Engaging students in higher education with educational technology

TLDR

It is pointed out that some educational technologies have a more documented and sometimes also broader potential to engage the students behaviourally, affectively, and/or cognitively than others and that this likely is related to the extent the technology supports structure, active learning, communication, interaction, and activities on the higher levels on the learning taxonomies.

Abstract

There is a widespread agenda of improving teaching and learning in higher education by engaging students with educational technology. Based on a large-scale literature review, the article presents 61 specific, research-based recommendations for realising the engagement potential of eight types of educational technologies in higher education. These recommendations can be used, for example, by educators to incorporate specific, available educational technologies into their teaching or as an educational development method to enhance particular forms of student engagement. Based on the evidence, the article points out that some educational technologies have a more documented and sometimes also broader potential to engage the students behaviourally, affectively, and/or cognitively than others and that this likely is related to the extent the technology supports structure, active learning, communication, interaction, and activities on the higher levels on the learning taxonomies.