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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Profs, Students Like Tech But Need Help

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.