A recent study conducted by the Houghton Mifflin College Division found that many college students nationwide are using the internet for school, not just entertainment.

However, it should be noted the survey itself was conducted by the Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Company, which is one of the major publishers of textbooks, study guides and online tools for college courses.

The phone and internet survey reveals that today’s students are relying more on online study aids, including online quizzes, digital course outlines, video tutorials and online study groups, to perform better in the classroom.

Brian Landers, a senior food science major from Calhoun, said up until this point in his academic career, he has been successful without the help of online resources.

“They can be helpful, but they are not very efficient. Like for my Arabic class, we use the CD for homework exercises, but having to scroll through each word takes time, and homework just becomes that much more time-consuming,” he said.

According to the survey, while students prefer to study alone, they try to take advantage of online resources such as self-quizzes, online tutoring and studying.

Landers is not the only one assigned electronic study aids for class. According to the same survey, 78 percent of students said they use online quizzing, making it the most popular online study aid.

Hiwot Tefera, a sophomore from Tunis, Tunisia, said although she finds online resources helpful, she prefers that teachers not assign them as homework.

“It’s just that with online tools and CDs you have more of a choice not to do it,” Tefera said.

According to the survey, the majority of students are studying throughout the semester, and only 6 percent of students reported not studying at all. It also reported that when students do study, 97 percent believe that having a textbook affects their final grade. Fifty-nine percent said they use online study tools to stay ahead in class.

The survey was conducted over the summer and surveyed just 896 students nationwide currently enrolled in college courses. Houghton Mifflin also claims that as “a leading educational publisher,” its sales of online learning tools has increased 100 percent from 2004 to 2006.