Learning technologies

1
Learning technologies

• And why you should

2
Why use educational technology?

• Because we have to
• Its fun
• It looks good
• Everyone else seems to be doing it

3
What is wrong with using educational technology?

• Educational Technologists
• Technocracy
• Doesnt work
• Complicated
• Breaks down
• Expensive
• BUT..
• We reject it at our peril

4
Successful educational technologies

• The blackboard
• The whiteboard
• The OHP
• The photocopier
• Ubiquitous embedded
• Reliable? Easy to learn?
• Not true of any photocopier Ive used

5
Getting started

• Start from where you are
• Develop your portfolio of teaching/learning
  techniques- variety is the spice of life
• Develop courses with half an eye on conversion to
  other methods of delivery
• Use technology to improve your communication
  abilities
• Learn to present material visually
• Work out where face-to-face contact with students
  has most benefit for their learning and
  development- and why?

6
Buy wheels, dont make them

• Some learning technologies are expensive and
  time-consuming to produce
• Some learning technologies are best bought
• Identify what is best produced locally
• Customise
• Specialise
• Make small re-usable chunks

7
Making a point powerfully is not the same as
teaching

• Use PowerPoint warily
• Talk, dont preach
• Other possibilities include
• email
• news
• student generated web pages
• conferencing
• Chat

Build on simple technologies you already know
8
Do not use technology for the sake of it
fin