Staying abreast of emerging technologies
As an educator, how have you stayed abreast of emerging technologies?
By actually using them myself and then incorporating them into the classroom, such as mobile phones, games or simulations.
By attending professional conferences. I attended the International Conference on Teaching and Learning. Also, by reading peer reviewed journals and attending courses like this.
Being updated about new technologies and applying in class what is good.
I've done a number of things to stay abreast of emergint technologiies:
1. Collaborated with colleagues.
2. Attended conferences and continuing education seminars which address technology.
3. Engaged in post-professional education where technological tools are utilized.
4. Independently investigated new technologies.
Janet,
Harnessing the technologies you mention here and incorporating them into the learning environment is an effective means of educating this new generation of tech savvy adult learners. If you have any favorite applications you would like to share with the forum participants, please feel free to do so.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Best,
Theresa Schmitt
Wayne,
Attending conferences is a fantastic opportunity for educators to network and share innovative teaching methods. Participants are often given a preview of emerging technologies not yet available on the market and have an opportunity to participate in workshops hosted by leaders in the field. This April at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning, several emerging technology workshops will be offered including teaching and learning in Second Life, the art and craft of blogging, and the use of social media in the classroom. It looks to be an exciting event this year!
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Best,
Theresa Schmitt
Best,
Theresa Schmitt
Irwin,
Collaborating with colleagues is a wonderful way to share knowledge with others who face the same challenges you do. Blogging has become a popular activity for college educators; it is an effective means of keeping students up to date on events on campus, workshops being offered, and professional events in the area. It is a great first step into incorporating more technology into the learning environment.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Best,
Theresa Schmitt
Using these technologies does provide ways in which to engage the student however the ability to use them can be dependent on rules of the school. A school may not allow interaction between Faculty and students on social media. Having the budget to offer the use of games, simulators could be a challenge.
Gilbert,
You bring up a valid point- many schools prohibit interaction between faculty and students on various forms of social media with few exceptions, if any, such as LinkedIn. Budgetary constraints may also be a determining factor when it comes to purchasing new technologies or paying monthly fees to subscribe to web-based simulators and games that are not open source. The flip side to this is the vast amount of resources available to educators free of charge.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Like you, Irwin, I have attended several continuing education courses and conferences that highlight technology in the classroom. I have added a little but really want to add more. It's a little time consuming to learn how to effectively imbed the technology. I wish I could take a couple of weeks and redo so many of the class powerpoints and curriculum to add interactive technology. I am going to start with Pathophysiology and move on from there.
Buy reading current publications that relate to my field.
The simple answer is that I use the technology. I am fortunate to have been employed in High Tech for 30+ years and have learned to use technology as a tool. I still upgrade and test new technology as frequently as possible. I must admit that I have very little use for Twitter or for Facebook. These sites require a lot of attention and I simply have too much going on to waste time updating my daily activities. On the opposite end of the spectrum, LinkedIN is a great site and allows me to easily maintain professional contacts and keep in touch with others in my profession.
Whenever possible I try to incorporate the Internet or technology based tools in my classroom. The students seem to enjoy working with the technology and I learn from setting up the assignments. Overall, a win-win.
Kelly,
It is time consuming, but well worth it. You are approaching this with a great attitude!
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I to try to use as much technology in the classroom as the college permits. Such as social media and interactive software, when ever possible.
In my field of Hospitality and Culinary Arts I feel as though I have stayed in tune with emerging technologies. The challenge is not staying in tuned but incorpoarting new technologies into the lecture that most of our industry has not incorporating themselves into their restaurants. For example, in a customer service class that I am teaching we discuss the many customer loyalty programs that have emerged. There are so many and so many that are also so new to the students. We learn about them and even discuss them . However, applying them in the classroom is more difficult to give them a simulated environment. Some of the programs for instance Monkey Survey are so simple to use and the students are able to use as well when learning and applying how to create customer surveys. Every 6 weeks I continue to serach through the internet on new technologies that are used in the industry for the subjects that I teach. However, in the classroom we are so behind in technologies used to educate our students.
I personally try to stay up on new technology by reading and research on the internet. I am only teaching part time so I do not attend many conferences, but take advantage and pick the brain of fellow instructors who are able to go to them. I am in a couple of networking groups and we share information and suggestions all the time. Journals and periodicals help also... I try it with my kids, nieces and nephews before trying it out on my students.
Wendy,
Reading and internet research are great ways to stay abreast of emerging technologies. I would suggest participating in various Cengage Learning webinars as well as those offered free of charge through similar publishers. Webinars are a valuable resource for educators. You will find you are exposed to a ton of relevant material you can put to immediate use in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
We have an open relationship with the publishing companies that provide our text books that allow us access to ongoing faculty development training on what is being provided by them. In addition, attendance at conferences and following relevant journals offer resources. Also, working with others in the field is imperative.
Most of the courses which I teach are based on technology - so I make sure the students have the most up-dated technology to learn from. The college I work for is excellent in making sure that we do have the best equipment and software.
