Last week, I wrote about technology failures in teaching. This week, let’s look at what went right. I held an event on campus for faculty to share some of their success stories, as well as a few failures.
Attendees voted on ideas in three different categories: best use of technology, most creative use, and idea I’d like to steal.
The most creative use was using social media so that physics coursework bled outside of the classroom. Students posted things and their friends and family became engaged in what they were learning.
The best use of technology was using Google Hangouts on Air to create lecture captures. Ironically, lecture capture was also listed as a failure by another professor, because once students figured it out, physical attendance decreased.
The idea people wanted to steal, was using Moodle’s Q&A Forum for students to post “exam questions.” With a Q&A Forum, students cannot see one another’s posts until they post their own response. The professor got to assess student reading, students learned from one another, and potentially, the professor gained some ideas for good exam questions.
If you used technology in your teaching this year and felt it was successful, please share your experience. What did you do? How did students respond? Why was it a success?
