The College Classroom:
Effective Teaching with Technology

Spring 2009

Dates: TBA
Instructors: Jack Blanchard (Engineering Physics) and Alan Wolf (DoIt)
Credits: 2-3
Registration information

Course overview

Effective Teaching with Technology is designed for graduate students, post-docs, and faculty who desire to develop new approaches to effective use of instructional technology in their teaching practice. The goals of this course are:

A) to provide participants with a foundation for choosing appropriate technological tools based on learning needs,
B) to give participants hands-on experience in the effective use of learning technologies such as interactive web applications, streaming video, "clickers", and course management tools, and
C) to promote the importance and scholarship of the evaluation of instructional technology efficacy. 

This course is appropriate for anyone interested in improving student learning with technology, regardless of prior teaching or technological experience.

Course format

During each session of the course, a different aspect of teaching with technology will be investigated. Experts will be present to facilitate discussion and provide insight. In addition to the seminar portion of the course, participants will also have opportunities to experiment with several instructional technologies throughout the semester. Participants will see how the teaching-as-research philosophy applies to effectively teaching with technology, as well as how their technological choices can affect (both positively and negatively) their diverse student population. The culmination of the course will be a design project in which the participants identify, investigate, and propose solutions to a learning environment where technology could be implemented.

To view the Fall 2007 Syllabus, click here.

Student comments

"A great idea and a very valuable addition to the skill-set of any future professors/instructors. I see great things in future courses. "

"The variety of issues and technologies covered helped give a broad perspective on use of technology in teaching. The first part of the class [on teaching principles] was also essential to the introduction of technology into best practices. Also, team-teach approach allowed for lots of expertise and variety of activities. Also, discovering links to various web resources was great."

Evidence that the students have begun to see the classroom as a research environment and view teaching as a multidimensional activity:

"Along with the teaching methods I have learned, the readings have helped me realize that the role I was envisioning for myself as a professor was an uninformed fantasy. I thought I would be another great orator, 'covering' lots of material throughout a semester, with my students stopping by office hours to ask more in-depth questions about my lectures or their readings. Now that I'm thinking more critically about teaching & learning, I know that my role will be more of a mentor/coach/guide to lead (not feed) students to learning. In this role, however, I will encounter diversity more than I would have as a lecturer in the front of the lecture hall. In becoming more interactive with the students, I will need to be more aware and sensitive of their diverse learning styles, prior knowledge, attitudes to the subject, as well as a host of other diversity issues, such as gender, race, religion, and socioeconomic status. " (Biology student, 1st response paper)

Evidence that the students have begun to contemplate both the affordances and constraints of implementing technology into their teaching practices and learning environments:

"Teaching as research is a useful paradigm for teaching with technology. Because implementation of technology can be controversial for a number of reasons (see above), careful evaluation of the results it produces can lead to better use. It is important to compare various techniques to each other as well as to proven or traditional methods. Other aspects of teaching and learning can also be probed, including the effectiveness of technology equipment, student attitudes to technologies, and effectiveness of technology usage by instructors. "(Biology student, 2nd reflection paper)

An exemplary paper

"Converting CEE 370 to a Technology-Based Course." EPD 690 Project Narrative.
By Tim Gates & Chanyoung Lee (PDF)