The Role of Visual Cues in High-Tech Learning Environments

Written by Mikolaj Skubina

Founder & Chief Operating Officer @ Timeqube | July 10, 2025

As technology evolves faster than the average person can keep up with, so too does the professional demand rise. Tech remains among the biggest and fastest-growing industries, and it brings plenty of advantages to a learning environment. That said, all those technological shortcuts may prove overwhelming.  High-tech learning environments may have all the information, but think about how that looks for a second.

You can’t, because there’s no way human eyes can comprehend all that information at once. Studies such as this from the Cognitive Research Journal showcase that, for all of the impressive feats humans are capable of, visual processing remains far behind computers. Technology will barrage most people with choices. Practically every path will lead you down a rabbit hole of even more questions. At some point, you probably forgot what the lesson even was. That’s why visual cues are so crucial for teaching in a high-tech space. 

Why Visuals Matter for Learning

Stop for a second and imagine the stereotypical classroom. The stuff that Hollywood uses as propaganda to make kids think school is “lame.” Dull paint peeling off the walls, old desks that smell faintly of old sweat, an ancient-looking teacher speaking like an adult from Peanuts, and, of course, the bored student. Notice how not once throughout that hypothetical did a visual about the lesson come up? That’s because some educators still believe that visuals are entirely unnecessary. 

However, meaning no disrespect to the profession of teaching, not every teacher has the gift of the gab. That is to say, some teachers may overestimate just how “interesting” their manner of speech is. That’s not to say one can’t teach without visuals, of course. But even orators “paint a picture” with their words, in a way that helps visualize the lesson. Audio-visual solutions help students connect concepts for students. 

So why the emphasis on visuals? Visuals help students connect concepts to something tangible. The U.S. Department of Education has highlighted the importance of visuals to improve high-order thinking. For example, one can discuss the impact of floods in low-lying areas. One could even talk at length about the various engineering marvels that people have come up with to help people in these areas. Or, one could simply show a video of an elevated beach house with a refined drainage system. 

Visuals are efficient and informative. In the information age, speed matters. 

Visual Cues in the Digital Environment

Take what we learned from the above about the importance of visuals, and amplify that about a hundred times.  That’s far from hyperbole, especially when it comes to technology. The sheer amount of information that can fit in digital spaces is incomprehensible to new students. Without visual cues, you would easily be lost amongst all that information. Visual cues come in a lot of forms, but these are of the most common you may have noticed.

Highlights and Headers

Reading is bound to pop up regardless of the lesson, because text is so convenient for conveying information. Even so, not many folks can decipher huge sections of text easily. Fortunately, that’s where highlights and headers come in. These are quick yet effective ways to grab the attention of a reader.

These are used to emphasize the most notable topics in the text. It’s typically reserved for introducing new concepts. For example, an article about social media would highlight Twitter and Facebook like this, because those are the biggest platforms right now. It immediately tells the reader that this is the focus of the text., Visual cues make students faster at information gathering thanks to these shortcuts.

Simple Symbols

In addition to text, software is filled with simple symbols to convey information quickly. Document apps will feature several good examples. Google Docs has a nifty button for reverting a document to an older version of itself. This button is represented by a looping arrow in the shape of a circle, with clock hands in the middle.

Not only is it a clever bit of design, but it also instantly communicates its purpose. The button “brings you back in time.” Simple symbols are extremely useful in information-heavy apps where text can get overwhelming. And of course, in case a symbol isn’t clear, alt text explaining its purpose can appear if the cursor is hovered over it.

Images 

For more complex information, images are the ultimate visual cue. Everybody knows the saying about “speaking a thousand words,” but they may not realize how literal that is for digital spaces. As a topic grows more complex, images can help simplify these topics into digestible bits. 

Sure, one could say the Earth is roughly 510.1 million km², but what exactly does that tell the average student? Instead, one could showcase a video that starts with a human, before eventually reaching the planet Earth. That sense of scale is hard to convey with words, but images can help you figure that out fast.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to education, every aspect matters. Visuals, even more so, as people are glued to their screens. Instead of fighting the tide, accept that gadgets are a tool. As with any tool, you’re not mastering it after a few days, let alone months. But that investment in learning the trade will be worth it. A teacher who can efficiently convey their lessons through a mix of visual cues and practical teaching techniques will flourish.