Academic literature on the topic 'Attitudes towards computer technologies (ACT)'

This paper discusses and elicits consumer attitudes towards industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (ICCS) products and technologies. It presents a comprehensive review of the relevant research literature on consumer attitudes towards ICCS represented by the willingness-to-pay (WTP) and willingness-to-accept (WTA) negative externalities and outcomes of the carbon capture and storage (the so-called “not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) approach). In addition, it employs a concise empirical model that uses the data from the online questionnaire survey conducted in 7 European Union (EU) countries with and without ICSS sites. Our results demonstrate that having at least one ICCS site significantly reduces the WTA for the ICCS products and technologies. It is shown that further increase of ICCS sites, including those in the neighboring regions and countries, leads to the increase of negative consumer attitudes to the ICCS technologies and renewable energy policies. It becomes apparent that the majority of consumers are willing to support industrial CO2 capture and storage only if it happens far away from their dwellings. The outcomes of this paper might be informative for the EU local industries and policy-makers who are planning the location of ICCS sites and optimizing the public support for their endeavors. Moreover, they might be relevant for the stakeholders dealing with the threat of climate change and the necessity for the decarbonization of the economy.

The role of wearable technology in our daily lives is rapidly growing and many users are cumulatively becoming dependent on it. To provide insight into the future of wearable technologies and various community attitudes towards them, we implemented an in-depth quantitative investigation of opinions from academic texts (DBLP and PubMed), social media (Twitter), news media (Google News and Bing News), and entrepreneurship communities (Kickstarter and Indiegogo) over a 10-year period. Our results indicate that unlike academia, the news media, entrepreneurship communities, and social media all hold overall positive attitudes towards wearable technologies. Secondly, there are diverse perspectives towards various wearable products across different platforms. Specifically, "XR" technologies received the most attention, while "Exoskeleton" ignited the most heated debates. Thirdly, we discovered that the lifetime of a hyped wearable technology lasts approximately three years. Furthermore, the news media and entrepreneurship community's attitudes towards wearable technologies did not have a strong impact on public opinion. Finally, among all types of wearable technologies, "fashion design" and "healthcare" products were the most enlightening for the market.

Abstract This article is aimed at elementary teacher attitudes towards using educational technologies in education, especially in teaching elementary mathematics. The data used were collected by a questionnaire which was created on the principle of semantic differential. Basic statistical characteristics were calculated and a graph of the semantic space was plotted for all of the respondents participating in the study. In general, it is surprising that how differently teachers perceive the use of computers in education on the one hand, and the use of computers in teaching mathematics on the other. The results show that teachers are not convinced that it is meaningful to implement computers into primary mathematics education or that employing multimedia in teaching mathematics might bring educational benefits. Keywords: Mathematics, computer teaching assistant, education.

As information and communication technology has permeated all aspects of life education cannot be considered an exception either. The schools of the 21st century require the use of the latest digital devices whose effectiveness is greatly determined by the motivation, ICT-related attitude, and the respective competences of teachers managing and directing the given teaching and learning process. Since P.E. also requires the use of information and communication devices it would be crucial that prospective teachers develop a positive attitude toward such equipment. The present research aims at exploring the attitudes of students applying to P.E. teacher programs at the Eszterházy Károly University toward such instruments and approaches. Additional research objectives include the exploration of potential correlation between the sex of the applicants and the respective attitudes. Our inquiry utilized the questionnaire method and the computer-based attitude scale was completed by a sample of 130 applicants in the 2016/2017 and the 2017/2018 academic years. Our research concluded that both men and women maintain a positive attitude toward the use of digital devices, or the tools of information and communication technology. Students representing both sexes consider the computer as a valuable learning device promoting the efficiency of the knowledge acquisition process. Furthermore, a significantly greater proportion of male respondents stated that they were capable of repairing computer problems emerging during use than that of their female counterparts. At the same time men are less apprehensive to use computers during instruction and this attitude appears to be an indispensable requirement for the application of ICT devices in class. The research can contribute to a deeper exploration of the given field along with performing a gap filling function as such examination has not yet been conducted among applicants to P.E. programs provided by higher education institutions in Hungary. JEL Classification: Z2, I23

Over the past two decades, computer-based technologies have become dominant forces to shape and reshape the products and services the academic library has to offer. The applicationo of library technologies has had a profound impact on the way library resources are being used. Although many students continue to experience high levels of library anxiety, it is likely that the new technologies in the library have led to them experiencing other forms of negative affective states that may be, in part, a function of their attitude towards computers. This study investigates whether students' computer attitudes predict levels of library anxiety.

It is well known that the application of ICT in education helps us to develop skills for competent and efficient problem solving in the field of professional activities. This paper aims to examine the attitudes of students towards the use of ICT as a source of education. The methodology adopted was that of original research, with a qualitative and quantitative approach. This study included 175 students from Serbia and Bulgaria. The variables of this study were gender and the years of study. In order to assess the attitudes of students towards the use of ICT in education a five-point Likert scale was used across forty-five statements. The results of the research show that students are very interested in using ICT as a source of education. Thus, it is evident that information and communication technologies have become very important pedagogical resources in approaching the teaching and learning processes in an innovative way. Keywords: attitudes of students; ICT in education; ICT; education technology; education.

The aim of this study is to examine teacher candidates’ perceptions of their own proficiency in using information and communication technologies and their attitudes towards information and communication technologies in terms of gender, major, internet usage frequency and computer ownership. The study group consists of 336 teacher candidates, 98 male (29%) and 238 female (71%) senior students, in different departments at Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Education during the 2017-2018 academic year. The “Proficiency Perception Scale for Using Information and Communication Technologies” and “The Attitude Scale for Information and Communication Technologies” developed by different researchers were administered to the candidate teachers. As a result of the findings obtained from the research, there was no significant difference between proficiency levels of the teacher candidates regarding the use of information and communication technologies. Besides, there was not significant difference between the means of attitude towards information and communication technologies in terms of majors and the internet usage frequency, and between the mean proficiency perception scores of using information and communication technologies with regard to gender. It was ascertained that there was a slightly meaningful difference between the attitudes scores for information and communication technologies in favor of males in terms of gender, and as to computer ownership, there was a low level of difference between both attitude and perception scores in favor of computer owners. The findings are discussed within the scope of literature.

It is observed that teacher candidates receiving education in the department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education are not able to gain enough experience and knowledge in “Programming Languages” lesson. The goal of this study is to analyse the effects of web 2.0 technologies usage in programming languages lesson on the academic success, interrogative learning skills and attitudes of students towards programming languages. “Pre-test-Post-test Control Group Quasi-Experimental Design Model” is used as research model in this study. Participants are divided into two groups named experimental group and control group. The work group chosen from the population for this study consists of 75 students in total receiving education in the 2nd grade of Computer and Instructional Technologies Teaching Department of Faculty of Ahmet Keleşoğlu, Necmettin Erbakan University in 2015-2016 academic year. “Academic Success Test” developed by researcher, “Attitude Towards Programming Languages Scale” which is adapted into Turkish by Durak (2013) and “Interrogative Skills Scale” developed by Aldan, Kandemir and Saraçoğlu (2013) are used in the study. As a result of the study, it is concluded that students receiving education within the experimental group are more successful. When analysing their attitudes towards programming languages, it is concluded that attitudes of students in experimental group are more positive than that of those in control group. Analysing the effects of students using and not using cooperative learning environment developed with Web 2.0 technologies on their interrogative learning skills, it is determined that post-test grades of experimental group are higher than those of control group. According to the result of the study, a learning environment designed with Web 2.0 technologies has high-level effects on students’ academic success and attitudes towards programming languages and has medium-level effect on their interrogative learning skills.

[Abstract]: Research has suggested that, despite support through policy and resource provision,information and communications technologies (ICTs) have made little impact on the practiceof education and that limited teacher preparation for the use of ICTs represents a partialexplanation. The purpose of this study was to investigate what form of professionaleducation might be effective in preparing pre-service teachers to integrate ICTs into theirteaching. Self-efficacy beliefs about teaching with computers were identified as a potentiallysignificant source of influence on teachers' use of ICTs for teaching. It was proposed thatinteractive multimedia using a problem-based learning design (IMM-PBL) should be aneffective tool for increasing self-efficacy. Principles for the design of IMM-PBL were derivedfrom the relevant literature.An IMM-PBL package was designed and developed for delivery in a web browser formatusing content relevant to the integration of ICTs into teaching. Interviews with and sampleresponses prepared by computer-using teachers provided the basis for ensuring therelevance of content.The completed materials were evaluated in use with a group of 24 final year pre-serviceteachers in a Queensland university. Participants in the trials reported that the materialswere engaging and assisted their learning about integrating computers in their teaching. Astatistically significant increase in self-efficacy for teaching with computers was found forusers who had initially low self-efficacy for teaching with computers.The principles proposed for IMM-PBL design were found to offer a practical basis for thedevelopment of effective learning materials. With further development, IMM-PBL promisesto be a powerful and flexible approach to supporting learning for teachers and otherprofessionals.

Developments in information technology and tangible computing facilitate the human’s life by inventing Self Service Technologies SSTs where it changed the way we interact with the environment as well as new technologies did. Nowadays, a lot of new technologies have embodied computer inside such as smartphone and computer tablets. Previous studies in adoption of SSTs research treat customer behavior towards technology based services. However, recent studies recognize that participants have different attitude towards different technologies even if these technologies used to support the same service. Therefore, in our thesis we are going to study the effect of smartphone i.e. iPhone and computer tablets i.e. iPad on adoption of three services of SSTs Internet Banking, Online Shopping and Self Check In Machine at Airports. Is there any hesitation while people adopting with this technology? If yes, why does it happen? Our data were collected by conducting a pilot and empirical study via using quantitative and qualitative approaches. We conducted our study at Umeå, Sweden. The study findings present the effect of adoption through age, family, friends, money, knowledge, using technology in public and private places, mobile technology and computer tablets, and Interface design on adoption SSTs. We found that participants were influenced by new technology for adopting SSTs. Participants did not use Online Shopping as much as they use Internet Banking, especially in the private places. Concerning the Self Check in Machines, participants were differential in which some tend to use it and others did not.

As technology has become a part of our everyday lives, including our educational institutions, it will definitely have an impact on the teaching and learning. The premise is that the use of ICTs has the ability to transform teaching and learning effectively if it is implemented constructively. The research is to ascertain whether Facebook is used for academic purposes as well as the integration of other Information and Communications Technologies. The study was conducted with a group of lecturers at the University of the Witwatersrand. Data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed at a later stage. Common themes were identified. Positivity about the implementation of ICTs as well as institutional support is imperative for lecturers to continue their commitment to the process.

AbstractThe capability to use digital technologies in an appropriate way has become a fundamental requirement of everyday life and wide adoption of digital technologies has gained a firm footing into the educational systems. Equity is a central goal in the Nordic model and ICT integration policies are warranted at the national level along with massive improvements in ICT infrastructures. The schools in their efforts towards realizing this objective have to integrate digital technology in teaching and learning in such a way that all children are given opportunities to participate in work, life and society. It is thus of interest to study the extent of digital inclusion, by examining the variation in computer and information literacy of students both within and between schools by addressing access and use of ICT in instruction among teachers. Data for the present study comes from 138 schools from Norway (2436 students, 1653 teachers) and 110 schools from Denmark (1767 students, 728 teachers) who took part in the International Computer and Information Literacy Study in 2013. Using a multilevel approach, variations at both levels in student computer and information literacy score and teacher collaboration in ICT use were examined. The results indicate that availability of digital technologies is a significant contributor towards student ICT achievement and teacher collaboration in both countries. There are small differences in computer and literacy score between the schools, while significant variations are noted between the students. Additionally, teachers’ attitudes are found to contribute significantly towards collaboration between teachers.

With a variety of changes taking place in the role of learners and teachers in the 21st century, learners are expected to be active participants in the learning process through interaction and collaboration, while teachers act as facilitators, creating learning opportunities for the former and monitoring the learning process. This chapter aims to highlight perceptions of Turkish pre-service teachers' of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) concerning a wiki project in a freshman contextual grammar course. Considering the limited research on wiki use in the Turkish teacher education context, this mixed method case study aimed to explore perceptions of pre-service English teachers' wiki learning experiences and investigate their critical appraisal of the project at a state university. The results indicated mainly favourable perceptions, pointing out the enhanced impact of wikis on group dynamics, pre-service EFL teachers' learning process, their creativity and autonomy, while revealing varying degrees of level of and satisfaction with collaborative work, and technical aspects.

If sustainable development is really to be based on substantive community participation, a change in attitudes, beliefs and values is required. Even these changes will not be sufficient to reach the ambitious goals set across Europe through the Local Agenda 21 and other policy documents. The rigorous adaptation of decision-making processes to include community participation is necessary. Development and specification of indicators play an important role in bridging this gap. The indicators should not only form a technical input in the latter type of assessment tools but act as media to communicate the progress towards sustainable development to the local communities and other stakeholders. This chapter deals with the issue of e-participation in decision making and sustainable development evaluation. It presents first a critical overview of sustainable development and knowledge society indicators, metrics and assessment tools currently in use. Then, it introduces the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in urban regeneration processes by using a number of European case studies. Finally, it states the need for a more systematic approach to integrate CSOs earlier in the decision-making process and to ensure a more effective use of sustainable development indicators – with the help of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

Electronic (E)-learning is a type of learning by using electronic technologies to access an educational program outside traditional classrooms increasingly demanded by many education systems. As conventional classrooms continue to be transformed into digital, teachers are expected to adopt multiple learning modes. Digitally enriched content and personalized learning should be the primary way of teaching and collaborative and interactive learning. Contrary to the continuous development of technology and students who regularly encounter computers from an early age, teachers do not have the privilege to introduce technology into the classroom successfully. The paper presents how the lack of funds influences a teacher’s readiness to embrace technology into their teaching practice. The paper explores E-learning issues related to virtual environment reality and artificial intelligence that is increasingly entering the classrooms of developed countries and ‘what application of artificial intelligence means for the development and broader implementation of E-learning in virtual classrooms in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The primary method of collecting data was through an open question survey distributed to students in different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. For research purposes, schools were chosen based on how often their students have access to computers or the Internet. Four schools from urban and four schools from rural areas were chosen, and questionaries’ were delivered directly to students by the researcher. The research aims to examine students’ views on the benefits online education has in the educational process in Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The survey provides an analysis of the potentials for implementation of the e-learning model in secondary schools in Sarajevo Canton and the rest of the country. The paper presents the advantages and opportunities that contribute to the improvement of e-learning in educational institutions and the benefits for students and other involved parties in the educational process, such as teachers and parents. Students enrolled in this research have a highly positive attitude towards e-learning, which leads to the conclusion that students are willing to learn using I.T. solutions in the classroom.

The recent industrial scenarios project its advancements and developments with the intervention of integrated technologies including internet of things (IoT), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Industrial 4.0 revolutions have broken the barriers of all restricted industrial boundaries with the act of those interdisciplinary concepts and have taken a keen part in industrial development. Incorporation of these advancements considerably helps in improving product efficiency and in reducing the production cost. Based on categories of production, industrial automation processes may vary. In this regard, robots are playing a vital role to automate the production process at various levels of industrial operations. The combination of IoT, robotics, and AI technologies enhances the industrial productivity towards getting the success rate. This chapter focuses on how robotic technology with IoT and AI methods enhances the limitations of various industrial applications.

As technology improves, such trends as technology-assisted language learning (TALL) have dominated the field of foreign language teaching in the new millennium. This chapter aims to review research studies incorporating different aspects of computer and mobile-assisted foreign language learning to enable English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to improve their listening skills. The literature review is based on studies of experimental research design in which the experimental group was exposed to computers or mobile devices to increase EFL learners' listening skills. Additionally, attitudinal studies dealing with EFL learners' perceptions about the integration of technology into EFL listening instruction were reviewed. From the literature review, it was realized that TALL helps EFL learners to improve their listening performance, and students hold favorable attitudes towards its use. At the end of the chapter, two useful mobile applications with the potential to enhance EFL learners' listening skills are introduced, and some recommendations are made.

The chapter describes the implementation of collaborative educational technologies in STEM teacher education to support teacher-candidates in acquiring inquiry-based teaching skills and positive attitudes about inquiry learning. The focus is on five different collaborative technology-enhanced pedagogies: (1) Peer Instruction, (2) collaborative design of conceptual questions with PeerWise, (3) data-driven STEM inquiry via using live data collection and analysis, (4) computer modeling-enhanced inquiry, and (5) collaborative reflection on peer teaching. Teacher-candidates experienced these pedagogical approaches first as learners, then reflected on them as future teachers, and lastly incorporated some of them during the practicum. As a result, teacher-candidates gained experience in promoting technology-enhanced inquiry in STEM education and began developing positive attitudes towards technology-enhanced inquiry-based STEM education.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.