Social Media in Education - Twitter

How many of you have experimented with using Twitter?  I'll admit, I first set up a Twitter account a few years ago, played with it for a while, and lost interest.  I jumped back in about a year or so ago when I had an idea for a purposeful way to use it... I use Twitter now to follow ed tech related organizations and individuals and stay on top of the news in the field.  It's pretty great for that purpose - tweets are very short (up to 140 characters) so they're quick and easy to read, and when I see something interesting, I click the link and go to the article to read more.  I also share interesting things I read and have amassed about 80 followers to date.  I've found a use for Twitter that works for me - it helps me get news quickly and easily.

I'm now convinced that there is a useful purpose to Twitter, not just random people posting what they're doing at any given moment.  I'll be honest - there's lots of garbage out there, just like anywhere else on the internet, but you decide who you follow so you only see the tweets you want to see.  There are good things you can do with Twitter that can help your students and also help you professionally. There are many cool things you can do... you could set up a class #hashtag that students can use to ask you questions or chat with each other (a hashtag is a quick way to flag a tweet for easy searching), class discussions can be held outside of class using Twitter, and you can link Twitter to your Canvas account, too.

I could go on and list a bunch of options for using Twitter, but Edudemic created a great list of 100 uses for Twitter in the classroom that contains links to other blogs and sites with more information.  Check out their list to learn more if you're interested in this topic.  And if you're interested in learning more about ed tech, follow me on Twitter @AmberVaill. Hope to see you there!

iPads in Education

Many instructors have shown interest in learning about using iPads in the classroom.  It is true that as mobile devices continue to gain popularity, you will start to see more and more students coming to the classroom with mobile devices such as iPads and other tablets.  These tools are a great educational resource, but in order to truly take advantage of them, instructors must have a plan for how to make use of the device.  If you're looking to use the iPad in the classroom, be sure you fully understand how to use the app(s) you'll be using and that you've created an assessment or activity that will make appropriate use of the device.  Be realistic - an iPad is not a substitute for an actual computer.  They have different functions even though these functions overlap. There are some things that iPads are great for, and other things that really require a laptop.

For instructors planning to use an iPad as a personal device (as opposed to using it for class activities), there are many great tools you can take advantage of.  Instructure offers two great apps for using Canvas.  There is the Canvas app which lets you access your inbox and discussions, as well as other parts of the course, and there is also the SpeedGrader app for easy grading on the iPad.  Some of my other personal recommendations are Dropbox (for cloud-based document storage), Evernote (for cloud-based notebooks you an access from multiple devices), and Kindle (for reading Kindle books on the iPad).  Khan Academy also has an iPad app for viewing their videos.

There are many other blogs and websites that offer lists of top apps for educators.  A couple sites to check out are Apps in Education and OnlineCollege.org's article Evaluating the iPad in Higher Education. A quick Google search will turn up many more results.

Flipping the Classroom

There has been a great deal of talk recently about the concept of the 'flipped classroom'.  This idea involves providing audio or video lectures that students can view outside of the classroom and using class time to engage the students in meaningful learning activities. Why would you want to do this?  There are a few reasons… First, by allowing students to view/listen to lectures on their own time, they have the ability to process the content at their own speed.  They can pause it to look up words or concepts, for example, and they can play a part they are struggling with again to help them understand.  Just like many students are making use of Khan Academy and other instructional videos online to enhance their learning and help them with difficult concepts, they could use your lecture recordings in the same manner.

Secondly, by coming to class having already heard the lecture, the students enter the room with the basics and are ready to engage in assessments and other learning activities that you design to help them demonstrate their understanding of the content and move toward a deeper understanding.  While students are participating in activities, you will be present and available to assist them when needed.  This will help you see where the gaps are in the students’ level of understanding, which can help you assist them as well as help you make changes to the course in the future to better meet your students’ needs.

This approach is a form of hybrid or blended learning and makes use of technology tools that many students are already familiar with.  It increases student engagement and makes students responsible for their own learning.  It gives you the opportunity to use student-centered learning techniques in the classroom and offer student-led learning activities during class time.

For some of you, this new approach many seem too radical and too much of a change from what you’re used to.  It is certainly a dramatic change from traditional instructor-led, lecture-based classes.  It’s not for everyone, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out this document from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.  There are many other great resources available online, as well.

Welcome to our Blog

The world of educational technology is changing rapidly.  If you look back a few years, and compare the field of technology then to now, it's a completely different world.  I've been using a number of tools to follow technology news and keep up with topics such as online learning and instructional tech.  I use Google Reader to follow RSS feeds from sites and I follow technology-related news on Twitter.  Even with this, it's hard to keep up.

Recently, while reading an interesting article from one source I follow, I thought about how it would be nice to share it with our faculty.  Then the idea hit me - start a blog!  Seems like common sense... The Academic Technology Team at Bay Path will be using this space to share information about instructional technology with our faculty - we hope you'll choose to follow our blog so we can keep you up to date with some of the new, interesting topics we find in our reading and research.  Don't hesitate to contact the author of any post for more information or if you have questions.  Remember - the Academic Technology Team, and our entire technology division, is here to help you.