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Enhancing Learning
Capturing Learning Moments Digitally
2/20/2008
Additionally faculty are sometimes horrified at the idea of student contribution to course content. This requires an adjustment in ideology. That is, if faculty believe they are the sole contributors to knowledge and course content, they will have a more difficult time seeing the benefit of these tools. Viewing teaching and learning as a collaborative and constructive process is central to using digital tools more effectively. This view, however, is not the conventional view of faculty as "experts." While this is not simply a matter of training, ideology can be adjusted through experience which is why it is crucial to have faculty create their own blogs and wikis and use them before incorporating them into a course of study with students.
Tablets
Tablet PCs have moved the level of interactivity and student contribution much farther ahead of the interactive whiteboards. Here, students can actively modify content, contribute to the knowledgebase of the class, and help tutor others students. Wireless units also increase flexibility in classroom setup (layout), and this technology also means that data projectors are not needed.
Tip: Getting Faculty Involved
There is much anxiety with wireless technology as far as faculty are concerned. If students are working on laptops, the assumption made by many faculty is that the students are not learning. Rather, understanding the value of multi-taking should be integrated into the class delivery design. Providing laptops to take notes and to give input necessarily means that students are multitasking. This is a valuable skill. If teachers "need" eye contact 100 percent of the class time, then additional skills cannot be developed. Teachers must incorporate more of the changes into the instructional design and use of technology in class rather than attempt to force students into their own mold of learning.
Again, collaboration can be maximized through the use of tablets by providing "open screens" for students within which they can modify content, produce new content, and work with others to create new parameters.
The Reasons for Capture
In addition to the capabilities of the technology, teachers should be more aware of the benefits to the learning process that these digital tools offer.
1. To Connect Reasoning Logically
Computer programs are mathematically based and, therefore, support logic in most obvious ways. We search specific content and are necessarily linked to logical connections to that content through hyperlinks and navigational designs. As an educator myself, I have found that even at the highest levels of learning, logical reasoning can escape many learners. That is, ways of sequencing thought, constructing arguments, and debating points are not skills that many learners acquire in their educational journey. While this is fundamentally a teaching issue, new technology can support that level of skill development well.
Recommended Reading
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- Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
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