MAJOR COMPONENTS FOR TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

From a systems approach, teaching with technology involves four major components: the course content, the instructor, the students and the technology tools. We need to attend to each component in order to make technology integration as successful as possible.

 

Each of these components is discussed in more detail below. Scroll down or navigate to a particular section:

course content

the instructor

the students

technology tools

 

 

Course Content 

In order to use technology effectively in teaching, we must examine our course goals as we do when we plan a new course. What do you expect students to learn from the course? What skills and knowledge do you want them to acquire by the end of the term? What teaching strategies (lecture, discussion, group work, case studies, etc.) will best help students achieve these goals? Once you have answers to these questions, you can choose the appropriate technologies and design learning activities to help students reach the learning goals, and even employ technology to assess student learning.

 

More on Course Content: How to use technology for different educational objectives

 

The Instructor 

Once you have a clear view of the course goals and learning objectives and how technology can support students’ achievement of the goals, you will need to ask some questions about your own skills and confidence: 1) How skilled and experienced are you in using technology? 2) How much time do you have for course planning and selecting teaching strategies suited to your choices of technology? 3) What is your role as an instructor?

If you have little or no experience using technology, it might make sense to start slowly with tools that are established and easy to use so that you build your confidence and support your students’ learning. You can learn from colleagues in your department or attend a technology workshop to get started with software programs commonly used at your institution.

 

More on the instructor: Choosing tools that will work for you

More on the instructor: Handling student distraction

More on the instructor: How technology changes the instructor's role

 

Students

As you adopt technology tools into your courses, you will need to consider students’ previous experience with technology, their expectations and access to technology, and the variety of learning styles they bring to your course.

 

More on students: Are all students comfortable using technology?

More on students: How technology changes the student's role

 

Technology Tools

Now that we have carefully considered the context of teaching and learning, we can turn to an examination of the technology itself. One of the challenges we all confront is the need to understand the possible uses and functions of an ever-expanding array of technologies. You need to consider which applications are appropriate for your students, disciplinary learning, course content, and teaching style. Not all tools are the same. Some are better at promoting learning in specific content areas while others are useful for a wide range of disciplines. Some technology tools are built for specific instructional goals, while others are more generally applicable.