Technology

Students are immersed in media, so adding multimedia elements to your classes and Canvas site offers students a familiar form for learning and a way to increase engagement. Multimedia elements in the classroom include video, audio, PowerPoint, animations, document projection systems, and whiteboards. Digital multimedia can be stored on MediaHub, which is an internal tool much like YouTube, and shared on Canvas, KU's learning management system. 

CTE has compiled a list of links and resources (.docx) to help you consider how to incorporate technology into your classroom. It includes KU-supported tools and outside tools for creating course material and interacting with students. 

Technology can also encourage active learning and initiate interactive exchanges between instructors and students. As Jose Antonio Brown says in Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your Classroom Will Improve Student Learning, electronic communication "can help to bridge the power differential inherent in education." He outlines several strategies for how to use electronic communication with students, especially for those of us who are interested in establishing multiple channels of communication (using social media, for example) with students:

• Explain how you will communicate. This should include your maximum e-mail response time and whether you use tools like Teams for class communication. How to contact you is vastly more important to most students than your office hours.
• Limit the forms of communication. Don't try to do everything. Ask students for casual feedback after class, but stick to your plan for a while before you try different or multiple channels at once. Do not randomly change your mode of communication.
• Create a schedule. When is the best time or the best day of the week to announce new assignments or provide your feedback on the last test? Try to stick to that schedule for an entire semester, and then reevaluate.
• Do not mix the personal and the professional. (This is also an excellent principle to model for your students.) If you post class material on social media, do not add a post on your new puppy. Keep your personal information on a personal channel, which can be any social media network.
• Be clear and consistent. You might, for example, let students know that email is used for announcements and information about the readings but that you will announce study questions on Canvas. Students get used to watching for certain types of messages in familiar places, so be consistent. 

Technology can also assist communication inside the classroom. For example, an image or video clip can be used as a discussion starter. Online polling tools can help initiate discussions. For example, you can present a thought-provoking question that corresponds with the day's lecture material, along with several possible responses. Then, ask students to select which response they most agree with. Use this information as the platform to start a discussion. KU has a license for the iClicker system, but some faculty use the free versions of such tools as Slido, Poll Everywhere, and Mentimeter. 

An iClicker is an app students can use on their phones, computers, or tablets to submit live responses to instructor questions. Access is provided through Educational Technology, so there is no charge to students or instructors. 

iClicker and similar polling tools increase active participation and provide feedback to instructors about student understanding of class material. Student responses are anonymous, and responses from individuals or groups can help jumpstart discussions. They also give students an idea of how their understanding of course material compares with that of their classmates. Instructors can also use polling systems for midsemester evaluations of the class as a whole.

Questions in which there is not a single clear answer work best with in-class polling systems. That allows instructors to have students talk with partners or in groups about why they chose a particular answer. After those discussions, instructors should poll students again and see whether responses have changed. That can lead to additional student discussion or provide an opportunity for the instructor to explain the concepts or ideas behind the questions. 

When used wisely and creatively, in-class polling systems provide many benefits, including engaging students, catalyzing class discussion, monitoring attendance, evaluating student mastery of concepts, adapting lectures in response to student understanding, increasing peer interaction and instruction, assessing student learning from assigned homework, and preparing for tests. Most challenges can be minimized by planning ahead. If you plan to use CRS, contact IT (864-2600 or itedtech@ku.edu).

One way to expand on information discussed in class is the use of Canvas discussion groups. You can use these groups to distribute class information or to establish an arena in which students interact with one another about various topics or class activities. There are a number of ways to stimulate online discussions:

• Ask students to post their responses to a selected reading or homework problem and respond to their peers.
• Initiate a conversation on a topic not fully covered during class time.
• Have students post potential discussion questions for the next class.

Another way to deepen and assess student learning outside of class is to use online quizzes. These can be created on Canvas, and questions can address in-class material or outside reading assignments. Online quizzes can be set up in such a way that students can take them multiple times, thus gaining practice working with material and increasing understanding.

For courses where you might have students working in teams over a long period of time, we suggest becoming familiar with the CATME system, which, according to their website, "is a system of secure, web-based tools that enable instructors to initiate best practices in managing student teams." With CATME, you can assign students to teams, incorporate self and peer evaluations, allow students to rank teamwork, and make meetings more effective. CTE's Doug Ward has written about the benefits of CATME in Bloom's Sixth, the CTE Blog.

Leading discussions, as you can see from the above examples, requires us to maintain a balance between using our voices and encouraging students to use theirs. 

KU provides a number of resources for faculty and instructional staff interested in integrating technology into the classroom:

The Canvas Resources for Instructors page provides assistance for creating and using the Canvas learning management system. It also includes links to Canvas workshops and recordings. The Educational Technology staff provides assistance in using Canvas. It also has a Canvas Users site on Teams.

The Media Production Studio in Budig Hall offers support for creating and editing audio and video for classes. Contact: itmps@ku.edu or 785-864-6452.

Classroom Support provides assistance with technology in classrooms. Contact: 785-864-1200.

The Center for Online and Distance Learning provides assistance with creating courses in Canvas. Contact: codl@ku.edu or 785-864-1000.

Information Technology's How To KU site offers a wealth of information on learning and using digital tools at the university. You will also find information on various other IT sites:

• New to KU provides resources for getting started with technology at KU.
• Knowledge Base provides additional information.
• IT also maintains a list of software and technology services at KU. 

KU Libraries lists many resources for streaming video and finding multimedia materials. 

The Open Language Resource Center is an academic unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that seeks to promote the study of humanities through the use of technology and instructional media.

In addition to housing an audio/video collection of more than 16,000 items in 60 languages, the Center, located in 4070 Wescoe Hall, contains a 36-seat active learning classroom, two computer labs, a media-enhanced conference room, a soundproof recording studio, and a learning commons designed to facilitate collaborative work.