Learn and share effective uses of technology
Technology presents great challenges and even greater opportunities to the faculty developer.
Many of the challenges are obvious: technology is complicated, sometimes difficult to learn, and ever-changing. The opportunities, however, are rich. Some of the most compelling opportunities to be found in the reflective process a teacher must work through as they implement technology into their teaching. Will this really help me do what I am trying to do? What am I trying to do? Is this lecture really necessary? How can I more clearly convey this concept? How can I find out if students are really "getting it" in this new medium, with this new device? Well, how do I know students are really "getting it" now? Is that assessment really working? This reflective process can only help to improve all the teacher's instruction--with or without technology.
Realities
of instructional technology for the faculty developer: (
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- Resistance
to technology
- The technology won't work: technically
- The technology won't work: pedagogically
- Fear, plain and simple
- Strategies for teaching instructional technology
Resistance to technology
Resistance to technology comes in all forms but from two sources: the teacher is not convinced the technology will work or they fear the technology for its own sake. Both reasons are real and must be addressed.
The technology won't work: technically
From a "smart podium" in a lecture hall to a completely online class--technology continues to change the pragmatics of how we teach. This will assuredly continue and anyone who supports instruction in higher education will continually be faced with learning new technologies and communicating their instructional benefits and pitfalls to other teachers.
Few things are more disheartening than convincing a wary instructor to try a new piece of technology, only to have the technology fail on them in the middle of their course. One instructor I worked with years ago wanted to "jazz up" his 400 student Philosophy 101 course with a multi-media show. He spent a few weeks in the summer developing an entire term's worth of Powerpoint material. Part way through the term, however, the projector failed and scheduling a replacement became an ongoing nightmare. We had to arrange for a projector cart to be brought in and removed for each class session. Sometimes the cart was late, adding to the frustration of the experience.
There are at least three lessons to take away from this experience--none of which are "don't try technology."
First (and most important), before persuading a fearful instructor to try some new technology, find out what support infrastructure exists for that particular instructor's situation. Does their department have technical support? Is there technical support assigned to the building in which they most often teach? If so, who are these support people and what is their contact information? Run some "worst case scenarios" past these support folks and see if you like their answers.
Second, consider the value of "graceful degradation." When trying something new, it is wise to be prepared for your presentation to degrade somehow (e.g., the Powerpoint projector fails). If one is unprepared, that degradation can be embarrassing and frustrating. If one is prepared (e.g., with a back-up set of overhead transparencies), then that degradation can be somewhat graceful. But why even bother with the Powerpoint if you are going to have transparencies made anyway? An excellent question which cuts to the heart of what I call "gizmo lust." Despite the fact that a new device or media format may be "sexy," one should not use any technology unless is truly adds instructional value to the classroom experience. So, presumably the Powerpoint show is the first choice because it includes media or links or was replicated on the class web site, making overhead transparencies indeed a slightly degraded form of presentation.
The third lesson learned from my poor Powerpoint philosopher is a longer-term, organizational lesson about technology budgets. Just as building new buildings is more glamorous than supporting old ones, installing new computer labs or "smart" classroom seems to attract more funding than support for existing technology. I call this the "dead-beat dad" model of technology funding: money is found to install a splashy new system or room, then those funding channels are never heard from again. If you are ever on classroom upgrade or instructional technology, a yearly maintenance budget of 10% to 15% of the original installation is recommended.
The technology won't work: pedagogically
As teachers, we should be confident that something at least could add instructional value to our class before we implement it. Simply adding technology for technology's sake is an instructionally unsound and ethically questionable decision.
That said, much of the technology being used for teaching is still so new that there does not exist much generalizable evidence about its effectiveness. That does not mean we should not try it. Remember that blackboards and chalk are also instructional technology and books could arguably be considered the first distance learning technology. These are instructional tools with which we are familiar--but unfamiliarity is not a sound reason to disregard new tools as they come into being.
Though generalizable evidence may be lacking, we can collect data about our own uses of technology, including changes in student performance on learning assessments and even direct feedback from students about the technology. As you introduce new technologies to your faculty, consider making data collection strategies like this part of the conversation. Also--as always--try to find examples of other instructors have used the technology in a similar way, if possible in the same discipline as instructor(s) with whom you are working. Gather success stories and advice from these technological"veterans." Stories like these can often put a human face on the technology and help allay the concerns of the novice.
Fear
The newness and complexity of technology makes many people uncomfortable, especially when it can mean "wasting" many hours learning a course management system--or, worse--looking like helpless and inept in front of their students. While fear is at the heart of many people's resistance to technology, be careful to make no age-ist assumptions. Some senior faculty members have indeed told me they were fervently praying they could retire before having to learn how to use the web, but some emeritus faculty are having a ball in their retirement, learning to create course web sites and teach online. Age is no predictor of technological enthusiasm or alacrity.
Many teachers are interested in learning new technologies and are willing to overcome their fear, though the fear may continually resurface. Patience is in endless demand when working with these well-meaning folks. Be careful, however, that you are not so accommodating as to enable a long term dependence. One should never abandon any instructor, but if you feel an instructor has begun to use you as a crutch--you feel they could likely solve the problems about which they continue to contact you--remember that weaning them and promoting their independence serves you both in the long run. For software, help menus and manuals have gotten quite good over the years, and you can introduce these materials into the weaning process as "the syllabus for a self-paced class." If they continue to contact you about issues you believe they are now equipped to solve, ask them if they have checked the Help menus or manual first.
Finally, if a teacher is dead-set against using new technologies but they have been mandated to work with you in some fashion (e.g., attend a workshop), let them be where they are and do not push them. If the resistor watches you have animated conversations with others in the room about the technology and its instructional possibilities, s/he may come away with a sense that something may be possible. Maybe not for them right now, but the door may have opened a crack.
Strategies for teaching instructional technologies
Small successes: It is inadvisable to recommend a full-blown online course with automated quizzes, rich media and deep content to an instructor new to web publishing. For folks with little technological experience, start with using Excel as a grade book or just putting a syllabus on the web. If your institution has a course management system (i.e., WebCT or Blackboard), encourage a new teacher to try using the fewest tools necessary, the first time they teach online. They can add depth and richness as time goes on.
Training on their turf: Computer labs are specialized environments that do not reflect reality, and technology training that occurs in a campus computer lab is useful only to a point. With the best of intentions, a teacher may sit through your workshop in a lab and return to their office where they use a different kind of computer with different software that is differently configured. Determining where to begin can be a very lonely experience for them and if the phone rings or a student drops in at that moment, the training materials can be pushed aside and forgotten. Whenever possible, work with the teachers in their office at least once. "Over-the-shoulder" training or "house calls" can be time-consuming and difficult, but they can make the difference between technology adopted and technology discarded.
Training students to help you: The TLT Student Technology Assistant
Supportive humor: Without casting doubt upon its value or effectiveness, it is possible to make a little fun of some of the seemingly ridiculous of aspects of technology. For example: "When you click this button you'll see. . . well, you'll see a bunch of inscrutable garbage. . . but the important thing is this piece right here." In addition to lightening the mood somewhat, this can buy you credibility by removing any suspicion that you may simply be a "cheerleader" for the technology as well as communicating empathy with the novice's potentially overwhelming experience.
If you want to get serious about technical instruction (or you have students who you want to train to become good technical instructors) check out the book How to be a Successful Technical Trainer