Workshop Description:
I attended the workshop “Incorporating Technology in Teaching,” led by Rique Campa, Melissa McDaniels, and Judith Stoddart at the CCTI on May 11, 2017 to satisfy core competency #3. The facilitators discussed ways that technology could be incorporated into the classroom to enhance student learning and engagement.
Artifacts and Rationale:
The workshop facilitators, through inserts in binders, introduced me to a number of important resources for learning innovative ways to incorporate technology in the classroom that serve as artifacts for the workshop’s usefulness. Most of these resources are actually available right on MSU’s campus, including Matrix, MSU’s digital humanities librarians, the HUB, and MSU’s guide for teaching and learning with Technology at MSU.
The numerous avenues for help in incorporating technology on campus proves the widespread use of such methods in undergraduate classrooms. As a student and educator, I have interacted with a number of these spaces and individuals in an effort to learn more about technology and education. My work as a graduate assistant with LEADR (Lab for the Education and Advancement in Digital Research), which is a project of Matrix, serves as but one example. Another is the course website designed for my mentored teaching project.
Reflection:
The facilitators talked at length about using TPACK, (technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge) to help add technology to a course. I believe this framework is a very useful skill in terms of making sure that any use of tech is not simply to be flashy, but that it serves a larger purpose–student learning. In order for a teacher to be effective, all aspects of TPACK must be met.
I think that I still need to spend more time learning about the best times to use technology in terms of larger course goals. While the resources and TPACK are helpful, more reflection on why certain websites or even clickers (a technology, for sure) are necessary or foster great student learning is necessary.
I have already applied some of the things I’ve learned in this workshop in my own courses. The course website I mentioned above is one example. The final project for the AL 891 class serves as another given its blended nature (and that it is hosted on a LMS or D2L).