Contributed by EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and IT Integration

The ELI Student/Faculty Questionnaire is designed to help you explore student and faculty experiences and expectations with technology in teaching and learning. Specifically, the questionnaire examines student and faculty

• Familiarity with learning technologies,
• Expectations for the use of technology in teaching and learning, and
• Views on how students prefer to learn.

This questionnaire provides insight into possible gaps that may exist at your institution, such as

• The difference between the learning technologies that are expected by today's students and those that your faculty feel comfortable using, and
• Students' self-described learning preferences contrasted with faculty perceptions of those preferences.

Engineering Informatics for Bio-Inspired Robots is an NSF-funded project trying to break down barriers to collaboration between engineering and computer science departments. Faculty members participating in the project are teaching the next generation of engineers and computer scientists to produce intelligent design by reaching across disciplines. The goal is to ensure that students are better prepared to tackle the multidisciplinary demands of the engineering and computing industries. As part of the project, participating institutions are leveraging cyberinfrastructure to share expertise, store research results, and advocate for multidisciplinary instruction, demonstrating the power of inter-institutional cooperation for teaching and learning.

CyberBridges trains graduate students how to use cyberinfrastructure (CI) -- a combination of computing systems, applications, and virtual organizations. Supported by NSF, CyberBridges hinges on the hypothesis that technical training of graduate students will not only lead to more rapid scientific discovery but will also trigger greater CI adoption in academic departments. Students are trained in networking and grid computing and then integrate what they have learned into their research to develop innovative tools or approaches. Due to the success of the initial program, CyberBridges has gone "global," involving students in China, Hong Kong, and Brazil.

nanoHUB is an online portal for nanotechnology researchers, instructors, and students created by Purdue University and the National Science Foundation. It uses cyberinfrastructure to provide access to scientific tools for research, demonstration, and collaboration, as well as instructional materials. Users can run experiments, review research, or download lectures. nanoHUB is a virtual toolkit as well as a community where students and faculty contribute to the science of nanotechnology.

The ELI Discovery Tool: Guide to Blogging offers practical information about how blogging can be used in teaching and learning and walks users through the important considerations for implementation. It presents real-life examples and first-hand accounts of class blogging; advice on important planning questions, engaging stakeholders, faculty support, and assessment; and an annotated list of helpful resources.

Authentic learning aligns well with the needs of today's participatory learners. The challenge is to channel their online and collaborative abilities and interests into academic pursuits, helping them develop the higher-order thinking skills they may not acquire on their own. This second paper in the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's authentic learning series presents case studies on how institutions have used technology to foster authentic learning and thus better meet learners' needs.

This paper describes a four-step needs assessment process that institutions can use to determine the gaps between current and desired states of technology infrastructure, facilitating rapid decision making. The framework described focuses on aligning learning outcomes and technology tools and can help institutions compare the current state of technology infrastructure with a desired state to best meet identified learning outcomes.

Digital storytelling involves combining narrative with digital content to create a short movie. Digital stories can include interactive movies with highly produced audio and visual effects or presentation slides with narration or music. Some learning theorists believe that as a pedagogical technique, storytelling can be effectively applied to nearly any subject. Constructing a narrative and communicating it effectively require one to think carefully about the topic and the audience's perspective.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

Asking whether technology improves learning may seem straightforward, but the answer is not simple. The challenge begins with defining assessment and is compounded by the complexities of people, technology, and educational organizations. This paper clarifies technology assessment by exploring the definitions, methods, and realistic expectations it can address.