Blackboard
SMU uses the course management system Blackboard. For help creating Blackboard courses and learning the basics, consult Academic Technology's Blackboard help page, as well as this Blackboard online tutorial. Access your Blackboard courses here.
Presentation Software
Sometimes it's helpful to provide visual aids to complement teaching, stimulate discussion, or allow out-of-class teaching. Tools designed for this purpose, such as PowerPoint, can be used well or used badly. Click here for resources that provide advice for thoughtful use of PowerPoint, as well as a few additional presentation tools.
Classroom Response Systems ("clickers")
One way to encourage student engagement is by using electronic devices that allow students to record their answers to multiple choice questions and allow you to instantly display the results. The anonymity encourages participation, and their answers help the teacher know when further discussion is needed. Use of clickers can also serve as a catalyst for discussion. Click here to learn more about using response systems effectively.
Online Projects and Collaboration Tools
Technology can support student collaboration on creating new knowledge, reflecting on what they are learning, or working together to achieve a deeper understanding of course material. These articles provide ideas about their use and misuse.
Information Visualization Tools
Technology can also clarify and stimulate thought through transforming words into pictures. Here are some tools to help lead your students to think more critically by encouraging them to visually structure information.
Flipping the Classroom
How can we make the best use of the classroom time we have with our students? Sometimes a great way to move them toward higher levels of understanding is to move the lecture out of the classroom, and use in-person time for interactions that require applying, synthesizing, and creating. "Flipping" doesn't have to use technology, but tools such as videos, podcasts, online quizzes and the like can help in and out of class activity work together. These resources explain the theory underlying this teaching method and provide practical suggestions for making it work.
Podcasts
Whether for a flipped class or just as a resource for your students, you may want to create a podcast that conveys information students need for initial learning or review. SMU's Academic Technology Service can provide instruction on creating podcasts, and will loan you a podcasting kit. These articles discuss how to make and use podcasts effectively.
Games
What could be more engaging than a good game, used well? These articles discuss why a game may lead to deeper learning and give some examples of their use in higher education.
Teaching with Tablet Computers
We're only beginning to explore their many possibilities for higher education. Here are some ideas.
Converting a Face-to-Face Course to an Online Course
Teaching online, whether in a hybrid course or a wholly-online course, requires different techniques and different tools. Without the F2F contact, professors will need to be even clearer about setting and articulating expectations for digital work and participation. Encouraging interaction between professor and student and among students is an additional challenge, as is monitoring student learning as the course progresses. The online environment requires the use of basic technologies to digitize course materials as well as mastery of the university's learning management system. And various tools like Skype allow synchronous communications, while blogs and Twitter can encourage asynchronous interaction. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Courtesy of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
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