Locations

MyRicoh
Contact
Change
Woman teaching in lecture hall with laptop in front of her

Driving student satisfaction starts with modernized classrooms

by Elisa Esposito

Summary

Classroom technology improves classroom experience and engages students

Time: 3 minute read
Today, student retention and satisfaction is as important as ever. Even the highest ranked colleges and universities are always striving to ensure they retain as many students as possible. While it’s obvious why this issue is so crucial, many universities struggle to identify adjustments they can make to positively affect retention.

Perhaps the best place to start, according to a Noel-Levitz study1, is improving student satisfaction, through creating an inviting climate on campus, an engaging classroom experience, providing knowledgeable faculty and advisers, and more. This research demonstrated that these elements of student satisfaction can be responsible for almost 20 percent of how much retention varies.

Another recent study2, which sought to break down the elements of the classroom experience that impact student satisfaction, revealed that “technological attributes received high satisfaction votes from students” across different types of classes. As such, the benefits creating an engaging classroom experience to improve student satisfaction and retention can be a short, direct path to ROI.

So how exactly can classroom technology improve classroom experience to keep students engaged, and enrolled?

 

Subscribe to our newsletter

 
Modern Classroom data graph

Video collaboration

In learning environments where students are distributed across campuses, online and throughout the world, adding video collaboration can make for a more enriching and interactive experience for those students who aren’t in the classroom than simply following an onscreen presentation with audio.

And even in non-distributed learning environments, instructors can use video to bring students face-to-face with industry experts with real-world experience in students’ focus areas. Whether these experts are across the county or in another country, adding a visual element can meaningfully expand the horizons of classrooms and students.

In both use cases, the benefits of video technology are tangible, as students are less inclined to simply “follow along;” they’re more alert and inclined to ask questions, collaborate and have lively discussions with their peers or experts via video. Video collaboration can also support the variety of mobile devices that permeate modern students’ daily life, further increasing student satisfaction and, in turn, retention.

Video Conferencing in office

Faculty-student collaboration

In addition to transcending geographical boundaries, technology can also help lay the groundwork for student retention by increasing student interaction with faculty, and positively impact student satisfaction. The days of marked-up transparencies on overhead projectors are (or at least should be) long behind us, but some students’ learning experiences are still limited by the inability to interact with learning content and faculty.

A range of technologies enable students to directly engage with content – for example, solving formulas in front of an classroom but from the comfort of their own device, or adding their group’s comments and alterations in real time to an engineering design that’s being projected by their professor. The sense of instant, seamless interaction and collaboration that technology provides isn’t just a return on investment for higher education IT; it also makes students more invested in their own academic experience.

Flipped classrooms

Taking the student-faculty dynamic even further down the collaboration spectrum, subverting the traditional, instructor-led class structure and empowering students to take charge of the learning process has become a burgeoning trend. Replacing lectures with group discussions, problem-solving and brainstorming can boost student engagement and provide personalized student guidance. Real-time voting on questions using clickers to gamify learning, and student-led sessions that enable them to simultaneously map out and collaborate on ideas and projects, are just a couple further applications of classroom technologies that can help keep students satisfied with evolving learning styles.

 
 

Recommended for you

 

Recommended for you

Capilano University Tile Case Study: Capilano University Serving students better with feature-rich document management
Clemson university stadium Article: How Clemson overhauled print and mail to increase revenue See the changes Clemson made to improve their on-campus services
Three ways to modernize - teacher on tablet Article: 3 ways to modernize your registrar's office Bring modernization to your registrar's office
Previous / Next
 
1 Schreiner, Laurie A., Ph.D. "Linking Student Satisfaction and Retention." Noel-Levitz. 2009
2 ResearchGate. Building and Environment. 2013
 
Cookie Policy

Ricoh uses data collection tools such as cookies to provide you with a better experience when using this site.
You can learn how to change these settings and get more information about cookies here.

Close Chat
HelpChoose A Topic