We're often surrounded by calls to increase the use and integration of technology in our teaching and learning? A recent survey commissioned by technology provider VitalSource and conducted by Wakefield Research indicates that college students want more technology in their learning experience. The 500 respondents suggest that they

• prefer digital texts and materials to traditional textbooks, 
  
• desire more interactive and media rich elements in their learning, 
  
• see opportunities for more regular communication with their professors through technology, 
  
• would like more opportunities to personalize their learning, 
  
• and increasingly prefer digital courses to the traditional classroom. 
  

While I don't see these findings as particularly surprising, it is interesting to me that they don't suggest how teaching and learning can be enhanced through technology. My read of these results is that students have a positive perception of technology in their learning, but I'm not seeing any specific approaches or even suggested practices.

The good news is that technology can enhance teaching and learning in a number of ways. In my opinion, a professor’s goals, values, and their understanding of students’ needs should drive the specific strategies, tools and resources selected. Here are five different reasons and approaches a faculty member might enhance teaching and learning with technology.

 How technology can enhance student learning

1. Amplify existing practice
   Integrating technology in the classroom doesn't have to radically alter your instructional approach. There are many ways that technology tools and resources can augment or enhance your current approach. We can tap into students' positive perceptions of technology in learning by integrating more digital media in our lectures, offer digital options for required texts, and offer additional ways that you can communicate with your students. 
2. Provide a more flexible delivery model
   In the VitalSource survey, 56% of respondents reported that they would feel more comfortable participating in a class digitally than in person. While some might scoff at this idea as simple laziness, I think there's more to it than that. The reality is that we've become an "on demand" society that highly values the kind of flexible, anytime/anywhere experience that many online courses afford. This doesn't mean that the rigor or content of the courses should be diluted in any way. Rather, if there are ways to provide students with a more flexible delivery model, their learning will integrate more seamlessly with their world.
3. Provide diverse learners with more choice 
   In addition to choice of when and where students learn, the diverse learners in our classes also benefit from more choice in their learning experience. Specifically, Universal Design for Learning suggests that we provide students with choice in terms of interacting with course content, options for demonstrating their knowledge and skill, and means to engage them in the learning process more fully. In many cases, systematically providing options over the course of a semester is not too taxing and can lead to more engaged students in your courses.
4. Help students build their skills
   One reason to consider exploring new ways to integrate technology in your courses is to help them build skills that they can leverage in their own learning and to contribute to the world beyond the university. One robust framework for these skills is the 21st Century Learning Design approach. This framework is comprised of the kinds of skills you probably already value: knowledge construction, skilled communication, real-world problem solving and innovation, collaboration, and self-regulation. These don't have to be technology-driven, but they can often be enhanced through the use of technology.
5. Go deeper into the content and application
   In my opinion, the best reason to integrate technology in your teaching is when it enables students to go deeper into the content and/or apply the course content and skills in authentic ways. In many ways, technology enables richer inquiry experiences and simulations, grounds learning in authentic cases or problems, and can enhance fieldwork or service projects. When these potential benefits are derived from the use of technology, it is worth the extra time and risk that is required.
   
   

These are just a few of the different ways technology may be leveraged to enhance teaching and learning. It's certainly not an exhaustive list, but I hope that it helps you to see the range of possibilities. In the end, the key isn't the amount or types of technology we use in our teaching. For me, the key is how well it connects with your teaching approach and supports student learning.

What other reasons or approaches do you consider when integrating technology in your courses?
Please post your comments below.   

Classes are starting up this week at my university. I’m running into a number of students and faculty for the first time since the fall. I’ve noticed that when I ask if they’re ready for the new semester, the responses fall pretty neatly into one of two categories. 

1. Ugh. Summer went by too quickly. I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped. I’m swamped with meetings, etc., etc., etc.
2. I’m excited for a new opportunity! I can’t wait to get started!

Sadly, it seems like more often than not, many of the folks I run into fall into the first category. And if I’m honest, that’s often where I am as well at times. This is sad, though, given that a new academic year provides an opportunity for a fresh start, new relationships, new ideas, and new learning. How can we bring a positive mindset to the new year?

Where does negativity come from?
It’s only natural that we may feel a bit overwhelmed as we begin a new slate of classes, committee meetings and the myriad other responsibilities we deal with day to day.  As institutions of higher education are under increasing pressure from all angles, it’s no wonder that we don’t all see rainbows and unicorns wherever we look.

Many of the stresses and challenges we feel are real. We are bombarded with calls for increasing enrollments, entrepreneurial activities, recruiting and development efforts – all just to keep the lights on. There’s no doubt that more is asked of us in higher education these days. In some cases, we can also be our own worst enemies. We also may choose to take on more than is reasonable or healthy. We may feel like we’re on our own to figure things out. Under these circumstances, how can we avoid the trap of pessimism and try to regain some of the positivity that is so important to thriving and appreciating the amazing vocation we share?

Five ways to start the semester off on the right foot

1. Practice gratitude.
   Despite the very real challenges we encounter, perhaps on a daily basis, working in higher education is a pretty good gig. To a greater degree than many other careers, we often have pretty substantial control over the conditions of our work (what we research, the kinds of projects we choose, the content (or at least the methods) of our courses, and more. Be thankful. Many others would trade their problems and challenges for ours in a minute.
2.  Remember why you’re here.
   It’s easy to focus on the aspects of our work that we don’t necessarily enjoy. Administrative work, faculty meetings, etc. are all a part of our work life. This isn’t what drew us to academia, however. For you, maybe it’s the rush you get when you meet your students for the first time and pique their interest in the first class. It might be the curiosity that leads you into a new research project. It might be collaborating with colleagues on course design or revision. Whatever it is that you enjoy, be sure to tune into that part of your work.
3. Surround yourself with positive people. 
   We all know who the department or office Eeyore is. The pessimists and perpetual critics can really drain you. I’m sure you’ve experienced the “air out of the balloon” feeling you get when interacting with some of your colleagues. When you’re trying to focus on the positive, try as best you can to give Eeyore some space. Actively seek out those who project a positive attitude. Surround yourself with colleagues who look for solutions rather than problems. Positivity can be contagious. 
4. Consume positivity.
   In addition to people and responsibilities at work, we are often surrounded by negative messages all the time. All you have to do is turn on your cable news channel of choice, listen to a little political commentary, and your mood is sure to be soured. To counteract this, seek out positivity around you. Smile and appreciate the return smiles you receive. Read posts from a positive blog, listen to some inspirational music, or even read the cartoons in the newspaper (just not the political ones). Actively bringing in a little positivity will work wonders for your mood.
5. Fake it.
   If ideas 1-4 fail, you can always resort to faking it. If you’re like me, on occasion you’ve had to “manufacture enthusiasm” to begin a class. Some days, you may just not be as excited as you’d like. Fake it. Trust me, fake it. I’ve experienced a significant shift in my attitude as I just work to express even false enthusiasm. Sometimes you can trick yourself into changing your outlook.

I hope these ideas help you to manufacture a positive start to the new semester. We really are lucky to be working in an “industry” where the development of knowledge, growth of individuals, and contribution to the greater good is the core focus of our work.

What do you do to start off the semester on the right foot?
Please post your comments below.   

We've just recently passed the six month mark since I began the site. I'm grateful for all the great feedback, Tweets, and sharing of the site and resources. Because the purpose of the site is to build community around teaching and learning in higher education, I want to make sure that you're getting what you want on the site. To that end, I'd be grateful if you took just a few minutes to fill out the survey below so that over the next six months, the site can evolve to even better meet your needs. Thanks in advance for your ideas!

"A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about.”
- Miguel de Unamuno

The academic argument is one of the cornerstones of scholarly thinking. At all levels, from undergraduate freshmen to doctoral candidates, constructing, supporting, and defending a scholarly argument is one of the most challenging and rewarding ways that students express their knowledge. And while we are surrounded by arguments every day (from political ads to infomercials), students often struggle with this activity. How then can we best support students in this valuable learning experience?

Key features of the strategy
Before diving into specific examples, it can be helpful to take a step back and think about what an argument is and why students might experience difficulties in constructing their own. The Dartmouth College Institute for Writing and Rhetoric offers a helpful guide on teaching argument. From the guide, students bring a number of misconceptions about argument, including:

•  they see argument as a type of contest, where they try to “win points” 
  
• they may think in black and white terms, rather than acknowledging nuance
• they may assume that since an argument is their opinion, there is no need to support it

To help students to get past these (and other) misconceptions, it is critical to help support them in the critical thinking and structural elements of building an argument. Providing them with the building blocks (e.g., understanding of observations, facts, inferences, and assumptions) and the process of crafting claims and supporting with evidence is essential for students to be successful. In the following examples, we can see strategies instructors use to support students in developing robust and defensible academic arguments.

Examples and Variations
Many examples of activities and assignments that challenge students to construct an argument focus on scaffolding the process. This approach both helps to counter some of the common misconceptions students may have, as well as, to help them to develop their own arguments. This example assignment from the Writing Center at Colorado State is a good example of this basic approach. It is essentially a template-driven strategy that is very approachable for students. This kind of assignment would work well for freshmen and students with little experience in constructing academic arguments.

This example from a course titled The Rhetoric of Gender and Technology at Stanford University is a more robust approach that would work for more advanced students. This assignment requires at least one draft prior to the final paper and breaks down the writing process into manageable chunks. The assignment also includes the development of a reflective memo that supports reflective learning and metacognition. The professor provides evaluation criteria for students to consider as they work on the assignment.

While the first two examples focus on written argument assignments, multimedia options offer unique opportunities for students to support their argument with multimodal evidence. With the ability to incorporate images, video, animations, and more, students can develop interesting, creative and substantive arguments. Dr. Melanie Kohnen from Georgia Tech shares this very interesting Remix assignment. In this assignment, students are challenged to create a multimedia argument in the form of a remix about contemporary remix culture. Essentially students create some form of a remix in which they repurpose audio, video, images and text they find online to form the argument product. In addition to this multimedia product, students also create a written essay to document their choices and work throughout the project. A sample student product helps to better visualize this creative work.

Connections to 21st Century Skills and Technologies
Constructing an argument is a challenging way to encourage students to practice skilled communication - an important dimension of 21st century learning design (21CLD). One could argue that the creation of a scholarly argument is the most all-inclusive way to practice skilled communication, as the work includes extended communication, supporting evidence, a focus on a particular audience, and can include multimodal elements. Particularly as we consider ways for students to share their work widely, constructing an argument can move from being defined as a paper to possibly even an active of civic engagement.

While the primary technologies used in this activity would be the word processor and possibly a concept map, the last example illustrates how the use of digital technologies can enrich and extend this kind of work. As demonstrated in the remix example, students can leverage digital video creation software to construct multimedia arguments. Even in written documents, students can include images and at least links to other multimedia sources. The creation of videos, however, enables students to share their work with a world-wide audience through video sharing sites like YouTube or Vimeo.

Parting thought
I can’t complete this post without a nod to a great resource to help students to better understand, analyze, and construct their own arguments. Everything’s an Argument is an amazing text (currently in its 6th edition) which provides hundreds of argument examples, including essays, editorials, advertisements, and websites that not only serve to engage the reader, but also illustrate how arguments are all around us. These broad-ranging examples help students build a much more nuanced understanding of how arguments can be formulated and presented.

How might you challenge your students to construct an argument in your classes?
Please post your comments below.

In this episode of the Luminaris Podcast, I discuss the development of the Higher Education Learning Activity Types Taxonomy - my effort to create a comprehensive taxonomy for higher ed faculty. I walk through why and how I developed the taxonomy, as well as two organizational features of the taxonomy to make it easier for faculty to navigate and use it. First, the learning activities are organized according to the revision of Bloom's taxonomy. Second, each learning activity is tagged according to the 21st century skills it supports. I conclude with an invitation for feedback and collaboration on the work.

To receive a PDF copy of the taxonomy, please subscribe to my mailing list. Once you subscribe, I will email you the taxonomy. I will also use the mailing list as a way to keep you updated on any future revisions to the taxonomy as well as updates on new posts on the Luminaris blog. I will respect your time and privacy by not spamming your email. 

Download the mp3 here
Show Notes:

• Taxonomy overview and links to blog posts
• Meeting Diverse Students' Needs with UDL
• What Do 21st Century Skills Look Like in the College Classroom?
• The Scholarly Teacher Blog
• Faculty Focus Blog
• Bowen, J. A. (2012). Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
• Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
• Fink, L.D. (2013). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Weimer, M. (2002). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.