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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Technology with college students

Overview

  • Influence: Technology with college students
  • Domain: Technology, School, and Out-of-School Strategies
  • Sub-Domain: ICT
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to accelerate
  • Influence Definition: The use of various computer technologies in the teaching of college students.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 17
  • Number of studies: 2,027
  • Number of students: 95,296
  • Number of effects: 2,063
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.34
  • Robustness index: 5

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Review of Educational Research Kulik, Kulik & Cohen Effectiveness of Computer-Based College Teaching: A Meta-Analysis of Findings 1980 ICT on college 312 NA 278 0.48
AEDS Journal Kulik & Kulik Effectiveness of computer-based education in colleges 1986 ICT on college 48 NA 48 0.32
Journal of Educational Computing Research Kulik, Kulik, & Schwalb The Effectiveness of Computer-Based Adult Education: A Meta-Analysis 1986 ICT with adults 23 NA 23 0.42
Report Kulik Effects of Using Instructional Technology in Colleges and Universities: What Controlled Evaluation Studies Say 2003 ICT on college 12 NA 12 0.88
Communication Education Timmerman & Kruepke Computer-Assisted Instruction, Media Richness, and College Student Performance 2006 ICT with college students 118 12,398 118 0.24
Dissertation Michko A meta-analysis of the effects of teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes in undergraduate engineering education 2007 Teaching engineering UGs with technology 45 11,700 123 0.43
Journal of Research on Technology in Education Larwin & Larwin A Meta-Analysis Examining the Impact of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Postsecondary Statistics Education: 40 Years of Research 2011 ICT in postsecondary stats courses 70 40,125 70 0.57
Dissertation Hamilton A Meta-Analysis of the Comparative Research on Computer-Assisted Instruction and its Effects on Elementary and Secondary Mathematics Achievement 1995 ICT in higher education 41 NA 253 0.66
Journal of Educational Psychology Steenbergen-Hu & Cooper A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems on college students' academic learning.  1991 Computer assisted learning environments 26 NA 26 0.37
Computers and Education Schmid, Bernard, Borokhovski, Tamim, Abrami, Surkes, Wade & Woods The Effects of Technology Use in Postsecondary Education: A Meta-Analysis of Classroom Applications 2014 ICT in postsecondary courses 1,105 NA 879 0.27
Language Learning and Technology Lin, Huang, & Liou The effects of text-based SCMC on SLA: A meta analysis 2013 Text based computer mediated communication 10 NA 10 0.33
Language Learning and Technology Lin Establishing an empirical link between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and SLA: A meta-analysis of the research. 2014 Text based computer mediated communication 59 NA 59 0.46
Studies in Educational Evaluation Vo, Zhu, & Diep The effect of blended learning on student performance at course-level in higher education: A meta-analysis 2017 Blended learning in higher education 51 7,033 51 0.39
Dissertation Wandera Continuing the Conversation About Face-to-Face, Online, and Blended Learning a Meta-Analysis of Empirical Literature 2006-2017 2017 Blended, online learning 30 3,687 36 0.40
Computers and Education Archer, Savage, Sanghera-Sidhu, Wood, Gottardo, & Chen Examining the effectiveness of technology use in classrooms: A tertiary meta-analysis 2014 ICT on higher education 38 18,148 38 0.18
Journal of the Japan Society for Educational Technology Saito & Kim Meta-analysis of the effects of e-Learning on higher education. 2009 e-learning in higher ed 24 2,205 24 0.42
Journal of Education and Practice Mothibi A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between E-Learning and Students' Academic Achievement in Higher Education 2015 Internet in higher ed 15 NA 15 0.71
TOTAL/AVERAGE 2,027 95,296 2,063 0.44
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