Campus digital learning leaders–those who supervise online education or instructional technology–overwhelmingly support more technology use in classrooms.
Data from various research projects [1] shows 97 percent of digital learning leaders have high support for more ed-tech on campus. Sixty-two percent of faculty have high support more classroom ed-tech, with 30 percent displaying medium support.
The support for more campus ed-tech has two clearly-defined motivators: 80 percent of digital learning leaders and 68 percent of faculty say they like to experiment with new teaching methods or tools, while 85 percent of digital learning leaders and 66 percent of faculty say they have succeeded with ed tech before.
While early adopters lead the way for more widespread campus tech adoption, just 35 percent of faculty identify themselves as early adopters, and only 11 percent say their institution rewards early adopters. Seventy-one percent of digital learning leaders say they are early tech adopters.
Overall, more faculty are paving the way for increased tech on campus. About one-third of faculty now use digital courseware, and of those, 70 percent say their courseware offers adaptive or personalized learning and 62 percent were involved in selecting it.
Thirty-six percent of faculty have taught a blended or hybrid course–90 percent of those who have taught such a course helped design it, and 82 percent converted a face-to-face course.
Faculty also believe online and blended courses make them better teachers:
- 77 percent say they think more critically about engaging students
- 73 percent make better use of multimedia
- 70 percent make better use of a learning management system (LMS)
- 48 percent have gained comfort with techniques such as active or project-based learning
Most students (79 percent) say they prefer courses that integrate online components for some, half, or most of the content, and that number is steadily increasing. They especially prefer:
- Early alerts of academic trouble
- E-books or e-texts
- Educational games or simulations
- Electronic resources from publishers
- Laptop-based learning tools
- LMSs
- Lecture capture
- Online communication/collaboration tools
- Search tools
- Web-based supplementary free content
Students also rarely turn to tech support. Sixty-three percent solve tech challenges on their own; 62 percent search Google, YouTube, or other online resources; 51 percent ask friends; and just 25 percent ask college help desks or instructors.