Ubiquitous Computing on Campus: Patterns of Engagement by University Students

It is argued that, for full-time undergraduates, ubiquitous computing will continue to involve the private, circumscribed workstation as a significant feature of its design. We report records of how a random sample of campus-resident students makes use of a networked and versatile infrastructure of computers. Highly detailed system logs revealed intensive periods of use. The content of this activity was strongly biased toward more playful interests than the curricula agenda of the institution. This did not reflect unfavorable competition between the activity of study and other discrete activities such as computer games. Instead, the capacity of the desktop environment to provide strong distracting affordances for interaction and interruption is noted. This sustains a significantly mobile and multitasking style of engagement. We noted that the versatility of ubiquitous computing creates tensions in relation to the activity system of private study. The same characteristics that empower research-led study practices also empower the pursuit of interests in distracting competition with the demands of learning and research. Moreover, study may demand ways of acting that are not consistent with the affordances of ubiquity.