Putting the horse before the teaching cart
By Sue South, PhD
assistant director, Learning Technologies Center (LTC)
We are constantly inundated with reports of new technologies and emerging trends in education. And then it happens. We latch onto a cool new technology and become seduced by the media hype, our competitive nature to be the first kid on the block to have it or simply the opportunity to be innovative with some cool new device or application.
After that, sometimes we get ahead of ourselves.
Trying a new technology is very tempting. It might make teaching a bit more fun and inspire your creativity. It may engage your students more than conventional methods. And it may make you look really, really good! However, in some cases, it can get in the way of your students’ learning.
Unless you are teaching technology, the technology should be, for the most part, intuitive for your students; a catalyst for learning, not an obstacle. Complex technologies may be difficult and time consuming for students to learn and the effort spent learning a new technology can represent a big cost; reducing time spent learning the material. You want your students to focus on their learning and not the technology.
That all being said, technology can be a very powerful tool in education, and while many new technologies show promise in facilitating a variety of learning activities, becoming enamored with a new technology and then trying to figure out a way to use it in the classroom is like putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Instead, it is the instructional objective or problem that should drive the selection of technologies, not our fascination with the coolest new gadget.
You should carefully consider what objective or problem you are addressing and then evaluate a variety of technologies that will maximize the learning while minimizing the cost for you and your students. Putting the horse first and then hooking up the cart will boost your chances of a successful experience. Consider the tips below when choosing to utilize any new (to you) instructional technology.
Consider these tips in facilitating an appropriate selection of instructional technologies so that your horse and cart reach the desired destination on schedule.
The Horse
- Consider the instructional objectives for your course; the concept, theory or knowledge you are expecting your students to learn
- Think about the assessment plan for your course and how students might demonstrate their understanding of this material
- Reflect on the students; their technical skills, disciplines and other personal and academic characteristics
- Take your discipline into account and the course within that discipline
- Consider your teaching style, common instructional practices and how you conduct your course
The Cart
- Given your “horse”, think about what “cart” is appropriate; what technology (or technologies) might work in this situation
- Consider the costs associated with the use of this technology, such as the size of the learning curve for you and your students
- Take into account the technical and instructional support resources available for your chosen technology
- Think how you might evaluate the use of this technology and how you will know if you made a good choice
The Learning Technologies Center is particularly capable in helping you evaluate and implement those technologies.
Sue can be reached at
sesouth@email.arizona.edu
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