More on student preferences: good lectures vs. classroom technology

By Léo Charbonneau. A Q&A with Concordia professor Vivek Venkatesh on the effectiveness of educational technologies. A recent article in University Affairs, “Students prefer good lectures over the latest technology in class,” struck a chord with readers. The article received nearly 10,000 page views and was shared on Twitter well over 100 times, as well as on Facebook and other social media. Many of the tweets were accompanied by an enthusiastic “agreed!” or “good to hear!”
The article also generated a high volume of online comments – some supportive of the conclusions, but many critical. Several readers argued the article didn’t accurately reflect, or misinterpreted, the report’s findings. In defence, it should be noted that the article – at less than 400 words in length – gave only a brief overview of what was a 64-page report based on an in-depth survey of more than 17,000 university students and teachers in Quebec. Read more...