5 Steps to Making the Most of Technology
Posted on: March 16, 2020
Faculty like you face a daunting workload as you juggle teaching, grading, researching, writing, and any number of administrative duties. Similarly, when utilizing education technology in the higher education classroom, it can be difficult to strike a balance that helps your students to learn more deeply and effectively rather than further dissociating them from the material.
Check out the infographic below for five tips for making the most of technology in your classroom that we made using information from our whitepaper Exploring the Digital Landscape in Higher Education.
5 Steps to Making the Most of Technology Inside and Outside the Classroom
- Make your life easier: Many faculty face a daunting workload as they juggle teaching, grading, researching, writing, and any number of administrative duties. Using digital platforms like learning management systems can help to turn an overwhelming course load into a less intimidating challenge.
- Be prepared for the challenges: By being aware of what obstacles may arise from increased use of technology in the classroom, you can weigh the costs and benefits of that increase. Depending on the financial resources or institutional support available to you, you may choose to limit the way you introduce digital tools into your teaching, or find creative ways to approach the challenges that stand in your way.
- Do your research (and let your students do theirs): When we asked our survey respondents about the ways technology benefitted them, we expected to hear about the ways that digital developments simplified assessment of student understanding and performance. Instead, we learned that tech's most positive impact was in facilitating research--both for instructors and students.
- Be honest about your (and your students') skills gaps: Be realistic about where your own strengths lie. Technology doesn't have to be complicated in order to be effective, and again, it's important to to find what works best for you. Be aware as well of how your students' strengths differ from your own. While students are likely to have a greater proficiency with the digital platforms they've been raised with, they may enter the classroom with no prior knowledge of programs like Excel or PowerPoint, which have been less relevant to them as teenagers and young adults.
- Explore new possibilities: Are you comfortable experimenting with new ways of delivering course material and engaging your students? It could be that trying a new approach, whether using a blended method or an adaptive learning platform, could help you to make the most of your teaching by taking your and your students' experience to the next level.
Make sure you download the full whitepaper to read more!