Review of EDDG meeting on classroom technology

We had two interesting discussions on technology and colleagues shared their views and experiences. Everyone agreed that there has been an exponential growth in educational technology and that this made it hard to keep ahead of. There was also a general consensus that no one technology 'model' suited all teaching situations and this was best decided by each lecturer who could make the best choice depending on their subject and student group.

The concerns discussed centred around what to do when technology lets you down; finding time and space to develop and familiarise oneself with new technologies; and a lack of college support and strategies. With regards to the latter it was felt that a robust and clear College strategy and vision was required in order to drive technology forward. The VLE seems to be working well in certain sections and not used at all in others, people seemed keen to find out how it was being used by others in order to contextualise it for themselves.

Probably the most heartening aspect of the two discussions were that feedback indicates that in no way did our students see technology as a replacement for lecturers but rather to enhance and support the learning and teaching. So I think the message has to be that NO - the lecturer is not dead yet!

For help with many of our existing college technologies and some web 2.0 tools we would urge you to have a look at the workshops and drop-ins organised for the next staff development day on Wednesday 17th February, or contact any of the Teacher Fellows - Karen Lawson, Jerry O'Neill or Carole Paterson. Alternatively drop into the staff resource room beside the Library where you can usually find one or more of us.