Technology Infusion
Presentation
By Willony Barclay
FRIT 8132
Background
Mr. L. Andrew Cooper
 at Georgia Tech
 Level: Undergraduate


All years; primarily Sophomores and
Juniors
Department:
The School of Literature,
Communication, and Cultures (LCC)
 Subject Area:
Writing and Communication & Film (a
“hybrid”)
 Course:
 English 1102: Composition II, Monsters
of Technology


Syllabus:
http://www.lcc.gatech.edu/~cooper/Cooper1102SyllabusFall2008.pdf
Background continued

Students:

35 total

Note: He is the Writing
and Communication
Program Coordinator
and Instructor
Age:
Traditional

(majority are 18-24 years old)
with a four-year goal to
graduate with some
returning students

Demographics:



3 to 1 (Male to Female
Ratio)
Department-wise is
50/50 male to female
Ethnicity:
Majority Caucasian, a
growing number of
African Americans
(male engineers), S.E.
Asian (Korean,
Chinese), i.e. an
International School
Classroom Capabilities
SMART Classrooms
 Completely Wireless Access
Campus
 First-year students are required to
have a laptop


Therefore, first- and second-level
classes are computer courses
Two desktop (35-40) computer
labs
 Podium with desktop compatibility
with laptop connection with a
separate DVD players/DVD drives
and VHS capable
 Laptop carts available for
instructors to checkout

LCD Screens
 Pull-down white screen
 Easel Board
 Use “T-Square” similar to the
GeorgiaView which has a
discussion board with podcasts
and blogging available for
instructor student interactions

How Technology Supports the
Curriculum

The T-Square is the same as GeorgiaView except for Georgia Tech


Polls are used in class through Open Source


Where the Mr. Cooper and his students can tailor it to their needs, not like
WebCT
The textbooks required for the course are found online, through the
Electronic Textbook, also called “ the Georgia Tech Book”


Forums, Announcements, Tests & Quizzes, and Wiki are just few of the options
that Mr. Cooper has under his course as student tools.
Printed text that includes interactive games
His course (English 1102) which is considered one of “the core
communication curriculum” has successfully shifted to a multimodal/WOVEN
approach.

WOVEN (Written, Oral, Visual, Electronic, and Nonverbal)
Uses the YouTube to show various films to his students
Technology is the object or means of study, otherwise, they view them in
the school cinema theater (on campus)
 The Poster Project uses (and requires) multimedia tools to complete


How Technology Supports the
Curriculum continued
Through his Film-making (the final) Project (a new version of the traditional
essay assignment)
 Students students design a horror movie of their own,
 Using Digital I-movie or Final-Cut Pro for the video-graphy portion,
 Photoshop (with their cameras) for their photo-essays,
 DVD making software like Adobe for their movies, and
 Microsoft PowerPoint for presenting their individual audio-essay.
 Mr. Cooper used anything that was on his computer in his class (all
appropriate)
 PowerPoint Presentations through audio-recordings through using
Audacity
 Podcasting used in class
 IPods used for communication
 He was even surprised that one of his students took a quiz in class
through his cell phone (one instance was through a student’s
Blackberry) – he thought that he was texting during class
 Uses web design for the course, including communication and reading
materials

How Technology Supports the
Curriculum continued

Mr. Cooper believes:
 Literacy
includes technology in today's society.
 Students need experience with video
(multimedia) and visual arts.
The Differences due to this
integration




Evidence is anecdotal.
We can’t teach, what we teach without technology (here at Georgia
Tech).
No experience without it.
Motivation is higher (“young folks love the gadgets”)

Due to feeling a closer connection to technology

Which equals better learning outcomes
Support Issues






Could not log-in to Georgia online (text) book
T-square server goes down/glitches
T-square interface is not intuitive
PC Lab houses video technology, but runs into problems
due to last-minute students constant usage
Shortages in specific class pages or jams in project
equipment, like the Plot Printer (usually happening on
the day of the project due)
Overall: all right
Other Issues Noted

Availability of Technology

Majority of students with laptops, but not all students


Therefore, Mr. Cooper gives his quizzes orally (during the
quiz students who own their own laptops are welcome to
take the quiz along with the rest of the class)
Learning Curves Recognized

One must experience management with equal
opportunities