Gen Z Needs a Very Different Kind of Classroom with Trey Harris of Clarus

 

In this Glass is in Session podcast, Trey Harris, Education Market Manager at Clarus, discusses education sales at the university level. For the better part of the first decade of his career, Harris worked in architectural photography, led national marketing for the planning and landscape architecture division of a national A/E firm, and honed his skills as a professional communicator. Now at Clarus, having joined last year to lead education sales, he has visited 92 universities in nine months. There, he’s seen a trend across the board: classrooms aren’t equipped for Generation Z.

“The in-house designers at the university, when they’re looking at what they want their classrooms to be, how do they filter all this new generation’s needs,” Harris said. Higher education is such an enticing market not only because older adults are returning to college, but because of the size of Generation Z; the majority are just now entering college, but soon will be making up 40 percent of all consumers. He notes that Gen Z is very different from both Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen X, saying, “security and stability” are what they value most.

“Technology is integrated into their lives at birth,” Harris says. “Technoholics would be an understatement.” He discusses how although Gen X will move companies, they do not move industries. It’s becoming clear that Gen Z are what he terms “career multitaskers,” meaning they will move industries throughout their working lives. They want their hobbies to be their professions, and this innate flexibility need to be expressed in their learning process. Harris explains how Clarus helps universities make the design and technological transition Gen Z expects, empowering project-based learning and flipped classrooms through collaborative technology like the glassboard.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Education Technology Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!
Twitter – @EdTechMKSL
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

student success
The AI-Powered Edge in Education: How LearningClues Is Enabling Student Success with Co-founder and CEO Dr. Perry Samson
June 30, 2025

As AI continues to reshape education, institutions face a growing challenge in ensuring students succeed without compromising engagement or integrity. Today’s college students are often juggling jobs, family, and coursework, leading to limited study time and increased dropout risk. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 40% of full-time undergraduates and 74% of…

Read More
AI Strategist
Why Enterprises Need an AI Strategist and Why It Should Be a Marketer
June 30, 2025

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, a leading consultancy that partners with marketing leaders to adopt and scale AI responsibly and strategically, talks with Nicola Smith, Senior AI Programs Advisor at Southwest Airlines. They explore how enterprises can move beyond tool experimentation to embed AI into…

Read More
first 90 days
HealthSearch Partners’ Neill Marshall and Kurt Mosley Urge New CEOs to Listen First, Diagnose Early, and Lead with Purpose in the First 90 Days
June 30, 2025

CEO turnover across U.S. hospitals is accelerating. Hospitals and health systems announced 146 CEO changes in 2023—a 42 percent increase over the 103 exits recorded in 2022, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report. As more leaders transition into new roles, the importance of making a good first impression has intensified. The early…

Read More
tech talent
The DisruptED World of Tech Talent with TEKsystems: Future-Proofing the Workforce Through Inclusive Hiring and Non-Traditional Education
June 27, 2025

In a workforce reshaped by automation, accelerated AI adoption, and persistent labor shortages, the demand for skilled tech talent has never been more urgent—or more difficult to meet. The traditional pipelines, namely college degrees and four-year institutions, are no longer producing enough candidates to meet the explosive growth in tech roles. With tech jobs…

Read More