Teaching Developmental Writing Seminar Vii
Technology:
Etymology: Greek technologia systematic treatment of
an art, from technē art, skill + -o- + -logia -logy
Date: 1859
1a: the practical application of knowledge especially in a
particular area: engineering; medical technology
b: a capability given by the practical application of
knowledge: a car's fuel-saving technology
2: a manner of accomplishing a task especially using
technical processes, methods, or knowledge: new
technologies for information storage
3: the specialized aspects of a particular field of
endeavor: educational technology
Current Practices
What types of technologies do you
currently use in your developmental
writing classrooms?
 What is your reasons for using these
technologies?
 How effective are they?

Why use technology?
Real world applications
 Value for teaching writing
 Low Threshold Applications (LTAs)

 A Low Threshold Application (LTA) is a
teaching/learning application of information
technology that is reliable, accessible, easy
to learn, non-intimidating and (incrementally)
inexpensive.
Low Threshold Applications

Each LTA should have immediate, observable,
positive consequences, and may also contribute to
cumulative changes in teaching and/or learning
practice (e.g., helping improve faculty-student
contact).

"... the potential user (teacher or learner) perceives
an LTA as NOT challenging, not intimidating, not
requiring a lot of additional work or new thinking.

LTAs… are also 'low-threshold' in the sense of
having low INCREMENTAL costs for purchase,
training, support, and maintenance." - Steve Gilbert,
President, TLT Group, in AAHESGIT-96
Technologies We Currently Use:
Word Processing
 Email
 Online Resources

 Norton Field Guide To Writing
 Grammar Bytes
 School House Rock
 The Guide for Grammar and Writing
 Purdue Owl
 The Little Brown Handbook
Technologies We Currently Use:
Course Management Systems
 Google

 Research
 Docs (collaboration)
 Forms

Podcasts
Using Blackboard

As a way to emphasize student
responsibility
 Grades
 Course repository
 Communication tool
What’s new in Google Docs?
http://www.google.com/google-ds/whatsnew.html
Google Docs for Teachers
http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer
=158149
Google Templates
http://docs.google.com/templates
Google Forms
http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer
=87809
Podcasts:

Create your own
 To record your lectures
 For student projects and recordings
 To teach or review difficult

As a resource
 ITunes U
Games and Learning

What can we learn from games and
game theory to:
 help us better use technologies in the
classroom?
 Help us teach more effectively in the
classroom?
Teaching With Technology Resources
Teaching Tips Index From Honolulu
Community College
Inquiry Based Learning
PLAN: A Study-Reading Strategy
Tools for Teaching With Technology
Using PowerPoint to Teach Vocabulary and
Higher Level Thinking
Teaching With Technology Resources
Tips for Using Common Technology Tools in
Teaching
Using Google Docs to Teach 21st Century
Skills
Graphic Organizers
Systems Learning Approach to Developing
Online Activities
Teaching With Technology Resources
UC Berkeley-Teaching Library Internet
Workshops
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Universal Design
Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking
and Technology: Accommodations and
Universal Design
Teaching With Technology Resources
CITE: Contemporary Issues in Technology
and Teacher Education
SITE: Society for Information Technology
and Teacher Education
Free Technology Resources
Everystockphoto.com offers a search engine that can be used t
find free images on the web. http://www.everystockphoto.com
Incometech has a collection of Creative Commons-licensed music
http://www.incompetech.com/m/c/roality-free
iTunes U is a collection of audio and video content from higher
education faculty around the world that can be freely used for
educational purposes.
http://www.apple.com/education/guidetours/itunesu.html
Khan Academy provides 800-plus YouTube tutorials covering
math, science, and finance problems http://www.khanacademy.org
MERLOT is a peer-reviewed searchable collection of online
learning materials http://www.merlot.org
Free Technology Resources
Search by Creative Commons provides a convenient way to
access search engines that include CC-licensed materials
http://search.creativecommons.org
Webcast Berkeley is a collection of podcasts and webcasts from
the University of California-Berkeley http://webcast.berkeley.edu
Wikimedia Commons is a repository for public domain and freely
licensed educational media such as images and sound and video
clips http://commons.wili.media.org
YouTube EDU is a collection of videos and channels from higher
education institutions http://www.youtube.com/edu
MIT OpenCourseWare is a website that contains almost all
content form Massachusetts Institute of Technology courses
http://ocw.mit.edu