New Technology effectiveness
sometimes technology scares instructors as it can be very difficult to understand and it is always changing, the good thing about it is that when we learn how to use it, it can be very effective. The initial work is worth it, because after that it is smooth sailing.
I was really nervous about using the online gradebook engrade. It took me about a week to really get it. It is awesome and does all the grade calculation for me. The students can access their grade at any time and that saves me the hassel of constantly looking them up and telling them what their grade is.
I love that I can keep all assignments, grades and syllabus on-line for students to review. When they ask "How did I do?" I refer them to the portal where I have notes. This helps me to be organized and effiecient and I love it.
There is a fine line between using technology on phones, students do get distracted. So, I like to walk around the class to make sure they stay on task, giving only a few minutes to complete their assignment. Which this informatin with be used later for classroom discussion.
The online grading is wonderful. I also tell the students to keep a record on their class calendar. Write it down. Now they have all of the control. they can verify that what is in the portal and what they have on paper match and I am not bombarded with the question of "what is my grade". With that I have not kept all assignments and the syllabus on-line yet. I will try that next.
I still have reservations about adopting a large technology based class because of the number of much older students in the class. They barely use cell phones the way younger students do and their knowledge of social media is quite low. I am working on including one or two assignments and see how it goes.
