The Perceptions and Experiences of Students in a Paperless Accounting Class

Although financial accounting practices in business have capitalized on the use of technology, this technology has not been fully integrated in higher education for accounting students. While traditional accounting courses laboriously involve rote transcription of debits and credits, educational technology in accounting courses may prove inherently beneficial. Faculty members at one U.S. institution designed and offered a paperless accounting course that utilized a variety of technologies. This study explored student perceptions regarding the satisfaction and effectiveness of three of these technologies: 1) the Classroom Performance System (CPS) response pad (clicker) from eInstruction.com, 2) Tablet PC (teacher use); and 3) a course management system. This study analyzes the reflective journals of sixty-two (62) students from two sections to find perceptions of satisfaction and effectiveness as well as initial feelings towards the use of educational technologies in the classroom. Within these findings key themes are discovered and discussed.