College
students and college faculty are equally interested in greater use of
technology for teaching and learning, according to the latest ECAR (Educause
Center for Analysis and Research) Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, released in December 2015.
With both
teachers and learners amenable to academic technologies, what’s keeping higher
education from putting more tech tools in the classroom?
“This
year’s study also suggests that the greatest current impediment is probably
undersupported faculty,” said the ECAR report. “Faculty need reasonable
evidence about which technologies most benefit students, and they need help
incorporating those technologies into their teaching.”
The study
found that students also agreed with the need for support in order for
technology use to pay off. “Many of the students who have used technologies in
at least one course say they could be more effective if faculty used them even
more and if they (the students) were better skilled at using them,” the report
said.
Students
expressed a desire to try out three technologies that aren’t yet in high use:
recorded lectures or lecture capture, simulations or educational games, and 3-D
printers. However, while almost three-quarters of students had used e-books or
e-textbooks for at least one class, fewer than half wanted professors to use
them more often.
