The digital natives are restless. Growing up in a world with computers, the Internet, cell phones and other technologies, today’s generation of college students expects more and better high-tech devices, on and off campus. Northeast Ohio higher education institutions recognize the need to offer a competitive advantage to recruit tech-savvy students and are working to meet their demands by integrating innovative technology into education.
In the fall of 2009, Case Western Reserve University was one of 17 schools to participate in a pilot program using Amazon Kindle DX devices, a portable e-book reader that displays textbook content. Lev Gonick, chief information officer at Case, says the feedback was positive from the 40 engineering students who took part in the program through a chemistry course. “Everyone thought it was interesting as a textbook substitute and happy they didn’t have to lug five textbooks around,” he says. “They were very interested in being able to use a touch screen to flip through pages in a more rapid form.” Gonick adds that they are continuing to use the Kindle this semester, and there are a number of professors who are also using e-readers in their courses.
“The key piece here is that we understand how learning takes place,” says Gonick. “It’s a combination of engaging students and keeping them engaged to time on task.” Today’s student insists on the use of technology, he explains. “We need to meet them more than half way to get to reflection, which is where real learning happens.”
With an appreciation for the importance of mobility to students, Case launched a mobile phone application in January, which provides more than a dozen frequently requested services for students. Using smartphones, students can check bus schedules, registration, events on campus, connect to YouTube and emergency notification sites wherever they are. Gonick shares students’ comments he heard on this state-of-the-art application: “It’s cool. What took you so long?”
John Savery, director of the University of Akron’s department of learning technologies and scholar learner services, says the current graduating class counts on campus technology to be available, working and up-to-date. “There has always been the tension of being on the leading edge,” he says, explaining that UA has already incorporated a variety of technological tools for student use, such as wireless capabilities, clickers and interactive whiteboards. “Now,” he adds, “about 55 percent of the courses that are offered at UA have an active Springboard site,” which is a web-based learning management system used to enhance and support classroom teaching. “Within that system, there is different content in every course site, perhaps recorded video files, and students can link into the content area and view that on their own.” Especially advantageous to commuter students, this system allows assignments to be turned in through an electronic drop box instead of having to physically turn them in on campus.
Another system UA students are taking advantage of is Lecture Capture, a recorded version of an instructor’s lecture made available for repeated viewing. “This is great for someone who maybe misses a class,” says Savery. “It’s part of larger trend – fitting education into busy lifestyles.”
To complement face-to-face instruction, some instructors are offering synchronous communication using Elluminate. This online learning community offers valuable content, including instruction, conversation or brainstorming with a group of people that would normally take place in the classroom. “In this virtual environment, students can speak into a microphone and be heard by the instructor and other students,” says Savery, “and for those students who have a camera on their PC, they can send video signals back to the classroom.”
UA faculty members are interested in effective teaching, explains Savery, thus realizing learning and using a variety of technologies in their classrooms is essential. “Many are delighted, and they only wish they could have used [technology] sooner,” he adds.
When it comes to student demand for technology, Ursuline College is a bit different than other local colleges, explains Dr. Alison Benders, dean of the school’s graduate and professional studies, because the majority of students are nontraditional. “Here, the faculty is leading the students’ development in technology,” she says. It begins with teaching students to navigate basic tools, such as learning how to attach documents, connect to websites and create PowerPoint presentations. “It’s imperative that our students learn relevant technological skills to perform their jobs upon graduation.”
The school recently received a grant to develop and support faculty technological skills. “We are excited to learn new things; it feels like we are in school again,” says Benders. Through Web 2.0 (web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing), instructors are mastering a variety of high-tech tools to share with their students, which include social networking sites, video sharing sites, developing wikis and blogging, in addition to experimenting with webcams, Windows Movie Maker, Skype, e-portfolio assignments and narrated PowerPoint presentations.
“It’s clear that technology facilitates our communication,” says Benders. “If students don’t know how to do collaborate, they will be hampered and slowed down. The range of thinking skills that technology promotes is much greater than found in traditional classroom settings alone. The best education is enhanced by technology.
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