EDUCAUSE | IT Integration and Articles, Papers, and Reports

Moving Teaching and Learning with Technology

ckeller — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:17:47 -0500

Improving teaching and learning with technology requires systemic transformation.

Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge, A 21st Century Agenda for the National Science Foundation

ckeller — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:59:26 -0500

The National Science Foundation defines "cyberlearning" as "the use of networked computing and communications technologies to support learning." The report of the NSF Task Force on Cyberlearning, Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge, A 21st Century Agenda for the National Science Foundation, identifies cyberlearning as having "…the potential to transform education throughout a lifetime, enabling customized interaction with diverse learning materials on any topic..."

The task force report identifies potential ways in which advanced computing and communications technologies might be leveraged to support learning, highlighting opportunities for further research. In it, the task force offers 5 recommendations for the NSF to pursue:

Help build a vibrant cyberlearning field by promoting cross-disciplinary communities of cyberlearning researchers and practitioners
Instill a "platform perspective"—shared, interoperable designs of hardware, software, and services—into NSF's cyberlearning activities
Emphasize the transformative power of information and communications technology for learning, from K to grey
Adopt programs and policies to promote open educational resources
Take responsibility for sustaining NSF-sponsored cyberlearning innovations

(For EDUCAUSE materials on cyberinfrastructure in teaching and learning, please visit EDUCAUSE Resource Library Cyberinfrastructure web page and look for the "CI Teaching & Learning" tab under "Featured Content.")

Assessing Learning and Scholarly Technologies: Lessons from an Institutional Survey

ckeller — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:00:11 -0500

Surveying the university community taught us about the importance of the process as well as the survey results.

Developing an E-Learning Strategy for Public Universities in Ghana

elilly — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:34:47 -0500

Introducing pedagogy-supporting technology in higher education in Ghana requires rethinking institutional policies and lining up stakeholder support.

The Space Is the Message: First Assessment of a Learning Studio

elilly — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:07:31 -0500

A new studio classroom inspired excitement and motivated productive feedback from early faculty and student users.

Rethinking Academic Technology Leadership in an Era of Change

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:49:06 -0600

The senior academic technology officer provides leadership across instructional technology initiatives, yet few campuses have a SATO position in place.

Doing What I Don’t Know How to Do

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:06:13 -0600

Leveraging a faculty learning community has helped me do things I didn’t know how to do with technology, including podcasting my lectures.

Engineering Informatics for Bio-Inspired Robots

ckeller — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:59:58 -0500

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.

Student Expectations Study

ckeller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:47:43 -0500

These are key findings from online research and discussion evenings held in June 2007 for the Joint Information Systems Committee. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake research among prospective university students to understand a number of issues:

current levels of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) provision at school/college
expectations of ICT provision at university
any difference between expectation of ICT provision and that which is provided by HE institutions

These objectives helped to explore the hypothesis that there is a mismatch between student expectations of what they will be able to do and what Higher Education (HE) institutions can and do offer in terms of ICT. This study will form part of an overarching piece of research being undertaken by JISC to examine this hypothesis and inform HE institutions of student expectations of ICT provision.

Faculty Integration of Technology into Instruction and Students' Perceptions of Computer Technology to Improve Student Learning

ckeller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:32:06 -0500

There has been a remarkable improvement in access and rate of adoption of technology in higher
education. Even so, reports indicate that faculty members are not integrating technology into instruction
in ways that make a difference in student learning (Cuban, 2001; McCannon & Crews,
2000). To help faculty make informed decisions on student learning, there is need for current
knowledge of faculty integration practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine
the nature of the relationship between faculty integration of technology into classroom instruction
and students' perceptions of the effect of computer technology to improve their learning.
A sample of at least 800 undergraduate students at a participating medium-sized midwest public
university was selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The researcher delivered
and administered the surveys to the participating students and collected them after completion.
98% of the questionnaires were complete and retained for analysis. Two major statistical techniques
were used to analyze data obtained in the study: a multiple regression and a Two-Way
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
A statistically significant relationship was found between the three predictor variables and the
criterion. The Two-Way ANOVA results indicated no interaction effect between gender and
course levels, and students' perceptions of the effect of computer technology use to improve their
learning. The main effects of gender and course levels were not statistically significant.
The results indicated that students lack computer skills in various computer applications that are
necessary to support and enhance their learning experiences. Therefore, it can be suggested that
students need to have direct instruction to efficiently use computer technology applications such
as authoring and sophisticated hypermedia. These programs provide computer skills in advanced
computer technology applications that will enable faculty members to expect more disciplinespecific
computer-based projects such as developing a webquest in a web editor.

CyberBridges—An Authentic Learning Case Study

ckeller — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:53:12 -0500

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.

Using technology in teaching and learning: Resources to help you navigate a digital world

ckeller — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:38:30 -0500

The author provides a long and comprehensive list of resources concerning teaching and learning with technology.

Faculty 2.0

ckeller — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:33:33 -0500

As faculty members confront the expanding impact that technology is having on their scholarship, research, teaching, and students, IT organizations must assess their role in shaping, implementing, and supporting the assimilation of IT into the teaching and learning process.

Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions

ckeller — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:29:08 -0500

Transformational faculty-development efforts must involve systematic, goal-directed, sustained activities that are integral to the daily work of academic community members.

My Computer Romance

ckeller — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:05:39 -0500

“Only when our students see our own learning blossoming within a computer romance will they listen to us when we tell them to use these tools more wisely themselves.”

nanoHUB - An Authentic Learning Case Study

ckeller — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:12:35 -0500

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.

Implementing Authentic Tasks in Web-Based Learning Environments

ckeller — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:10:40 -0500

The instructor’s inclusion of authentic activities improves the quality of student interaction and learning in online classrooms.

The New Economy, Technology, and Learning Outcomes Assessment

ckeller — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:13:32 -0500

Answering calls for change entails meaningful assessments of technology-enabled learning.

Approaches That Work: How Authentic Learning Is Transforming Higher Education

ckeller — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:20:03 -0500

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.

Using Needs Assessment as a Holistic Means for Improving Technology Infrastructure

ckeller — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:39:23 -0500

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.

ELI Discovery Tool: Guide to Podcasting

drupal — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:06:52 -0500

The ELI Discovery Tool: Guide to Podcasting provides an overview of the technology, case studies, user perspectives, and implementation strategies. A "know-before-you-go" compendium, the Discovery Tool is designed to assist academic technology centers, IT units, and others in making the case for integrating podcasting into teaching and learning. If you are familiar with podcasting but are curious how it could be used in teaching and learning, this guide will recap what podcasting is; give you first-hand accounts of how students use—and don't use—podcasting; show how podcasting supports learning; explain the benefits and limitations of podcasting in comparison with other tools; highlight implementation and assessment considerations; and identify valuable podcasting resources.

Teaching Digital Responsibility

drupal — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 09:48:13 -0500

This research bulletin provides an overview of the rationale for the Computing Skills Workshop program at Carnegie Mellon University, which has been in place as a required program for all students since 1985. It explores how the program is structured, how it has evolved over time, and the methodology behind preparing students to be successful teachers in a peer-to-peer format. It is intended to assist higher education executives plan and execute a similar program by identifying key issues and providing resources.

Think Small! A Beginner’s Guide to Using Technology to Promote Learning

drupal — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:34:36 -0600

Incremental steps toward integrating technology in teaching can pay big dividends.

An Integrated Digital Campus Delivers ROI and VOI

drupal — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:53:25 -0600

Integrating our digital campus brought together services, processes, and the campus community while delivering substantial returns and value on our investment.

7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling

drupal — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:01:06 -0600

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.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

Entering the Interaction Age: Implementing a Future Vision for Campus Learning Spaces

drupal — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 11:31:11 -0600

With directed effort, some ingenuity, and a future-focused vision, colleges and universities should be able to identify and leverage existing technologies with which to build aspects of "future" campus learning spaces—today.

The Myth about No Significant Difference

drupal — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:15:13 -0600

When asking the question, "does technology make a difference"? The authors state the answer depends on how the question is asked.

Are Video Games Evil?

drupal — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:02:50 -0600

"The important thing to find out about video games isn't whether they are teachers. The question is . . . what do they teach?"

IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study - Key Findings

drupal — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:50:47 -0500

This ECAR Key Findings explores the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise. To collect, analyze, and distribute information across an expanding range academic disciplines and geographic locations, research efforts rely heavily on IT infrastructure, people, and a broad range of IT services. Ever-larger data sets are being collected and shared, simulations and visualization are becoming routine tools, and the co-evolution of science and computing increasingly requires scientists to have solid grounding in information management.

IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study Roadmap

drupal — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:42:15 -0500

This ECAR Roadmap explores the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise. To collect, analyze, and distribute information across an expanding range academic disciplines and geographic locations, research efforts rely heavily on IT infrastructure, people, and a broad range of IT services. Ever-larger data sets are being collected and shared, simulations and visualization are becoming routine tools, and the co-evolution of science and computing increasingly requires scientists to have solid grounding in information management.

IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study

drupal — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:58:17 -0500

This ECAR study explores the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise. To collect, analyze, and distribute information across an expanding range academic disciplines and geographic locations, research efforts rely heavily on IT infrastructure, people, and a broad range of IT services. Ever-larger data sets are being collected and shared, simulations and visualization are becoming routine tools, and the co-evolution of science and computing increasingly requires scientists to have solid grounding in information management. This study reports the results of a variety of research initiatives: a literature review, quantitative and qualitative data from 328 higher education institutions (315 U.S. and 13 Canadian institutions), and five in-depth cases studies. In addition, ECAR published What Do Researchers Need? Higher Education IT from the Researcher's Perspective, to supplement this study.

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology

drupal — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:14:39 -0500

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET) is a collection of short multimedia articles on a variety of topics related to the fields of instructional design and education and training. The primary audiences for the EET are students and novice to intermediate practitioners in these fields, who need a brief overview as a starting point to further research on specific topics. Authors are graduate students, professors, and others who contribute voluntarily. Articles are short and use multimedia to enrich learning rather than merely decorate the pages.

Technology and Learning: Defining What You Want to Assess

drupal — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:30:44 -0500

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.

IT Doesn't Matter - Business Processes Do; Designing Portals: Opportunities and Challenges - Book Reviews

drupal — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:20:59 -0500

The first review, on IT Doesn't Matter - Business Processes Do, provides a summary as well as the three main takeaway points on this book's topic of the role of IT within the context of higher education leadership and business processes. The second review, on Designing Portals: Opportunities and Challenges, summarizes the book's collection of essays on portal development and design in the early stages of portal technology.

ELI Innovations & Implementations—Ancient Spaces, University of British Columbia

drupal — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:49:33 -0500

Students learn about antiquity by using the Ancient Spaces application to build 3D virtual models based on architectural plans and the latest archaeological reports. Ancient Spaces involves undergraduates directly in the kinds of research required to reconstruct sites. It also encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration and communication with cultures beyond the university.
ELI's Innovations & Implementations series highlights innovative teaching, learning, and technology practices in higher education. Each Innovations & Implementations piece provides a practical overview of an innovation, focusing on its significance and implementation issues. Use Innovations & Implementations to explore innovative practices that might be of value to your institution.

ELI Innovations & Implementations—DukeCapture: Automated Classroom Lecture Recording

drupal — Tue, 16 May 2006 11:24:19 -0500

Duke University is developing DukeCapture, an automatic lecture recording service. It will allow instructors to easily record audio, video, and visuals from a lecture, knowing that the files will be available online shortly after class.

ELI's Innovations & Implementations series highlights innovative teaching, learning, and technology practices in higher education. Each Innovations & Implementations piece provides a practical overview of an innovation, focusing on its significance and implementation issues. Use Innovations & Implementations to explore innovative practices that might be of value to your institution.

7 Things You Should Know About Remote Instrumentation

drupal — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 10:01:04 -0500

Remote instrumentation involves remote, network-based control of scientific instruments. The expense and complexity of specialized instruments limits some institutions' access to them, and logistical issues may prevent institutions that have such instruments from fully utilizing them. Remote instrumentation addresses these access and efficiency issues to improve educational quality and student opportunities.

ELI Innovations & Implementations—SciFair: Game Worlds for Learning

drupal — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:59:18 -0500

Cornell's SciCentr is an online museum of virtual worlds that engages young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Its SciFair program helps students build virtual worlds and thus learn new ways of developing and sharing knowledge.

Even Universities Change

drupal — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:00:32 -0600

Industry restructured dramatically in response to IT progress, and education leaders should prepare for similar upheaval. U.S. research universities are going to change, and education leaders would be wise to begin now to direct that change. This will not be easy, but they have the advantage of being able to learn from the experience of many U.S. corporations that have reinvented themselves to respond to the market changes caused by the rapid advances in information technology (IT).

ELI Innovations & Implementations—DRE at Purdue: A Distributed Rendering Environment for Teaching Animation and Scientific Visualization

drupal — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:53:37 -0600

Purdue University's Distributed Rendering Environment (DRE) allows students to render 3D models and animations using grid computing. The DRE's long-term goal is to lower the threshold of entry into grid computing for students and faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

7 Things You Should Know About Screencasting

drupal — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:45:01 -0600

A screencast is a video recording of the actions on a user's computer screen, typically with accompanying audio, distributed through RSS. Screencasts can be thought of as video podcasts. They provide a simple means to extend rich course content to anyone who might benefit from the material but cannot attend a presentation.

ELI Innovations & Implementations—Ubiquitous Presenter: Increasing Interaction in a Digital Lecturing Environment

drupal — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 09:55:59 -0600

The Ubiquitous Presenter (UP) application enables instructors and students to annotate slides during a presentation, knowing that both sets of notes will be saved to the file and will be available online for access anytime, anywhere. It also allows instructors to increase student engagement by accessing and displaying students' notes in real time during the presentation.

7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Meetings

drupal — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 13:45:31 -0600

Virtual meetings are real-time interactions that take place over the Internet using integrated audio and video, chat tools, and application sharing. They offer a way to engage students in fully interactive, online learning experiences such as lectures, discussions, and tutoring. Many virtual meeting applications integrate with course management systems, providing students and faculty with a unified learning system including access to online meetings.

Implementing Wireless PDA Technology in the IT Curriculum

drupal — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 14:01:46 -0600

Requiring students in an introductory course to use PDAs taught the IT department how to implement them in the curriculum

Addressing Faculty Concerns About Distance Learning

drupal — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:31:17 -0600

Despite the rapid growth of distance learning programs, faculty are often resistant to moving their courses into a distance learning format. This article synthesizes the common sources of concern among resistant faculty as identified in the literature, the mechanisms to bridge those concerns, and evaluates the effectiveness of the administrative solutions for faculty support that have sought to address them.

No Teacher Left Behind: How to Teach with Technology

drupal — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 11:25:37 -0600

A three-phase program taught veteran and novice instructors how to effectively integrate technology into lesson plans.

The 361° Model for Transforming Teaching and Learning with Technology

drupal — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 11:21:29 -0600

Focusing technology initiatives on learning while aligning them with the institutional mission can transform teaching and learning.

Professors Online: The Internet’s Impact on College Faculty

drupal — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 16:25:47 -0500

This paper reports on findings from a nationwide survey of Internet use by U.S. college faculty. The survey asked about general Internet use, use of specific Internet technologies (e–mail, IM, Web, etc.), the Internet's impact on teaching and research, its impact on faculty–student interactions, and about faculty perceptions of students' Internet use. There is general optimism, though little evidence, about the Internet's impacts on their professional lives. The findings show that institutions of higher education still need to address three broad areas (infrastructure, professional development, and teaching and research) to assist faculty to continue to make good use of the Internet in their professional work.

Getting Ready for the Net Generation Learner

drupal — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 15:46:46 -0500

The author discusses what his campus has done to prepare for the net gen learner.

Five Points of Connectivity

drupal — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 11:29:12 -0500

Two graduate students share their perspectives, gained from their experiences on both sides of the lectern, about how various technologies can be used successfully in classroom settings to improve learning through connectivity.