As smartphone usage proliferates among high school and university students, new data indicate that students who use their mobile devices as study tools study more often and more efficiently. An infographic developed by StudyBlue®, a mobile and online study service for students, demonstrates several benefits for students who power-up their smartphones for study sessions.
According to login data, students who use the StudyBlue Android and iPhone apps spend an additional 40 minutes studying every week compared to students who only use the StudyBlue website. It is clear that mobile studiers accumulate the extra preparation time each week by studying in non-traditional study environments, according to StudyBlue CEO Becky Splitt.
“Mobile studiers take advantage of the downtime they inevitably experience throughout the day,” said Splitt. “While waiting for coffee or riding the bus home, students are flipping through flashcard decks on their smartphones to efficiently master classroom material and make the most of their valuable time.”
In addition to studying more, students who use the StudyBlue mobile app study earlier in the day and cram less at night, according to the findings. Mobile users are two times more likely than their non-mobile counterparts to study between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Furthermore, mobile studiers are nearly three times more likely to track their progress. Seventy-one percent of mobile StudyBlue users track their progress by scoring their study sessions, while only 24 percent of web-based users measure performance.
“Considering modern students’ propensity for multi-tasking, studying on mobile phones fits intuitively into their lifestyles,” said Splitt. Nearly 40 percent of mobile study sessions include a break for another activity that takes place on the student’s phone. On average, students take nearly three breaks during each study session. Splitt said students are likely to jump between several mobile-related activities, such as talking on the phone, text messaging and checking their email.
“It’s not a secret that schoolwork faces stiff competition for students’ attention, and the data clearly illustrates that students frequently take breaks when studying,” said Splitt. “But we’re also seeing that students return to the StudyBlue mobile app. Instead of bailing out on the study session, mobile studiers are able to manage their distractions and jump right back into the material.”
The infographic features data mined from the company’s database of nearly 1 million students during the fall 2011 semester. Progress comparison is based on studying data from students who used StudyBlue Android and Apple apps on their smartphones versus students who used the StudyBlue website.
