1st Edition

Using IT Effectively A Guide to Technology in the Social Sciences

    232 Pages
    by Taylor & Francis

    Technology and Social Science" examines the development and implementation of computer-assisted-learning in the social sciences. Encouraging both students and academics to improve the quality of their teaching and learning by using the wide range of new technologies effectively, this work highlights some of the pros and cons of technology, critically evaluating the technological process and its potential in the field. Encouraging the social science community to take an increasingly active role in this debate, the contributors examine key isues and emphasize areas in need of attention.

    Part 1 New challenges for teaching and learning: exponential education, Peter Cochrane; pedagogy, process, politics and power in the information age, Stephen Heppell; technology and society - an MP's view, Anne Campbell; information technology - a case for social scientific enquiry, Adrian Kirkwood. Part 2 Developing computer-assisted-learning courseware for the social sciences: expectations and realities in developing computer-aided software, the example of GraphIT!, Ruth Madigan et al; the data game - learning statistics, Stephen Morris and Jill Szuscikiewicz; conversion of the ideologies of welfare to a multimedia teaching and learning format, David Gerrett; DesignNet - transnational design project at a distance, Stephen Scrivener and Susan Vernon. Part 3 Implementing computer-assisted-learning in the social sciences: computer-aided learning as a learning tool - lessons from an educational theory, Graham Gibbs and David Robinson; anoraks and techies - a call for the incorporation of non-technical knowledge in technological developments in social sciences teaching and learning environments, Vernon Gayle; evangelism and agnosticism in the take-up of information technology, Nick Manning et al; standards for the non-standard - the impact of new technology on the non-standard student and/or teacher, Ann Wilkinson. Part 4 The effectiveness of the new technologies in teaching and learning environments: information technology and teaching quality assessment - reflections of a sociologist, Chris Turner; why costs are important in the adoption and assessment of new educational technologies, David Newlands et al; using multimedia technology for teaching - a case-study approach, David Crowther et al; information technology and teaching the social sciences - obstacles and opportunities, Duncan Timms.

    Biography

    Millsom Henry