| | November - 20209areas, such as seen in Arizona State University's gen ed/developmental courses. Virtual simulations are taking place in differing healthcare ed programs such as nursing, enabling clinical hours in the virtual environment with more precise tools and assessment than in physical clinical settings. Very specific in-course tools, such as nudge email/texts within courses, video-conferencing, message boards, presentation software, audio elements, pre-recorded lectures, video elements, quick-check tests, live text-based chat, digital texts, and interactive tools, live video chat, animations, live video broadcast of lectures, intelligent agents, collaborative work via a blog or wiki, community forums, etc. all give faculty and students many more tools to engage in the learning process. The digital environment enables more equitable participation and engagement, and those uncomfortable with speaking up in the physical setting, or approaching the faculty after a lecture, may more freely engage in discussion and communication digitally. The University of Toronto has had great success using their collaborative Knowledge Forum for student group work. Rachel Toor writes of creating community in Zoom. Flower Darby notes that even in the traditional classroom, "digital tools and strategies can enhance your in-person teaching." Robert Zotta, at the Stevens Institute of Technology, writes, "I suppose it all comes down to tools and practices. We try to get good technologies and good tools, make them available for the instructors to use, and show the instructors how to use them as needed." Another key ed-tech tool is in the arena of analytics, be they descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, or prescriptive. Ed-tech provides the structure and reporting to give us incredibly helpful analytics that informs curriculum decisions and enhances faculty and advising interaction with their students. Additionally, university services, such as virtual libraries, virtual advising and career services, financial aid, etc. are all areas where ed-tech has made a significant impact for the better.ConclusionSo, we return to the beginning with the end in mind. Student success requires student engagement, and we need every available tool to achieve that end, including ed-tech. To ignore the benefits of this tool is simply to hamstring our performance and prevent us from providing to every student the best educational experience possible, enabling them to take the next big step in both their careers and lives. The digital environment enables more equitable participation and engagement, and those uncomfortable with speaking up in the physical setting, or approaching the faculty after a lecture, may more freely engage in discussion and communication digitally
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