This was just a part-day--I had on-going travel plans and decided that I could well miss the closing plenary and closing ceremony. Good-bye flowers and parks.
There was a very interesting session on "Bringing Technology into the Classroom". Again, the assumption was that the instructor can take the class to a computer lab--not possible for me. What was relevant was the idea that pedagogy is not keeping pace with the changes in technology--by the time an instructor has figured out how to use some particular technology, the whole situation has changed again! This is very relevant for my situation in which I can't make changes on the fly. Asynchronous course delivery brings its own constraints.
The important concept here was that the task should dictate the tool. I've seen technology being used for the sake of technology, and that doesn't work.
The speaker proposed four models for the use of technology in the classroom:
1. Traditional online--some online activities in class time.
2. Integrated--online activities on an LMS, but course still text-based.
3. Replacement (blended)--not a live classroom.
4. Virtual classroom--fully online (students interact via computer, student-teacher interaction also online).
The AU system doesn't fall neatly into any one of these ...
No comments:
Post a Comment