This document summarizes the findings of an international survey of veterinary students' digital literacies and readiness for online open educational resources. The survey received over 1000 responses from students in over 50 countries. It found that while most students have access to devices and the internet through their colleges and smartphones, access varies significantly between regions. Students reported valuing e-learning resources like multimedia, online quizzes, and open educational resources, but many were unaware of the resources available. The study concluded there are equity issues around global differences in access that educators should address to make e-learning open and accessible worldwide.

1. International survey of veterinary
students’ digital literacies
An international benchmarking exercise to scope
readiness for online open educational resources
Laura Gledhill1, Sonya Powney1, Vicki Dale2 and Nick Short1
1eMedia Unit, Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU
2Learning Technology Unit, Learning & Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8LB.

2. Context: WikiVet
• Established 2007
• Multimedia encyclopaedia,
quizzes, podcasts, videos and
more
• Initially RVC, Edinburgh and
Cambridge vet schools
• Now over 44,000 registered
users from over 90 countries
worldwide
• Network of ambassadors in 50
veterinary schools promote
use of open educational
resources (OERs)

3. Reasons for study
• Rationale:
– Use of e-learning in vet education is expanding
– However, limited research on uptake, sharing and use
of e-learning resources globally
– Important to have more evidence on digital literacies
of students internationally
• Study aimed to identify how e-learning resources
are currently being used to assess potential to:
– Support uptake of online OERs generally
– Inform further development of WikiVet

4. Method
• Survey design informed by previous RVC work
– Study of Web 2.0 (Dale et al, 2011) & RVC student digital literacy surveys
• Online survey (SurveyMonkey), data analysis in Excel/SPSS
• Pilot study with WikiVet ambassadors (n=10)
• Distribution/promotion:
– Distributed by WikiVet ambassadors
– Publicised across US via lead for
Veterinary Educators Collaborative
– Promoted by NOVICE partners &
on NOVICE platform
• Incentive: Free copy of VBF
“Vet Tips” book on completion
Dale, V. H., T. Kinnison, N. Short, S. A. May and S. Baillie (2011). "Web 2.0 and the veterinary profession:
current trends and future implications for lifelong learning." The Veterinary Record 169(18): 467.

5. Response
• 1284 responses
• 201 incomplete
responses
• 9 from non-vets
• Analysed 1074 responses
• Potential biases
• Majority of
participants from
UK, Europe and
North America
• Online survey

6. Internet access
• Home internet most
frequently used,
followed by college
• Home internet also
most reliable an
fastest (enough for
videos) followed by
college
• Less use of internet
cafes
• Most students have
mobile internet but
daily use <50%

7. Device ownership
• Colleges still largely
supplying desktops
• Laptops and
smartphones most
commonly owned

8. International differences:
internet access & device ownership
College internet available
‘most or all of the time’
UK 98%
N. America 98%
Australasia 95%
S. America 79%
Europe (not UK) 72%
Asia 61%
Africa 48%

9. Views on college/university provision
Australasia 94%
UK 92%
South America 86%
North America 66%
Europe (not UK) 63%
Asia 63%
Africa 34%
% Agreement

10. I tend to make use of my iPad
the most. I take all my notes
on that device. My laptop I
reserve more for writing
papers and assignments.
I don't even have a
smartphone. Since my old
phone is still working I
haven't bought one.
School has dead zones, afternoon load speeds are frequently
horrible to impossible. It has taken me an entire lecture hour to
download the PowerPoint for a lecture. At home my data is
capped and this can occasionally decrease my download speeds.
Comments

11. Use of Technology Resources
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Virtual worlds e.g. SecondLife
MOOCs
Paid mobile apps
Podcasts e.g. iTunesU
Open Educational Resources
Free mobile apps
E-journals
Literature search e.g. WoS
Wikipedia
Search engine e.g. Google Once a day or more
Once a week or more
Once a month or
more
Less frequently
Never
I don't know what
this is

13. Use of social media for learning
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Social bookmarking e.g.
Del.icio.us
Microblogging e.g. Twitter
Social images e.g. Pinterest
Video conferencing e.g.
Google hangout
Voice calls e.g. Skype
Instant messaging e.g. MSN
messenger
Social videos e.g. YouTube
Social networking e.g.
Facebook
Once a day or more
Once a week or more
Once a month or more
Less frequently
Never
I don't know what this is

15. Attitudes about e-learning
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Mobile devices (smartphones &
tablets) are essential for my learning
Using social media to access or
produce content is important for my…
I enjoy communicating & networking
with other learners over the internet
I enjoy learning with new and
innovative online technologies
I enjoy learning with computers
Online Open Educational Resources
can be a useful supplement to my…
Online quizzes provide a useful
opportunity for my self-directed…
There is value to my learning in
accessing online learning materials…
Learning from multimedia enhances
my learning
Strongly agree
Agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree

16. Africa 100
Asia 93
South America 91
Europe (not
UK)
75
North America 75
Australasia 73
UK 70
% Agreement

17. Multimedia is a vital
facet of my learning,
particularly in
practical/clinical skills
I think there should be more
awareness among students of
online learning resources
provided for veterinary
students. There are many
resources mentioned here
that I did not know about.
Comments
I especially like to look up
how specific ideas are
taught at different vet
schools to see if I can
understand it more easily
when it is explained
differently.

18. Conclusions
• Global variation in access to devices and
internet, which raises issues of equity
• Majority of students consider mobile access as
important
• Majority of students ‘digitally literate’ though
many unaware of available resources
• Students value e-learning & OERs
– Multimedia & online quizzes highly valued

19. Implications
• Issues around equity of
access
– Need to continue to monitor
differences between/within
continents
– Ethical obligation to
continue to make
e-learning available for
global, open access
– Need to optimise design of
open e-learning for mobile
access
Laptop by John Loo; CC BY:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnloo/8709720022/
We love technology by studentsforhumanity; CC BY-NC-SA:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/studentsforhumanity/3523433498/