In order to see how the use of technology in higher education shapes the learning process, it is useful to examine a report prepared by the world-renowned consultancy company McKinsey. The company’s report, written in November 2021, evaluated the use and impact of eight different classroom learning technologies with 600 faculty and 800 students from public and private nonprofit colleges and universities in the United States, including institutions serving minorities. To support the research, the report also sought the opinions of industry and higher education experts who made decisions about classroom technology use. It should be noted that research has also discovered which learning tools and approaches are held at the highest level, how students and educators view them, the barriers to greater adoption, how institutions are successfully using innovative technologies, and the notable effects on learning.
Notable Rise in Discussion Platforms and Virtual Working Groups
When we look at the results of the study, it draws our attention that there has been an average of 19 percent increase in the general use of these learning technologies since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the 49 percent increase in the use of technologies that enable connection and community building, such as social media-inspired discussion platforms and virtual workgroups, was the most striking increase in the research. We should note that this was followed by group study tools with an increase of 29 percent.
These technologies can fill the void left by the lack of face-to-face experience more effectively than self-focused learning tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR). In addition, classroom interaction technologies such as real-time chat, polling and breakout discussions were the most widely used tools before the pandemic, and this situation continues. Because, 67 percent of the respondents state that they currently use these tools in the classroom.
We’ve learned from research that some technologies are lagging behind in adoption. Tools that enable student progress monitoring, AR/VR, machine learning-powered teaching aids, AI adaptive lectures, and classroom exercises are currently used by less than half of survey respondents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that technologies like AR/VR require a significant investment in equipment and can be difficult to deploy at scale in high-registration classrooms.
The research also reveals disparities in use by size. It was also revealed that medium and large public institutions use connectivity and community building tools more than small public institutions. Although uptake of AI-powered tools has been slower, higher education experts interviewed in the study predict their use will increase. Let’s also note that it allows faculty to tailor lectures to each student’s progress, reduce workloads, and improve student engagement on a large scale.
Students Are Interested in Using Technology
We learn from the study that many colleges and universities are interested in using more technology to support student learning. However, the three barriers identified in this regard are listed as follows: Lack of awareness, inadequate distribution capabilities and cost.
The report finds that more than 60 percent of students say all classroom learning technologies they’ve used since COVID-19 began have improved their learning and grades. However, two technologies scored higher than others for improving academic performance. In addition, 80 percent of students mention classroom exercises and 71 percent mention machine learning assisted teaching assistants.
The Technology That Excites Students Most: AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality)
While the technology that excites students the most is AR/VR with 37 percent, students draw attention to the potential of this technology, although it is not widely used yet. While 88 percent of students believe that AR/VR will make learning more fun, only 5 percent say they think it will improve their ability to learn or master content. Industry experts confirm that while AR/VR is an important aspiration, its ability to improve learning outcomes is uncertain. That said, let’s also mention that some data looks promising. For example, in a recent pilot study, students who used a VR tool to complete lessons for an introductory biology course expressed their mastery of the subject by an average of two letter grades.
