Which Classroom Technologies Do College Students Actually Like?

A Few Well-Designed Tools Are Better Than Disjointed Solutions

Avery Knowles is a junior at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, majoring in finance and economics with a Spanish minor. Technology has been woven throughout her college experience, from online textbooks to learning management systems. The real measure of effectiveness, she says, is how well instructors share their knowledge with students. Sometimes, that means technology takes a back seat.

“Some teachers don’t use any technology. To me, those are the best classes because they’re teaching from their actual knowledge, what they know and what they did before becoming a professor,” she says.

In particular, Knowles says, she sees better results when instructors develop their own lectures and lesson plans rather than using prepared materials that accompany textbooks. When faculty relies too heavily on the latter, she says, classes are less engaging and less effective.

“If the teacher just reads off the slides that the textbook already made for them, it’s like anyone could teach that class,” she says.

READ MORE: Experiential learning in higher ed sets students up for career success.

Knowles advocates for a “less is more” philosophy regarding classroom technology. “Using one or two really good platforms and integrating them well together is better than having a bunch of random stuff,” she says.

Pelletier also stresses the importance of a high-quality user experience. Learning technologies hampered by poor interfaces, clunky integrations or insufficient connectivity present barriers both in the classroom and in learning management systems and other online tools.

“You have to pay attention to the details and remove the friction because it is distracting, and students will notice if it’s not done well,” Pelletier says.

Students Value Choice and Expect It from Their Institutions

EDUCAUSE research affirms the importance of choice as a critical element in student satisfaction. This idea appears in various forms in the “2023 Students and Technology Report: Flexibility, Choice and Equity in the Student Experience.”

According to EDUCAUSE’s survey, students in hybrid courses are happiest when they can choose whether to be in person or remote for different activities, says Senior Director of Research and Insights Mark McCormack. Students also prioritized what McCormack calls the “ethics of choice,” advocating for all students to have flexibility and autonomy in using the modes of engagement that work best for them.

McCormack notes that only 49% of students with learning disabilities were satisfied with their hybrid course experiences. However, when they could choose how to engage in various activities — online or in person — satisfaction jumped to 86%.

“In my opinion, this was the most powerful finding in our student survey,” he says. “I can’t emphasize enough the impact of the power of choice. That is something that I think students are increasingly aware of and a value they expect their institution to express as well.”

Violet Mathieu, who will complete her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2026 at Central Maine Community College, was a first-year student at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta when COVID-19 hit. Zoom learning, combined with a delayed diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, made for a rough start, she says. However, that changed once she could access the proper learning supports, such as Glean, a live note-taking app, and an online textbook that provides real-time feedback on homework assignments.

Mathieu says colleges should inform students about available learning accommodations. Her first college highlighted that information during first-year student orientation, but she says that’s not always the case.

“A lot of kids don’t make it past their first year because they struggle so much,” Mathieu says. “After that, you learn to ask for yourself and push harder for accommodations.”

Effective Educational Tools Help Students Build Skills and Confidence

At the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Florida, the Centers for Innovative Clinical Practice prioritizes new ways of integrating educational technologies to prepare students to work in modern healthcare. That includes tools such as robotics, 3D printers, high-definition audiovisual solutions and Anatomage tables equipped with interactive touch screens.

“Through the use of emerging technologies in education, students are able to learn from errors, reflect upon their experience and build confidence over time to sharpen their skill sets,” says Senior Director of Clinical Learning and Innovation Dr. Elisabeth McGee. “That way, when they are starting to interact with real clients, they feel comfortable and confident and are able to make strong clinical reasoning decisions.”

RELATED: University medical schools train students to better understand artificial intelligence.

EDUCAUSE’s Pelletier says that institutions are increasingly recognizing how critical it is to share information with students and, in turn, listen to their perspectives.

“That common energy around thriving is increasingly a part of what institutional folks are talking about,” she says. “That encourages that desire to understand students holistically.”