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Teaching with Technology

The recent literature regarding improving university teaching and our university's unique mission have emphasized several reoccurring themes which support the use of technology for improving teaching. The literature recommends that:

1. Instruction should move from being Instructor-centered to more Learner-centered. This means that a faculty member works to make each student more independent and capable being a self-regulated learner. Courses that are redesigned to incorporate technology can be more learner-centered.
2. Instruction for learners in the 21st century needs to be more flexible and accessible so that each learner is not limited to accessing the instructional process by being in one specified room on campus at a specified time. This has special relevance for Georgia State University. The great majority of our students are only on campus for specific instructional activities (the major one being to attend classes). Most students work while going to school and many are non-traditional students (e.g., seeking a second career or returning to school after other pursuits).
3. With the accelerating changes in knowledge, our academic focus should shift from less emphasis on transmitting the content to more focus of the process learning.
4. Instruction should move from the linear model of teaching and learning to a more multi-dimensional model which allows learners the freedom to move among elements of content based on the learner's background, interests, and needs.

One final point that has special relevance for our university:

Moving to the semester system will mean that many graduate courses that were taught two nights each week will be taught just one night per week. This shift results in more time between classes and fewer class sessions. Using tools of technology to make course resource materials available to students and maintaining contact with students using e-mail and listprocs will support effective instruction.

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Check out these examples of how GSU faculty have incorporated the World Wide Web in instruction.

Faculty Examples