Week 4: Technology

I found this weeks' readings incredibly helpful. I've often found myself wanting to add technology to a class (last year I experimented with showing videos) and not always remembering to focus on the goals behind the technology. I really liked the steps outlined in the Online Learning Insights Article. Those are the steps I've been trying to follow but have lost sight of. It was great to see a logical ways to assess technology and how to bring it into the classroom. I want to slow down when I'm designing classes so that I am careful to use appropriate technology at the appropriate time.

What technologies (and these can be old, new, or emerging) might be most appropriate for your final project? 

I think, as I look at designing this course, I would like to find ways to bring in technology. At ACRL this past March I heard a paper/talk given by two librarians at Texas Tech who discussed using technology to help students meet the learning objectives. It was very inspiring. When the librarians introduced a new concept (e.g. keywords) they asked students to go out and find something they thought best taught the concept. It could be a video, article, tweet, blog post, etc. It was a really cool version of flipping the classroom because the students essentially had to pick out something that would help teach them the concept. I would like to incorporate something like this in my course. I think it teaches students to evaluate the information (which source is best?) and also use technology they are most comfortable with. Some might want to use YouTube while others might want to use books. 

So, I don't know if that exactly answers what technologies would be most appropriate. :) But I guess I would like to use a variety of technologies, depending on where I am in the course. At this point, I feel most comfortable including videos (there are lots of great library videos out there!) so it would be easy to just fall back on that type of technology. But I would also like to challenge myself to look at other types of technology, especially because the world of technology is so big! To be honest, though, I would need to research what other technologies are out there that I could use. Thank goodness for PRIMO! :) Although I try to keep up with current technology I still have a lot to learn and explore myself!

Does your final project align with any of the trends represented in the Horizon Report you reviewed?

I looked at the Horizon Report for Libraries. I found it very interesting. I didn't think that the trends in the report are necessarily represented in my project -- they seem to be more focused on providing technological services, such as e-readers, mobile responsive platforms, electronic resources, etc. However, I did think that the first challenge fits very well with my project: Embedding libraries (and information literacy) into the curriculum. This exactly why my colleagues and I are designing this course. We believe that our students will be better served -- and learn more! -- if they have the opportunity to learn Information Literacy in other ways, besides the one-shot class or at the Reference Desk.

How does your choice of technology enhance or improve instruction, or motivate learners?

If I do something similar as the librarians at Texas Tech, I think it's a great way to enhance instruction. At least I hope so. I haven't tried it yet. :) But I think it allows students to use technologies they are familiar with in order to make connections to new material. I'm still determining what specific technologies I might like to use beyond the videos I already use.