptions towards eLearning

• Examination of impact of discipline of study on various aspects of technology use.
• Representative sample for a university-wide survey.
• Some disciplinary differences in student confidence with technology.
• Some disciplinary differences in teachers' use of eLearning.
• Most students well-disposed towards use of technology.

This paper focuses on interdisciplinary differences in three main issues related to eLearning: namely, use of technology, use of technology for teaching and learning, and perceptions about eLearning strategies. Data were survey results for 1438 students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Disciplines were classified into Soft/Hard and Pure/Applied based on the Biglan model. Results revealed that while students of different disciplines did not vary a great deal in their daily usage of technology, there were differences in their level of confidence in using technology. The use of technology for teaching and learning also differed across disciplines. For example, students in Applied disciplines, compared with students in Pure disciplines, had more experience in employing web-based communication tools to learn. However, there were no significant differences in terms of students' perceptions of the usefulness of eLearning strategies. The findings suggested that while there may be disciplinary differences in the adoption of eLearning, all students have a similar (and positive) view about the need for the use of technology for teaching and learning.