Using Technology to Improve Teaching and Learning

Using Technology to Improve Teaching and Learning

Beth CavallariActing Associate Director

Beth CavallariActing Associate Director

Why use technology?

• Interactivity• Content delivery/revision• Managing learning and resources• Collaboration• Communication• Sense of cohort• Variety of teaching and learning preferences

• Formative and summative assessment

How does this help?

• Allows students more control of their own learning

• Allows lecturers to guide more, teach less• Allows student to build up knowledge, and become part of the teaching process

• Can provide some really engaging learning experiences

• Teachers can provide “scaffolding” and safety nets

• “At risk” students can be identified more quickly

• Collaborating can be very well supported

Students’ Experiences (1998)

‘We have excellent hardware and software but the lecturers don’t use it much for teaching. Some of them put their lecture notes on the Web.’ (Multimedia Student)

‘All Computing Science subjects have lecture notes on the Web, but none of the other subjects use computers at all, which is just as well because the machines crash all the time.’ (Computing Science Student)

Students’ Experiences (1998)

‘I expected to have to use computers all the time. In fact, we rarely use them, not even in subjects like accounting, where we have to do everything manually.’ (Commerce Student)

Students’ Experiences (2008)

‘Computer use is essential in all courses. We have access to course notes, essays, past exams, electronic journals, the course handbook and course overview. We often use email to communicate with other students, lecturers and tutors.’ (History Student)

Students’ Experiences (2008)

‘Blackboard, PowerPoint, emails and electronic journals are used very effectively, but nothing very innovative happens. There was some online assessment in first year.’ (Commerce Student)

‘Smaller class sizes in Science meant less use of PowerPoint than in some of my other courses. There is very mixed use of technology, depending on the skills of the lecturer. Some lecturers are useless and upload the wrong files, or their files don’t work.’ (Science Student)

Students’ Experiences

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Technology Development Cycle

• What’s the problem?• What’s the best way of tackling it? (Can technology help?)

• Planning• Development• Testing• Evaluation• Improving

What can TEDI do?

• CDs• Websites• Blackboard sites• Web-CD combinations• DVDs• Print• Planning, educational advice, Project Management

• http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/edResources/what-cd.html

CDs

Websites

Educational Design

• To support use of the newer “social” websites —– Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/

– MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/

– YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/

– Second Life:http://secondlife.com/

Maintenance

• How is it possible to maintain your technology once you’re involved in it?

• How much time are you expected to put in?

• How (and to whom) can you share this?• Shelf-life• Life of product/project after YOU

Cost

Warnings…

• Time to plan• Time to develop• Time to evaluate• Time to be involved• Obsession/addiction• Use of students’ private, social spaces• Authenticity/authority of web content…

Authenticity of web content…

Minke whale population is estimated to be:a)880,000 (Library of Congress)b)550,000 (Marine Mammal Research Program HIMB,

University of Hawaii at Manoa)

c)760,000 (International Whaling Commission)