ICT in higher education: students perceive increased engagement

Abstract

Purpose – In general, active participation increases learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore how: information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used to improve the participation of students during lectures and the effect of ICT on the learning outcomes of students. Design/methodology/approach – The authors tested a specific tool, Soapbox, in a compulsory course of a Masters’ program, at VU University, The Netherlands. During half of the lectures the students were invited to participate using their mobile phone or laptop, for the other half of the lectures, taught by the same lecturer, the tool was not used. The authors compared the two groups of lectures. For the evaluation the authors used observations in the classroom, a questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with students and with the lecturer. Findings – The results show that the ICT tool facilitated and increased the level of communication and interaction among the students and between the students and the lecturers. Students’ scored lectures with the tool consistently higher on the item “engaging.” Most of the students appreciated the use of the ICT tool and said that they felt more involved. Originality/value – Despite the knowledge about the limited learning effect of lectures on larger groups, most of the teaching at universities is conducted through such lectures. The research shows that the majority of the students felt more involved in the lectures with the ICT tool, and almost half of the students feel that the learning effect of lectures with the tool is higher than the learning effect of lectures without. Although observations could not confirm the perceived enhanced involvement, about 80 percent would recommend using the tool in other classes, providing a case for the use of interactive technology in large-scale lectures.

Facilitating Student Engagement Through Educational Technology: Towards a Conceptual Framework

“…Enhanced student engagement through using technology can lead to a number of short and long term academic and social outcomes (see Figure 8), termed proximal and distal consequences by Kahu (2013). Short term outcomes include increased discipline specific knowledge and higher order thinking skills (Nelson Laird and Kuh, 2005;Salaber, 2014), increased motivation (Akbari et al 2016), enhanced sense of belonging and wellbeing (Lear, Ansorge and Steckelberg, 2010), and improved relationships through peer-to-peer learning and collaboration (Zweekhorst and Maas, 2015). Long term outcomes include lifelong learning (Karabulut-Ilgu et al 2018), enhanced personal development (Alioon and Delialioğlu, 2019), and increased involvement in the wider educational community (Chen, Lambert and Guidry, 2010;Junco, 2012).…”

“…There are a variety of factors that influence student engagement when using technology (see Figure 3). Students' access to technology is an issue, which may also impact on their level of confidence and prior level of experience (Zweekhorst and Maas, 2015). Assuming that technology and the Internet can be accessed, the provision of technical (and sometimes emotional) support is necessary, to ensure not losing students along the way due, for example, to anxiety of receiving lower grades as a result of technology issues (Mejia, 2016).…”

How to Understand Industrial Internship Program for Preparing Employability Skills of Vocational Students in Indonesia

“…The use of learning media based ICT can create a learning process that is easy to understand, effective, interesting, fun, memorable, providing a hands -on learning experience for students [3]. This is supported by the results of research Zweekhorst and Maas which states that learning using ICT makes students feel more interesting learning so that students are more involved in learning and can improve the interaction between teachers and students [4]. ICT based learning media is also as a complement in direct face-to-face learning such as presentation, assessment, student monitoring, and students can acquire, share and build their knowledge and skills [5].…”

Student computer attitudes, experience and perceptions about the use of two software applications in Building Engineering

“…These findings seem reasonable considering that, nowadays, computers are embedded in all facets of our daily lives, and that students do not conceive the university without the use of the Internet and computers. Students accept the use of computers, expect it, and feel more engaged and involved when using them in class as part of the learning process (Zweekhorst and Maas 2015).…”