Core Competency #3: Incorporating Technology in the Classroom
**This competency is satisfied by participating in a professional development workshop or seminar, such as those offered by the Graduate School, your college or department, another unit on-campus or an organization or off-campus
Description of Competency
The third competency can be expressed through an educator’s prior experience and his or her desire, ability, and capacity to incorporate various elements of technology in a course, under the assumption that increasing technological support in a classroom leads to better student learning. Incorporating technology in a classroom setting can mean a lot of different things. For example, technology in the classroom can include iClickers, blogs and social media, or other computer-based programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Technology in the classroom can indicate actual online learning, conducted through hybrid courses, recorded videos, learning management systems such as “Desire to Learn” (D2L), or massive open online courses (MOOCs). This competency can be mastered in theory, by learning about various educational technological strategies, and in practice, by testing out and tailoring different educational technological strategies in a classroom setting.
Relevant topics to this area of competency include: multimedia, hybrid and online courses, video and video software technologies, and social media.
Relevant topics to this area of competency include: multimedia, hybrid and online courses, video and video software technologies, and social media.
Workshop and Seminar List
"Certification in College Teaching Institute: Incorporating Technology in Teaching"
- Date(s): May 12, 2016
- Course Instructor(s): Jeff Grabill, Ph.D.
- Offered By: Michigan State University
"Model. Meet Classroom. Classroom, Meet Model. Introducing Models to the Classroom Using Technology."
- Date(s): October 14, 2015
- Course Instructor(s): Stephen Thomas
- Offered By: MSU Teaching Essentials for STEM Faculty, Michigan State University
Artifact(s) and Artifact Rationale(s)
"Certification in College Teaching Institute: Incorporating Technology in Teaching"
- This is the agenda for the two-day Certification in College Teaching Institute, hosted by the Graduate School at Michigan State University.
- This reflective worksheet includes my lessons learned, thoughts, and questions after participating in the "Incorporating Technology in Teaching" session of the Certification in College Teaching Institute.
- These are the notes I took during the "Incorporating Technology in Teaching" session of the Certification in College Teaching Institute.
"Model. Meet Classroom. Classroom, Meet Model. Introducing Models to the Classroom Using Technology."
- This is Stephen Thomas's presentation, given during this Teaching Essentials for MSU STEM Faculty workshop.
- This handout includes a variety of teaching resources and technology resources, recommended to workshop participants by Stephen Thomas.
- This document includes information about this Teaching Essentials for MSU STEM Faculty workshop and the presenter. This document also includes the notes I took during this workshop.
Interpretation/Reflection
Technology is used in a classroom setting to mainly aid educators in disseminating information to their students. Technology assists students in sharing information with each other and providing feedback to the educators. As a result of the obvious benefits technology brings into the classroom, technology is becoming an ever-increasing and rapidly changing component of all classroom settings, especially at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
It is obvious that the use of technology in a classroom setting can aid educators and students in many ways. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help educators and students communicate and inform each other. Educators can use these types of platforms to administer assignments or interact with their students, while students can use these platforms to interact with each other, ask questions, or collect data. These platforms can better engage students, especially those students who may be timid and quiet in a regular classroom setting, by offering new ways for students to express and involve themselves.
For educators and students alike, PowerPoint and other similar software programs are utilized often in classroom settings. These programs provide an effective way for both educators and students to present or share information using text, animations, videos, and pictures. Though these software programs do have some benefits for both educators and students alike, in that they are convenient and easy to use, they are often associated with some significant disadvantages as well. For example, preparing and designing effective PowerPoint presentations requires a lot of time, energy, and careful thought. Finding time to spend on creating PowerPoint presentations on top of on preparing, designing, and monitoring other strategies that utilize technology (e.g., discussion boards and posts, iClicker questions, and group activities) can become very stressful and overwhelming for the educator. Though PowerPoint can be an effective teaching and learning tool, it may not be worthwhile to rely solely on this tool in the classroom.
At Michigan State University (MSU), I have learned about different methodologies for introducing technology into the classroom. For example, as an educator and a student, I have enjoyed learning about and using “Desire 2 Learn” (D2L), an online space for educators to post course materials and for students to actively engage in the course. More specifically, D2L allows educators to essentially set up their course electronically; they can post their PowerPoint lectures, readings, and other course materials (e.g., assignments and worksheets) on the website. Students can access the materials directly from D2L and ask the educator or other students questions via e-mail. The discussion board is one of the more attractive features of D2L because it allows educators or students to discuss and, in some cases, debate questions and comments that relate to the course. In the “Global Issues in Fisheries and Wildlife” course I co-taught at MSU, I used D2L discussion boards to post questions that related to assigned reading. Using the discussion board, I asked each student to respond to these questions and to answers left by other students. I believe D2L, used in this way, was effective in stimulating communication and other discussion among my students. I also believe the discussion boards and posts, specifically, served as a way for me to formatively assess how my students were learning during the semester. Based on the questions and answers I received from my students, it was easy for me to identify what the students did and did not understand well. Thus, I was better able to brainstorm a few ways for me to employ new, more effective, discipline-related teaching strategies in the classroom. In a future teaching position, I hope to maintain a course website (similar to D2L, but perhaps strictly for a specific course) that will serve as a place where students can find all the information they need about the course and where students and educators are able to interact and communicate together.
As a student, I have observed a shifting trend away from more in-person, traditional lectures to full online courses, where most of the instruction takes place via the Internet. I often wonder about the effectiveness of these online courses, which usually include some type of pre-recorded lectures, in ensuring that students properly learn the material. In the “Global Issues in Fisheries and Wildlife” course I co-taught at MSU, for instance, I was directed to utilize a series of 80-minute pre-recorded lectures to fill most of the individual class time during the course. This particular teaching methodology was often met with frustration and confusion on behalf of the students, for there was often not enough time to properly dissect and discuss each of the pre-recorded lectures. Additionally, the educators and the students missed out asking and answering questions, which, in my opinion, is an important part of learning. At the end of the course, I was disappointed in the outcome of my students’ final papers, which lacked the insight and perspective I felt they each should have had by the end of the semester. I am afraid that the particular structure of the course, being mostly online, did not adequately improve student learning in this area of study.
To summarize, though I believe that technology is an important component of any classroom, I am conflicted about whether or not technology alone can adequately support a student’s ability to learn. I truly believe that a mix of educator involvement, perhaps in the form of in-person, traditional lectures, and technology, perhaps in the form of D2L or other online teaching aids or tools, is the best solution for enhancing student learning in a classroom setting. Along with mini-lectures (i.e., 10-15 minute in-class lectures), I could see myself incorporating different forms of technology into my own classroom someday; in fact, in one of the Teaching Essentials for MSU STEM Faculty workshops, I learned about a variety of models and other technology tools (e.g., concept maps, TextExpander2, NetLogo, “Be Socratic,” and R) that I hope to use to enhance student learning. I believe one challenge for not only me, but for other future educators, will be to find a functional balance between maintaining a flexible, technology-rich learning environment, while still ensuring interaction and communication between the educator and students. Meaningful and positive interactions and communication lay the foundation for forming relationships and, thus, promote students’ desire to learn. In an environment dominated by technology, how can these relationships form?
It is obvious that the use of technology in a classroom setting can aid educators and students in many ways. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help educators and students communicate and inform each other. Educators can use these types of platforms to administer assignments or interact with their students, while students can use these platforms to interact with each other, ask questions, or collect data. These platforms can better engage students, especially those students who may be timid and quiet in a regular classroom setting, by offering new ways for students to express and involve themselves.
For educators and students alike, PowerPoint and other similar software programs are utilized often in classroom settings. These programs provide an effective way for both educators and students to present or share information using text, animations, videos, and pictures. Though these software programs do have some benefits for both educators and students alike, in that they are convenient and easy to use, they are often associated with some significant disadvantages as well. For example, preparing and designing effective PowerPoint presentations requires a lot of time, energy, and careful thought. Finding time to spend on creating PowerPoint presentations on top of on preparing, designing, and monitoring other strategies that utilize technology (e.g., discussion boards and posts, iClicker questions, and group activities) can become very stressful and overwhelming for the educator. Though PowerPoint can be an effective teaching and learning tool, it may not be worthwhile to rely solely on this tool in the classroom.
At Michigan State University (MSU), I have learned about different methodologies for introducing technology into the classroom. For example, as an educator and a student, I have enjoyed learning about and using “Desire 2 Learn” (D2L), an online space for educators to post course materials and for students to actively engage in the course. More specifically, D2L allows educators to essentially set up their course electronically; they can post their PowerPoint lectures, readings, and other course materials (e.g., assignments and worksheets) on the website. Students can access the materials directly from D2L and ask the educator or other students questions via e-mail. The discussion board is one of the more attractive features of D2L because it allows educators or students to discuss and, in some cases, debate questions and comments that relate to the course. In the “Global Issues in Fisheries and Wildlife” course I co-taught at MSU, I used D2L discussion boards to post questions that related to assigned reading. Using the discussion board, I asked each student to respond to these questions and to answers left by other students. I believe D2L, used in this way, was effective in stimulating communication and other discussion among my students. I also believe the discussion boards and posts, specifically, served as a way for me to formatively assess how my students were learning during the semester. Based on the questions and answers I received from my students, it was easy for me to identify what the students did and did not understand well. Thus, I was better able to brainstorm a few ways for me to employ new, more effective, discipline-related teaching strategies in the classroom. In a future teaching position, I hope to maintain a course website (similar to D2L, but perhaps strictly for a specific course) that will serve as a place where students can find all the information they need about the course and where students and educators are able to interact and communicate together.
As a student, I have observed a shifting trend away from more in-person, traditional lectures to full online courses, where most of the instruction takes place via the Internet. I often wonder about the effectiveness of these online courses, which usually include some type of pre-recorded lectures, in ensuring that students properly learn the material. In the “Global Issues in Fisheries and Wildlife” course I co-taught at MSU, for instance, I was directed to utilize a series of 80-minute pre-recorded lectures to fill most of the individual class time during the course. This particular teaching methodology was often met with frustration and confusion on behalf of the students, for there was often not enough time to properly dissect and discuss each of the pre-recorded lectures. Additionally, the educators and the students missed out asking and answering questions, which, in my opinion, is an important part of learning. At the end of the course, I was disappointed in the outcome of my students’ final papers, which lacked the insight and perspective I felt they each should have had by the end of the semester. I am afraid that the particular structure of the course, being mostly online, did not adequately improve student learning in this area of study.
To summarize, though I believe that technology is an important component of any classroom, I am conflicted about whether or not technology alone can adequately support a student’s ability to learn. I truly believe that a mix of educator involvement, perhaps in the form of in-person, traditional lectures, and technology, perhaps in the form of D2L or other online teaching aids or tools, is the best solution for enhancing student learning in a classroom setting. Along with mini-lectures (i.e., 10-15 minute in-class lectures), I could see myself incorporating different forms of technology into my own classroom someday; in fact, in one of the Teaching Essentials for MSU STEM Faculty workshops, I learned about a variety of models and other technology tools (e.g., concept maps, TextExpander2, NetLogo, “Be Socratic,” and R) that I hope to use to enhance student learning. I believe one challenge for not only me, but for other future educators, will be to find a functional balance between maintaining a flexible, technology-rich learning environment, while still ensuring interaction and communication between the educator and students. Meaningful and positive interactions and communication lay the foundation for forming relationships and, thus, promote students’ desire to learn. In an environment dominated by technology, how can these relationships form?
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Molly J. Good, Ph.D. Candidate
Taylor and Regier Great Lakes Fisheries Fellow, Boone and Crockett Fellow Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University 115 Manly Miles Building 1405 South Harrison Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823, USA (517) 432-5025 (phone) (517) 432-5066 (fax) goodmoll@msu.edu |