How Technology Improves Student Outcomes in the Classroom
How technology improves student outcomes comes down to who's driving it: teacher-led tools work; tech left to run itself doesn't. Alabama's ACCESS program gives students access to live AP courses their own schools can't offer, and interactive tools like virtual labs and educational games have been shown to support engagement, teamwork, and content mastery when they're well designed.
Every few years, a new gadget lands in classrooms promising to fix education, and every few years teachers ask the same question: does it actually help kids learn, or is it just noise? Dr. Jerri Ward-Jackson, who chairs the Department of Instructional Leadership Support at the University of West Alabama's College of Education, has spent 15 years studying exactly that question, and her answer starts outside the classroom walls.
"Technology is pretty much driving our society. Every day, new technologies are emerging and changing the way we operate and live. That means it's a must that students are prepared to succeed using technology."
Dr. Ward-Jackson isn't just talking about students with tech-industry ambitions. She's talking about every learner.
According to NACE's Job Outlook 2024 survey, 67% of employers prioritize technical skills, 66% prioritize analytical and quantitative skills, and 78.9% prioritize the ability to work as part of a team. In a spring 2022 McKinsey/Ipsos survey of 25,000 Americans, 58% reported having the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week, making virtual collaboration just as important as face-to-face collaboration for much of the workforce.
That leaves America's teachers with quite the task. Dr. Ward-Jackson and her UWA colleagues are committed to helping them carry it out. She recently sat down with Teacher.org to discuss two common classroom technologies, how technology improves student outcomes, and how UWA's teacher-prep programs prepare educators to use both effectively.
Dr. Jerri Ward-Jackson has spent 15 years working in the intersection of technology and education. After earning her Master's in Instructional Technology and her Ph.D in Instructional Systems and Technology, she has taught online classes to students all over Alabama. Throughout her career, she's helped teachers and students alike by conducting technology training, research on distance learning, and speaking at national conferences. Today, she's the chair of the Department of Instructional Leadership Support in the University of West Alabama's College of Education and coordinator for the school's graduate-level Learning, Design, and Technology program. She also directs UWA-TEACH and teaches courses like Technology Tools for Education and Instructional Design.Online Learning: The Surprising Benefits of an Emergency Measure
The COVID-19 pandemic forced every school in the country into remote instruction almost overnight in 2020. Dr. Ward-Jackson says the shift did more than solve an emergency: it exposed how narrow the country's attitudes about "real" education had become.
"Prior to COVID, online courses were more of an option, and face-to-face was the traditional way of educating students. Then COVID happened, and what was once the norm was no longer an option. Everyone had to develop new ways of educating students, and online or virtual learning was the only option. That was a wake-up call that online learning was here to stay. Even now, some people are still reluctant to use technology when it comes to teaching and learning."
Opponents of distance learning say it isn't conducive to real engagement, and that teachers can't properly connect with students through a screen. Kids are often home alone with distractions, or without reliable internet access.
These criticisms aren't unfounded. But in Dr. Ward-Jackson's experience, they aren't unfixable, either.
Before joining UWA's faculty, Dr. Ward-Jackson was a program coordinator for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide, better known as ACCESS Distance Learning. Through the program, high school students across the state take live, online Advanced Placement courses taught by certified teachers trained specifically in online instruction, many of them in courses their own schools are too small to offer.
This hybrid model sidesteps most of the usual objections to online learning. Kids still go to school, see their classmates, and use their school's resources instead of scraping together their own. It appears to be working, too.
Minority enrollment in AP Computer Science Principles has more than doubled in Alabama over the past decade, and ACCESS gives students at under-resourced schools a pathway into courses like it that their own schools otherwise couldn't offer. Rigorous coursework, college credit, and STEM careers are now within reach for students who wouldn't have had the option otherwise, a mix Dr. Ward-Jackson takes real pride in.
"It's amazing how technology, inside and outside the classroom, gives students opportunities they might not have had otherwise. I'll always be an advocate for distance learning and technology integration in classrooms."
Increased access isn't the only advantage, either.
"It also prepares them for the workforce. A lot of the time, students have to go through training modules to get a job, and they're all online. I don't see distance learning diminishing or going away. I see it getting better every year."
Many students' first experience with online learning was rushed and far from ideal. But Dr. Ward-Jackson's work shows that when it's planned carefully, virtual instruction can make learning more accessible, not less valuable.
How Interactive Software Maintains Motivation and Elevates Lesson Plans
Games and hands-on projects are go-to teaching methods for nearly every subject. Miniature volcanoes teach acids and bases. Pretend stores put basic math skills to the test as students shop with a set budget. Teachers would love to make these experiences every day, but that isn't always possible without help.
In-class technology is closing that gap. A 1997 Educational Testing Service report found that 98% of schools already had computers on campus, and access has only grown since then; the National Center for Education Statistics found that 45% of U.S. public schools reported having a computer for every student in the 2019-20 school year, just before the pandemic. Dr. Ward-Jackson believes those resources can be put to real use.
"Technology offers so many interactive learning experiences through multimedia resources, simulations, virtual labs, and educational games. These can captivate the students' attention and make learning more fun, more engaging, and motivating."
Research suggests the benefits go beyond engagement. When the pandemic forced schools and districts to keep hands-on classes like physics and chemistry running remotely, many invested in virtual lab software. Research suggests that virtual labs can support content learning, teamwork, and lab management skills when they're well designed and properly supported by the teacher. Now that students are back in the classroom, many schools still use virtual labs to run labs more often, cover schools without the physical equipment, and let students practice safety steps before handling real materials.
Games and interactive simulations show similar results. In a literature review, researchers gathered years of findings suggesting in-class video games:
- Provide reward and achievement systems that motivate students to continue learning.
- Foster independence and encourage students to learn through trial and error.
For educators who are already stretched thin, these high-value, easy-to-set-up activities can be a real asset across a teacher's career.
Preparing Future Teachers to Create Engaging, High-Tech Classrooms
Dr. Ward-Jackson is a genuine advocate for technology in the classroom, but she's realistic about where it goes wrong.
"Some teachers use technology as a way to pass time rather than as a tool to engage their students or drive home a concept. When it comes to online learning, it's important that the teacher actually serves as an instructor, not a facilitator, and provides collaboration and engagement opportunities with their students, so students know there's an actual live person on the other end who's there to assist, teach, and support their learning."
At UWA, Dr. Ward-Jackson and her fellow instructors built a curriculum meant to head off exactly that problem. In classes like Instructional Design and Technology and Education, students learn about the latest classroom hardware and software while practicing integrating it into real lesson plans. More tech-focused students can take Educational Games, Simulations, and Mobile Applications, which culminates in each student building their own educational software.
Even a strong course list only goes so far, in Dr. Ward-Jackson's view.
"It's still essential that teachers meet the needs of all students in their classrooms, and not just their needs, but also provide a fun, engaging, and nurturing learning environment. Teachers need support and other resources readily available to help them with teaching and learning. Having technology in classrooms is a great asset, but having great teachers who know how to integrate technology effectively, and provide students with a nurturing environment beyond the technology, is even better."
That takes advocacy, cooperation, and action, three things Dr. Ward-Jackson and UWA are well practiced at.
Beyond her work in the classroom, Dr. Ward-Jackson has been involved with UWA's Project ENGAGE 2.0, an initiative built to make STEM a more inclusive space for Alabama's minority students, and she now directs UWA-TEACH. UWA also runs several programs that directly support Alabama teachers. The Black Belt STEM Institute supports teachers in the region through professional development, supplemental STEM curricula, student programming, and partnerships with schools across the Black Belt counties. Through Project REACh, professionals who already hold a bachelor's degree can earn a Master's in Education through a paid, 16-month residency, with a total award of up to $50,000 contingent on completing the program and becoming an Alabama-certified teacher.
Supporting today's students means supporting tomorrow's teachers. Whether UWA's future educators attend classes online or on campus, they're learning from faculty such as Dr. Ward-Jackson, supported by programs like ACCESS, Project REACh, and the Black Belt STEM Institute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does technology actually improve student outcomes?
It can, but the research focuses on how it's used rather than on whether it's present. Programs like Alabama's ACCESS give students access to courses, including AP classes, their own school couldn't otherwise offer, because a certified teacher is running the instruction, not because a screen is involved. Dr. Ward-Jackson is direct about this: technology used as a pastime doesn't move outcomes, but technology used as a teaching tool does.
What's the difference between remote learning and a hybrid model like ACCESS?
ACCESS is a hybrid model, not fully remote: students remain on campus, using the building's resources and social environment, while a certified teacher delivers a live online course that the school couldn't otherwise offer. Some forms of at-home remote instruction offer similar live teacher support and structure, but ACCESS's school-based setup directly addresses concerns such as isolation and unreliable home internet access.
Are educational video games actually effective for learning?
Research on game-based learning points to built-in reward and incentive systems that help sustain motivation over the course of a lesson or unit, as well as independent, trial-and-error learning that's harder to incorporate into a traditional lecture format.
How can teachers avoid letting technology become a distraction?
Dr. Ward-Jackson's advice is to stay the instructor, not the facilitator: keep leading the lesson and interacting with students directly, rather than handing control to the software and stepping back. Technology should support a specific learning goal, not fill time.
What kind of technology training do teacher-prep programs offer now?
At UWA, that includes courses like Instructional Design and Technology and Education, where future teachers learn current classroom hardware and software and practice building it into real lesson plans, plus an Educational Games, Simulations, and Mobile Applications course where students build their own educational software.
- The teacher decides whether tech helps - Dr. Ward-Jackson's own framing: technology used as a pastime doesn't move outcomes, but technology used as a teaching tool does.
- Alabama's ACCESS program expands course access - it gives students at under-resourced schools a way into live AP courses taught by certified teachers, and minority enrollment in AP Computer Science Principles has more than doubled in the state over the past decade.
- Interactive tools do more than boost engagement - research on well-designed, well-supported virtual labs links them to stronger content mastery and teamwork skills, not just higher interest.
- Games can sustain motivation - built-in reward systems and trial-and-error play keep students engaged in ways a traditional lecture format often doesn't.
- Teacher-prep programs are teaching tech integration directly - UWA now runs dedicated courses in instructional design and educational game development, not just general ed-tech theory.
If reading about instructional design and classroom technology has you thinking about where to learn it formally, the sponsored programs listed here include graduate options in education and instructional technology built for working teachers, with coursework you can complete around a full teaching schedule.
- How Technology Improves Student Outcomes in the Classroom - August 9, 2023
