It’s no secret, we love technology here at IT (well, at least most of the time). We spend our days working with tech and assisting faculty and academic support staff. Quite often we’re tasked with predicting the future of instructional tech. We give presentations and teach about the newest and most promising instructional tools, we…
Have you ever struggled with how to structure and administer peer review activities in your course? ELI Review published an excellent feature article (Designing Effective Reviews) on designing effective peer review activities, backed up with research and voices from instructors. Though ELI Review promotes their own peer review tool in this article, most of the faculty…
Around the office we’ve been thinking about the future. We have a new boss, some of us will be relocating to the Library in the next year, the UMass Amherst IT strategic planning process is going full tilt, and the New Media Consortium has just released their 2015 Horizon Report. At our most recent staff…
On February 9 — 11, you are invited to join members of the IT group at ELI Virtual Annual Meeting 2015. This conference is arranged by EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. We’ll be projecting the virtual meeting sessions in our 40-seat conference room in…
We all have questions about copyright, what is fair use and what may be in the public domain. Students may be on heightened alert about copyright when preparing presentations and final papers. However, copyright considerations are equally as critical when putting together promotional materials for club events or updating a social media site. Consider including…
Have you ever been disappointed with your colleagues (or yourself) for frequently checking a phone, laptop, or tablet during meetings? Do you often leave a department or committee meeting with the feeling that the time of all the participants could have been better spent? If so, we recommend reading this article from the April 21,…
“Taking Notes by Hand Benefits Recall, Researchers Find” by Dana Perez-Hernandez, Wired Campus Why this matters: Laptops can be a distraction in the classroom, but some students insist on the devices for note taking. While tech can facilitate speedy lecture transcription for fast typists, a pencil and paper may actually provide stronger learning outcomes according…
50 years ago, Isaac Asimov predicted that “Robots will neither be common nor very good in 2014, but they will be in existence.” Well, robots are acting as housekeepers (think of the Jetson’s housekeeper, Rosie,) but they are capable of performing tasks and even communicating with humans and one another. Take a look at…
Can Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and the likes support learning? They most certainly can. Social media engages students with you, their classmates, current affairs and online resources. Below are a few links to resources with suggestions for using social media in any classroom setting. Guide to Social Media in the Classroom http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis That’s Pinteresting! How educators…
Have you considered going all digital to support learning in and outside the classroom? Does the idea go counter to your pedagogical practices or seem daunting? Dr. Lynda Haas of the University of California offers her reasons for going completely digital in her writing classes in a recent Faculty Focus article. Some of her approaches…
The Horizon Report The 2014 Report identifies emerging technologies that will influence teaching and learning over the next 1-to-5 years. Among the key trends encouraging an immediate adoption of technology are the Pervasive use of social media Increased offering of fully online, hybrid and collaborative learning models Acceptance of data-driven learning and assessment Emphasis on…
Integrating storyboards into a course or as part of a multimedia assignment makes a course more interesting and will engage students. Storyboards can also be assigned to students as a tool for presenting a project. Free storyboard templates and trail versions of storyboard creators are available to get you and your students started with this…