Tech Effect: Technology Positively Impacts Student Engagement

• A majority (58 percent) of instructors believe that technology in courses positively impacts student engagement. • Seventy-one percent of instructors that rated student engagement levels as “high” report seeing a great benefit to learning outcomes as a result of using technology in courses. • Seventy-one percent of students who are employed full-time and seventy-seven percent of students who are employed part-time prefer more technology-based tools in the classroom.

Survey Says: Increased Need and Support for Educational Technology According to the survey, students and instructors have seen technology improve engagement in the past 12 months. • In fact, 79 percent of instructors and 86 percent of students have seen the average level of engagement improve over the last year as they have increased their use of digital educational tools. • Additionally, 67 percent of students reported they preferred courses that use a great deal of technology, a nine percent increase from the previous year. • Similarly, 58 percent of instructors said they prefer teaching courses that use a great deal of technology, a 10 percent increase from 2009.

What type of impact have the following technologies had on your overall learning? ■ 87% of students believe online libraries and databases have had the most significant impact on their overall learning. ■ 62% identify blogs, wikis, and other online authoring tools while 59% identify YouTube and recorded lectures. ■ E-books and e-textbooks impact overall learning among 50% of students surveyed, while 42% of students identify online portals.Which of the following technologies will have the greatest impact on student engagement? ■ 44% of instructors believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement. ■ 32% of instructors identify e-textbooks and 30% identify interactive homework solutions as having the potential to improve engagement and learning outcomes. (ereaders was 11%) ■ 49% of students believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement. ■ 31% identify e-textbooks and 27% identify interactive homework solutions as having the potential to improve engagement and learning outcomes. (ereaders was 11%) Students are more optimistic.