A Conversation on Technology Selection in the Classroom
One cannot first choose a pedagogy and then a technology; pedagogy is the thoughtful combination of methods, technologies, social and physical designs and on-the-fly interactions to produce learning environments, student experiences, activities, outcomes or whatever your preferred way is of thinking about what we do in education. All elements inevitably shape the ways in which the other elements are used and experienced.
(Fawns, 2020)
With the intertwining of pedagogy and technology, it’s become even more important for instructors to be intentional with their technology choices. But how do you make intentional choices? What about your friend who shows you something shiny and new that’s worked well for them? Or you saw something really cool in the news? How do you make sure your technology isn’t overshadowing learning? How can I be more inclusive with my technology choices?
Technology can be fun, exciting, complex and intimidating all at the same time. Sometimes, everything falls into place and other times there’s not a straight path forward. We hope that the information shared here, can help you as you think about what technologies to use and the impacts it may have in your classroom.
We invite you to join John Robertson and myself as we share our perspectives and talk about the way our office evaluates technology.
John serves as the director of Educational Technology & Media and is the Assistant Dean for Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies at SPU.
Karen serves as the associate director of Educational Technology & Media and is the systems administrator for the Learning Management System and other educational technology tools used at SPU.
Resources
Fawns, T. 2020. Pedagogy and technology from a postdigital perspective. Pedagogy and Technology from a Postdigital Perspective – Teaching Matters blog
CIS Regulated Data Chart – Regulated Data Chart – Institutional Policy – SPU Wiki
ETMs Evaluating Campus Technology Process – https://wiki.spu.edu/x/pYAQDw
Evaluating Technology for Teaching & Learning Rubric – Rubric-for-eLearning-Tool-Evaluation.pdf (uwo.ca)