| Most current students have grown up with | | | | students eager to offer answers to your |
| technology more than any other generation, most | | | | questions while the others just take their notes, |
| were able to text before they could touch type | | | | it's impossible to conduct a debate in every |
| and have more email addresses in their electronic | | | | lecture and get every student involved so you'll |
| phone book than they do postal addresses. | | | | need another way to encourage active |
| Bringing this technology they're used to into the | | | | participation and get them to engage. |
| classroom is the equivalent to giving the lecture in | | | | You also have the problem of making sure none |
| their native language. The technology they're used | | | | of your students get left behind, those who aren't |
| to is only going to evolve and they're going to | | | | as confident to raise their hand when they don't |
| take this evolved technology with them when | | | | understand will struggle to digest the rest of the |
| they go out to work, even if you're not entirely | | | | lecture, what if they're not the only student |
| confident with university technology, or if you're a | | | | confused by a subject you've just raised? All of a |
| little sceptical, you're going to have to get used to | | | | sudden, you've got a dozen or so students who |
| it. Text books are often outdated the second | | | | need clarification and you're unaware of it. now |
| they're published, as long as you can validate the | | | | you're faced with not only having to interactively |
| source, technology can ensure that what teaching | | | | engage with your lecturer theatre full of students |
| is as up to date as possible, it can also allow you | | | | but also you need to be psychic and know if any |
| to collaborate with other educators in your field | | | | of your students are struggling to keep up, if just |
| from around the world. | | | | one student doesn?t understand a point is it time |
| Physically printing copies of hand outs can be very | | | | efficient for you to have to go back over it whilst |
| time consuming, uneconomical and it's not a very | | | | the rest of the room doesn?t have a problem? |
| environmentally friendly way of ensuring your | | | | Several schools have started to introduce an |
| students get access to all the resources and | | | | interactive voting system; each student has the |
| information they're going to need, having links in | | | | ability to ? 'vote' on whether they've understood |
| your lecture notes displayed on a screen (either | | | | a particular subject, the lecturer can ask a |
| to an external website or to an internal page on | | | | question, and can see at a glance what |
| your schools own intranet) means your students | | | | percentage of the room understood the previous |
| can access the information in their own way in | | | | topic. If you can see that only 65% of your |
| their own time, if these notes are projected onto | | | | student got the answer right you know that 35% |
| a screen in your lecture theatre or onto an | | | | didn't fully understand which would mean it's in |
| interactive white board, it's very simple for your | | | | their interest and yours to quickly go through the |
| students to simply make a note of where the | | | | main points again, if you can see that only one or |
| information is stored. | | | | two got the answer wrong it may be easier to |
| Studies have shown students are more likely to | | | | speak to them at the end of the lecture rather |
| understand and remember the lecture if there's | | | | than going over a topic the rest of the room |
| an interactive element to it. With a standard | | | | understood. This university technology will also |
| lecture theatre easily holding a minimum of 100 | | | | ensure all the students are actively participating in |
| students it?s almost impossible to involve them all, | | | | the lecture, so no one is going to be having a |
| especially as you'll often get the same few | | | | quick snooze at the back of the room. |