Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Learning (Part I)

This edition, as well as next month's edition of the SEM Canada e-newsletter focus on emerging technologies in teaching and learning. As universities and colleges work to diversify their enrolment mix, it has become increasingly important that educators understand how diverse student segments view and use technology. In a world of automation, students young and old have developed a new order of expectations related to real-time access to information and service delivery. What occurs in the teaching and learning process is no exception. This YouTube video presents an illustration of how some of today’s post-secondary students view their educational experience (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o). What is the role of technology in the educational process? The answer to this question goes to the heart of an institution’s mission and values. This edition of the e-newsletter presents a variety of articles and resources related to the following topics:

1. Tips and tools for using emerging technologies
2. Canadian Institutions on the move in e-learning applications
3. Professional resources

Next month's edition will focus on:

1. e-learning Applications
   • On-line learning
   • Social media technologies
   • Other emerging learning technologies (e.g., blogging, cellular phones, clickers)
   • Digital libraries
2. Recent research in the news

Check out Volume 10 of SEM America as well on the impact of technology on higher education. See http://www.semworks.net/newsletter/america/2009_volume-10.html. Please share this e-newsletter with others interested in staying abreast of technology applications in teaching and learning.

The next monthly edition of SEM Canada will feature the topic, Canada’s Changing Environment- Implications for Institutional Enrolment Planning.

Your perspectives on the content of these newsletters are important to us. Please visit our Facebook site to offer comments, suggest topics for future editions, and share your own experiences with other professionals in the field.

  TIPS AND TOOLS FOR USING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

FACULTY RESOURCES:

• The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's (ELI's) 7 Things You Should Know About... series provides concise information on emerging learning technologies and related practices. Read more
• I want to do more with teaching technology in my classroom - Tips and advice on choosing the right teaching with technology conference this year – and how to get the most out of it. Read more
• Tips for Helping Online Faculty Succeed - Read more
• 10 Principles of Effective Online Teaching: Best Practices in Distance Education. Read more
• Using Twitter to Facilitate Classroom Discussions. Read more
• 3 Challenges (With Benefits) to Wiki Use in Instruction – This article examines some of the challenges that teachers face when using a wiki for instructional purposes with students along with the benefits that also accompany them. Read more
• Ten Principles of High Quality, Low Cost Online Faculty Support - Read more
  (subscription required)
• uManitoba publishes handbook on emerging learning technologies: Read more
• How to teach using classroom clickers: Real-time feedback from students – when used to effect - can energize your classroom. Read more
• Going Beyond Classroom Clickers - Derek Bruff, whose new book on classroom "clickers" talks about teaching dos and don'ts for student-response systems. Read more
• Connecting with Students One MPEG-4 at a Time - To the harshest critics, today’s students would rather text than talk; prefer social networking sites to socializing with the person sitting next to them; and figure if it can’t be downloaded to their iPod, it’s not worth their time. Read more
• Assessing Online Learning: Strategies, Challenges and Opportunities - When it comes to online education, one question still persists: “How do I know what my online students have learned?” Read more. Click here for additional resources.
• Student Collaboration in the Online Classroom - How do you bring students together when they’re physically dispersed? Building relationships and communities in online courses is a concern for anyone involved in distance learning. Read more
• Keeping Students Engaged With Classroom Assessments - At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN), one biology professor is using interactive software for his real-time class assessments, allowing students to quickly and anonymously respond to his questions.
  Read more
• Doors Opening for Laboratory Courses Online - Thanks to sets of do-it-yourself experiment packages, lab science courses are slowly gaining acceptance in online delivery. Read more
• "Fair Use" Guide Developed to Help Educators, Students - A panel of university professors has developed a "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education." Read more
• The Role of Faculty in Distance Education Policy Making - According to the Sloan Consortium, nearly 3.2 million students took an online course during the fall semester 2005, a number that is steadily increasing. This maturation of the online education market has brought with it a great deal of research on distance education policy, but there is very little information on the involvement of faculty with the development of policy. Read more (subscription required)
• Tenure in a Digital Era - The MLA and a consortium called the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory have decided to find new ways to help departments evaluate the kinds of digital scholarship being produced today. Read more

STUDENT RESOURCES:

• StudentLingo is a 24/7 online student resource center with 15 live workshops, on-demand presentations, useful websites, helpful blogs and action plans geared to help students focus on their academic, personal and career success. Read more
• Online Students Share Tips for Success - Part of being an online educator is teaching students how to conduct themselves in the online classroom. A survey of successful adult online learners provides an excellent resource for this advice. To read the Faculty Focus article, click here.
• PSE students given access to academic resources through universityjunction.com – "University Junction" is a new free online network for undergraduate students to access academic resources such as class notes and lectures. Read more

  CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS ON THE MOVE IN E-LEARNING APPLICATIONS

• Athabasca University - New research program takes classroom anywhere, anytime.
  Province of Alberta, industry, and university partner for mobile learning research. Read more
• Conestoga College - A new elearn network distance education centre opened at Conestoga College's location in Stratford. Read more
• Memorial University - wins award at the 2009 Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) conference. The project involved the application of Second Life, an online virtual world, as a teaching and learning tool in Engineering. Read more
• Nipissing University and Canadore College - are building an advanced technology learning centre, called the Learning Commons, within their new Learning Library. Read more
• University of New Brunswick - student designs application for iPhone. Invention program helps keep track of school courses, assignments, tests and marks. Read more
• University of Saskatchewan - A number of units on campus have joined forces to bring podcasting to the University of Saskatchewan. Read more

  PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

• Convenience Is the Future - Monitoring classes on cellphones. Taking classes at multiple colleges. This is the first Chronicle Research Services report in a three-part series on what higher education will look like in the year 2020. To read the executive summary, click here.
• Improve learning, colleges told - If students in the country’s community colleges are to thrive in the 21st-century workforce, Sanford Shugart said the No. 1 skill they require is the ability to learn. Mr. Shugart was one of the keynote speakers at the annual meeting of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. Read more
• Future of Online and Blended Learning Conference (October 24-26, 2009) - This conference is sponsored by the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE), the Collaboration for Online Higher Education and Research (COHERE), and the Centre for Higher Education Research and Development (CHERD). Read more
• How to Add Social Media to Your Marketing Communications Mix - Video Online Seminar • Tuesday, August 11, 2009 • 12:00 - 1:30 PM CDT.
• Educause Review: Why IT Matters to Higher Education (May/June 2009)
• Making the Shift From Classroom to Online Course Design Online - As the demand for high quality online courses and programs rapidly increases, instructional designers and course developers are faced with a new set of challenges. Special considerations are required to ensure the development of effective courses and a high level of engagement for a variety of learners.