If you had asked John Rohweder, 30 years ago, about the impact technology would have on education, he?s pretty sure he couldn?t have come close to telling you what it?s allowing faculty to do in the classroom today and how it?s changing the way faculty teach. ?And, personally, I think that?s the value of technology,? Rohweder, a lecturer of writing and speech, said.
?If we simply graft technology on as an appendage to what we?re already doing in the classroom, that?s a failure,? he continued. ?But if we allow technology to actually create changes, to make learning an opportunity to better our students, then we?re using technology in the right way and that?s one of the things I think the Title III grant has done for us this semester.?
Rohweder was one of 27 faculty who gathered in the Student Center Ballroom April 23 to share what they?ve learned from several pieces of technology that have been integrated into their classrooms as a result of the university?s first federal Title III grant.
The $1.7 million grant, the largest single grant ever awarded to the university, is being used to purchase equipment such as laptop computers, a digital video recorder, a scanner, document cameras, two rear projection SMART Board models (5 ft. diagonal, flat, touch-screens on wheels) and three SMART Sympodium models (interactive lecterns that allows a person to write electronic notes and control a computer while facing the audience). Software has also been purchased to enhance the equipment.
The grant, titled ?Transforming the Teaching-Learning Process for Student Success,? is for five years. Targeted groups of faculty will be trained each year to use the technology and integrate it into their classes. The aim is to increase student learning and improve retention rates (focusing on University College developmental courses in years one and three and freshman- and sophomore-level general education courses in years two through five) through the integration of technology in the classroom and revision of the curriculum.
Faculty development is a major component of the grant. For year one faculty, intensive training occurred during the summer; year two faculty received intensive training in January before the start of classes.
Both groups received on-going support from Curriculum/Technology Specialist Jan Hill, funded by the grant. Faculty had continuous access to the Technology Resource Center to practice with the technology available in the classrooms. Both faculty and students had access to the Technology Tutoring Center. Both the Technology Resource Center and Technology Tutoring Center are located in Thompson Hall.
In the first year, seven faculty teaching developmental reading and writing in University College participated with the grant. This year, 20 faculty from freshman-level writing classes are participating. Next year, faculty teaching transitional math in University College and faculty teaching college algebra will be invited to participate. And in years four and five, faculty from general education courses that are yet to be determined will be invited to participate. In all, nearly 90 faculty will participate in professional development funded by the grant before it expires in September 2007.
Faculty reported a variety of experiences as they integrated technology into their instruction while teaching in one of the three technology-enhanced classrooms. One faculty from University College reported having transitional writing students use a software program called Microsoft Publisher to create brochures on their laptops.
The instructor said, ?While working with the laptops, I saw what can happen when students are comfortable with technology. They went straight to content and design and synthesized classroom teaching and presented it back in a very gratifying way. The students who were not comfortable with technology hit a wall very quickly and became very frustrated and no learning happened.?
The three classrooms, sometimes called ?Technology Enhanced Classrooms? are equipped with a document camera, either a rear projection model or a Sympodium model of SMART Board technology, and access to a cart of thirty laptop computers with wireless capability loaded with Microsoft Office software.
Comments made by Title III faculty highlight the potential this technology offers for teaching and learning while also suggesting that students have to make some adjustments.
Faculty found that students stayed more attentive and actively engaged in the learning as they used the various technologies. Each of the technologies brought something new to the classroom.
The document camera made it possible to show timely examples of written work such as newspaper articles published the morning before class without having to do anything other than bring the article; it also was good for displaying outlines of speeches that students or the faculty member might create during class.
The SMART Board technology is an interactive tool that made it possible to edit student papers in a ?live? format as either group or whole class activities. Students could move around ideas to determine the best way to organize or phrase ideas. Furthermore, this technology made it possible to access Web pages such as the library?s home page and to use the library?s online resources.
The laptop computers made it possible to use Microsoft Office software such as PowerPoint for slideshows or to display anonymous comments made by students on previous lectures or class activities.
While this technology offered many advantages and opportunities to improve instruction and engage the students, faculty also identified some important challenges. For example, students had to learn new skills such as how to use the technology for it to become truly interactive; also, faculty found that many students were nervous or self-conscious about having their work shared with the rest of the class.
And, the faculty have found that it takes time and practice for them to learn the capabilities and functionalities of the new technology ?, and maybe a little muscle to move the carts that house the laptop computers. But, the faculty themselves expressed it best.
Kelly Lyon, an instructor in University College, said her wish is that all faculty could experience teaching in a technology-enhanced classroom. ?It?s important to give students as much technology as they need,? she said.
She also noted the importance of the Technology Tutoring Lab for students as more technology is integrated into the classroom. ?Especially for UC students. We don?t want to unintentionally put another stumbling block in the way of our students,? she said.
Nelle Bedner discussed some of the things faculty in the writing and speech department have learned this year and she had some wishes for administrators to consider in the future as well. ?I wish the laptop cart wasn?t so heavy,? she said. ?If it wasn?t for Christy Standefer, I?d still be stuck in the elevator in Thompson Hall.?
?Also we?d like to have synchronized software,? she continued. ?This is software that can tell us when our students are using the laptops, they?re doing what they?re supposed to be doing.?
Bedner also passed along a suggestion from Standefer about considerations for future generations of Title III recipients. ?Start looking at course objectives as soon as possible because we really need to start thinking hey, how I can use this in the classroom. And the sooner you do this the better.?
For additional information on the Title III grant, contact either Dr. Terry James, Title III coordinator or Dr. Charlotte Cone, Title III activity director. The Title III offices are located in Main 205.
-Jennifer Boyett
