Instructional Technology Conference 2009

Title: Engaging Students in the Age of Interaction

Name: Ricky Cox, Kelly Kohorst Bingham

Audience: Faculty, instructional designers, deans, librarians and instructional technology specialists

Audience Level: All

Length: 1 Hour

Abstract: Technology is fundamentally changing the opportunities that instructors have to engage and interact with students inside and outside the classroom. This session will be conducted by an instructor and student who will discuss strategies that employ a course management system, pen‐based computer technology, podcasting and virtual office hours (web conferencing) to foster student interaction with other students, instructors and information. The unique perspectives of the instructor and student will allow attendees to get a broad exposure of how instructional technology can impact faculty teaching and student learning.

Description: It has been suggested that we are moving out of the Information Age and into an Age of Interaction. In the area of higher education, this shift is taking many forms and changing the way faculty and students interact inside and outside the classroom. This workshop will address the role of technology in facilitating enhanced interaction and engagement of students in a traditional classroom and outside of class during virtual office hours. This session will be presented from the perspectives of a course instructor and a former student.

In the first part of the session, the instructor will dissect the structure and format of technology‐enhanced chemistry courses that employed a course management system, penbased computer technology, podcasting and virtual office hours (web conferencing). An analysis of instructor motives for adopting these particular teaching tools will be presented along with assessment data from student attitudinal surveys and evidence for direct learning gains in an introductory organic chemistry course.

In the second part of the session, the student will discuss her thoughts on the educational value of the techno‐pedagogical methods used by the instructor, with particular emphasis on student engagement and collaboration during virtual office hours. She will show actual examples of course notes that she constructed using a tablet PC and discuss how pen‐based technology and ink‐enabled software can be used to construct electronic notes that can combine resources, information and digital media from various courses into an integrated product.

The session will conclude by engaging the audience and asking for input on the pedagogical

advantages/disadvantages of using these technology‐based tools. The workshop will also allow participants to discuss and evaluate new ways in which students can use technology to interact with information and its implications in integrated learning. The examples in the workshop will be derived from various courses in chemistry; however, the principles will have broad applicability across disciplines.

Session Type: Lecture/Presentation

On-Site Equipment Requirements: Data Projector

Contact Information/Affiliation:
Ricky Cox
Professor of Chemistry
Interim Director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology
310N Applied Science Building
Murray State University
Murray, KY 42071
270‐809‐3773
ricky.cox@murraystate.edu

Kelly Kohorst Bingham
Medical Student
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
2201 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37240
kelly.bingham@vanderbilt.edu