Technology in Teaching

John Weiss

13 October 2003

In this workshop we'll consider:

• Why not to use technology in your teaching.
• When to use it
• Some specific, interesting uses.

Note: this talk is on my website. If we don't finish in an hour, don't worry!

To Tech or Not to Tech....

That's the first question we need to ask ourselves.

Why Not to Use Technology Activity

With a partner, try to come up with a list of reasons why you would avoid technology.

(Worksheet)

Learning Curve

• Many technologies take time to learn
• Can you do it on the fly?
• If not, can you learn it before classes start?

Time

• Using technologies often takes time!
• Is it time well-spent?
• "Technology doesn't make less work, it just raises the bar."

Distraction from Objectives

• Technology can distract you from your objectives for the class
• It can also distract your students from what you want them to learn

Risk of Failure

• The more tech, the more the chance of failure
• Do you have a backup plan?

Risk of Stagnation

• Once you have a course set up, it is tempting to reuse it
• This keeps you from adapting and growing
• It also makes your teaching less interesting

Artifical Intelligence?

Privacy and Security

• Are you posting your or your students' personal information publicly?
• If you aren't, have you considered the possibility of hacking? (Using an ITS-run system should mitigate this.)

Accessibility

• Can all of your students access the materials?
• Do they need special software?
• Do they need special skills?
• Disabled students?

Why Would You Use Technology

Second Activity on worksheet

(Worksheet)

Fast Communication

• Fast communication
• Can have information always available for students

Presenting Information

• Technology often provides a good way to present information
• Allows multi-media
• Can be interactive

Student Experimentation

• Tech often permits students to experiment when they otherwise couldn't.
• Also allows us to ask question and get feedback in real-time. (See clickers, later.)

Clarity

• Face it, many of us have terrible board-handwriting
• Using computer-notes also allows students to download them
• In particular, getting the notes to them before class is quite helpful

Just the Right Technology....

What Follows are Specific Applications

(I've tried to choose the more useful ones I know)

Clicker Sticks

• Like a remote control
• Students choose answers, A-E
• Their responses are recorded

Why are Clickers Useful?

• Gives you instant feedback
• Especially, tells you student misconceptions!
• Forces students to face their own misconceptions
• Also encourages class attendance!

The Downside

• Cost students $$
• Have to take time to process data (not huge investment)
• High failure rates, still

Why is Email Useful

• Remind students of due dates and other events
• Send out corrections, hints, tips, etc.
• Students can contact you quickly and easily with questions

Why is Email Bad?

• Text-only interface is somewhat limited
• Students may not attend office hours (a plus or a minus?)

Email Lists

• On your mailer, good for contacting the whole class (note use of BCC:)
• On a central system (lists.colorado.edu?), good for everyone to contact everyone else (without seeing addresses!)
• Great for pre- or post-class discussion! (Also use WebCT's bulletin board.)

Email Tips

• Need not be formal, but be professional
• Have a signature built-in (with your contact info!)
• Beware of leaking private information!
• Don't use HTML-formats, please!!

Good Uses for the Web

• Posting syllabus, rubrics, assignments, worked solutions, etc.
• Links to other sites with good information
• Applets, photo galleries, sound archives, etc.

Downsides to the Web

• Bandwidth might be a problem
• Not all browsers behave the same. (See The World-Wide Web Consortium.)
• Internet a poor student-resource? (Misinformation, easy plagiarism.... )

Tips for the Web

• Start early learning HTML
• Keep It Simple!
• Content is more important than gee-whiz
• Test site on multiple browsers/machines