Technology in the Classroom:
A Working Discussion Group
Nelson C. Baker, Ph.D.
Georgia Tech
SUCCEED
College of Engineering
CETL, OIT-Educational Technologies
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction
SUCCEED Activities
WebCT; Melissa Bachman
CoWeb; Mark Guzdial
ECE Core Courses; Barnwell & McClellan
Classroom 2000; Gregory Abowd
Discussion
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
2
Objectives
• Discussion Forum for those using, creating,
developing, and maintaining educational
materials that use technology.
• Provide mechanism for faculty to learn
these ideas/techniques and their impacts
• Foster environment to share results and
lessons learned from implementations and
research.
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
3
Today’s Objectives
• Continue discussions on edutech-friends
email list
• See demonstrations of educational
technology here at GT
• Share ideas & experiences from using
technology for learning
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
4
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction
SUCCEED Activities
WebCT; Melissa Bachman
CoWeb; Mark Guzdial
ECE Core Courses; Barnwell & McClellan
Classroom 2000; Gregory Abowd
Discussion
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
5
SUCCEED Activities
• Student Transitions - Gordon Moore, OMED
• Assessment - Jack Marr, Psychology
• Technology-based Curriculum Delivery Jim McClellan, ECE
• Faculty Develoment - Nelson Baker, CEE
• Campus Implementation Team Leader Jack Lohmann, COE
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
6
SUCCEED Faculty Development
• Effective Teaching Workshops
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Active Learning
Cooperative Learning
Student Learning Styles
Faculty Teaching Styles
Developing Educational Objectives
Effective Testing
Creating new courses
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
7
SUCCEED Faculty Development
• Effective Teaching with Technology
Workshops
– Use of technology
– Web page creation strategies
– Integration strategies of technology in the
classroom
• Mentoring Workshops
• Discussions between 8 SUCCEED
universities and another 5+ universities
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
8
Faculty Development Viewpoint
• Engineering students did come not to
Georgia Tech, knowing their subject(s), but
came to learn.
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
9
Faculty Development Viewpoint
• Engineering students did come not to
Georgia Tech, knowing their subject(s), but
came to learn.
• Engineering faculty did not study how to be
educators, they replicate the techniques they
have seen or learned over time.
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
10
Faculty Development Viewpoint
• Engineering students did come not to
Georgia Tech, knowing their subject(s), but
came to learn.
• Engineering faculty did not study how to be
educators, they replicate the techniques they
have seen or learned over time.
• Use of technology is changing our learning
environments reach and capabilities.
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
11
Overview
•
•
•
•
Many of you are currently using technology
Your students are using the Web
How well is it working?
Can you utilize the technology and the Web
more effectively?
• Where should this technology be utilized
and where is it better to shy away?
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
12
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
13
Assessments with Technology
• Lower quartile students improve greatly
• Little difference in upper quartile students
• Less time on task for same level of
comprehension as measured by exams
• Initial increase in motivation, but fades
• Group decisions made electronically can be
“ignored” or forgotten
• Access is critical factor in usage
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
14
Questions
•
•
•
•
Who are our students?
How do they learn?
How do we educate?
What can we say about the learning
process?
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
16
Learning Styles
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
17
Technology Impacts
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
18
Web Impacts for All Learners
•
•
•
•
•
•
Need for good organization and navigation
Quick down load times
Current information
Value added quality information
Frequent responses
Collaboration
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
19
Methods to assist different
learning styles
•
•
•
•
Inductive Learners need motivation
Deductive Learners need applications
Visual Learners need the graphics/pictures
Active learners need both interaction with
the pages and collaboration groups
• Inclusion of related Theory, Problems,
Examples, and Real-world Cases
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
20
Teaching Class Material
• Bloom’s Taxonomy:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
21
Web Impact to Teaching
• Assists with lower three levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy easily
• Upper levels difficult to achieve without
extensive interactions & collaborations
• Understanding these issues can greatly
impact how and where the web is utilized in
learning activities
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
22
Learning Activities for Web
• Use in class as part of instructor and student
presentations
• Assign homework with the web to introduce
information that you want them to see
• Assign research activities that use the web
• Include external electronic course additions
such as web sites and “lectures”
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
23
Traits of Effective Web Pages
• Use of Examples (shows applications)
• Use of Cases (assists with knowledge
transfer)
• Use of Audio Summary (different stimulus)
• Use of interaction (maintains attention and
allows active learning)
• Quick down-load times
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
24
Traits of Effective Web Pages
•
•
•
•
Well organized
Ability to navigate in multiple fashions
Global integration of content
Inclusion of collaboration mechanisms to
maintain community
• Samples of previous student work &
discussions
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
25
Methods/Issues for Site Creation
• Much planning to do BEFORE using
software tools
• Material gathering & organization
• Use of software page creation tools
• Assessment
• Refinement
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
26
Thoughts for Web-based Class
• Design with a team approach
• Include significant amounts of readings
• Include collaboration activities (chat rooms,
email, discussion news groups, etc.)
• Statement of academic integrity
• Frequent assessment of how class is doing
and what they should have covered
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
27
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction
SUCCEED Activities
WebCT; Melissa Bachman
CoWeb; Mark Guzdial
ECE Core Courses; Barnwell & McClellan
Classroom 2000; Gregory Abowd
Discussion
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
28
How to Start?
• Locate campus resources for assisting
• Provide visual information to supplement
class. Link these with class activities.
• Provide communication methods for
students.
• Provide samples of previous student
assignments and example problems.
• Implement iteratively over time
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
29
Challenges
• At least 3 main areas:
– Educational for students
– Educational for faculty
– Institutional
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
30
Education - Student Challenges
• Student Expectations
– Production quality
– personal vs. computer instruction
– learning computer interface rather than content
• Vertical migration of information
• Educational objectives rather than course
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
31
Education - Faculty Challenges
•
•
•
•
Learning time for faculty to use/incorporate
Development time for faculty
Incentives to spend the time needed
“Fears” of not-in-control of knowledge
dissemination
• Lack of peer reviews
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
32
Institutional Challenges
•
•
•
•
Availability of equipped classrooms
Ability to do long term assessments
Contextual influences on assessments
Maintenance of site/software/information (and
funding to do so)
• Orchestrating support staff and faculty
• Incorporating into mainstream (scale-up, time,
resources)
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
33
Summary
• Excellent supplement to classroom material
• Engages many students, especially visual
learners
• Audio summaries & Collaboration
• Must give development proper thought
• Navigation can be critical
• Many ways to provide access to global
information
Nelson Baker
SUCCEED Workshop
34