Technology In Use
DIGITAL TOOLS - ONLINE PLATFORMS - INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
How Do I Find the Right Tool?
There is no single "perfect" technology for any given activity - each platform or tool
has its own affordances and its own limitations. In other words, there are certain benefits you gain with any particular technology (ex., ease of navigation, robust technical support, etc.) and there will be certain losses (ex., steep learning curve, outdated, etc.). You have to weigh those benefits and losses as part of your decision of which technology to choose.
To make the decision about which technology to use, always start with the course learning objectives, the pedagogical needs of students, and what you want to accomplish with the task. Then, balance those needs with the affordances and limitations of each technology to choose what might be most beneficial for the activity or course. When you provide students with the decision making process, then they will be able to practice the necessary skills for becoming responsible 21st century digital citizens.
To see more information on choosing particular technologies, please go to the Digital Pedagogy page for suggested heuristics.
Tools for Presentations, Mapping, and Infographics
ADOBE SPARK PAGE
Free and easy-to-use online platform from Adobe that allows you to make interactive web pages. These web pages could function as digital essays, presentations, infographics, reports, or pamphlets. With a large library of templates, icons, and images, Adobe Spark page allows you to integrate image, text, video, and hyperlinks with ease.
As part of the Adobe Education Exchange, all users can access thousands of ideas and resources for creating Spark projects. Adobe Spark Page is a sponsored tool for Fairfield University and you can access the tool via Blackboard.
Getting Started on Adobe Spark Page - Quip Resource Doc from Fairfield IT
This is not an exhaustive list of all tools and platforms for creating presentations, mapping concepts, and developing infographics, but it is a good start to begin your search for the right fit.
Keep in mind that many of these platforms can serve multiple purposes - "live" presentation slides can be a great way to have students complete group activities, mind mapping tools are great for learning systems and processes, and Adobe Spark Page is great for presentations as well as webpages.
To see the various tools, scroll through the slideshow with the arrows on either side or by clicking on the slide squares along the bottom.
Tools for Videos, Screen Capture, Audio, and Animation
ZOOM
One of the most popular online video chat platforms, Zoom is available privately through Fairfield University. Zoom can be accessed on your desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet and it can be used for live video chats with groups or for recording video lectures. During the Zoom meeting, you can share your screen, use a virtual whiteboard, answer questions via chat, create breakout rooms, or set up a waiting room for office hours.
If you record a session or presentation, Zoom automatically creates a transcript of the recording and you can save it on the Zoom cloud and/or share it with students.
Getting Started on Zoom (Faculty) -
Quip Resource from Fairfield IT
To see the various tools, scroll through the slideshow with the arrows on either side or by clicking on the slide squares along the bottom.
These tools for creating videos, capturing your screen, and creating animation are a few that have been tested for use in education. While this list is not exhaustive, it is a good place to start. If you have students edit videos in any capacity, you may want to check out the final slide with suggestions for editing tools.
For this list, I avoided more expensive, paid options or programs that would require extensive training such as Adobe Premiere Pro.
Tools for Building Community, Engaging Participation, and Fostering Collaboration
QUIP
A favorite of Fairfield University, Quip is a "living document" tool that updates content for users in real-time. You can use Quip on your computer, phone, or tablet, and it is integrated as an additional tool in all Blackboard courses.
Quip is a great tool for editing, annotating, and/or discussion, and users of Quip can create and share work with all Fairfield users. A great feature of Quip is the Home Screen where you can chat, receive updates, and find favorites without having to be inside a particular document. Quip works great for collaborating on group projects, commenting on other students' work, integrating other apps like Lucidchart, and chatting with others in the document. CAE has a host of suggestions for incorporating Quip in your classes at Fairfield.
Quip Resource Doc from Fairfield IT
To see the various tools, scroll through the slideshow with the arrows on either side or by clicking on the slide squares along the bottom.
With the recent increase of online education, finding effective tools for building community, engaging participation, and fostering collaboration have become vital features of any course. Creating community in online platforms can be difficult, especially for asynchronous activities; however, these tools will support increased student participation and engagement in any classroom environment.
Although social media and/or educational games can be used to engage students in active learning, those tools are not included in this list.
Tools for Assessment, Providing Feedback and Supporting Peer Response
VOICETHREAD
VoiceThread is a free, versatile, and easy to use, secure, online platform that simulates a live presence; it allows users to “communicate ideas using more than one of the senses” (VoiceThread, 2016). VoiceThread provides an intuitive way for a class to collaborate asynchronously. Users can upload a variety of media for collaboration and communication including word documents, pdfs, images, videos, presentations, etc. They can offer feedback in a variety of modes as well including audio, video, webcam, text boxes, annotation tools, phone, or audio file upload.
This tool can be used for a variety of purposes, including class discussion, online tutoring, writing feedback, classwide debates, class FAQs, virtual interviews and ethnographic data collection, tutorials and demonstrations, course learning reflection, and project sharing. For more tips, see Voicethread – How To’s and Best Practices. Voice Thread is also an integrated tool for Blackboard and is supported by IT. To learn how to use VoiceThread, check out this Quip Doc from Fairfield IT on Getting Started with VoiceThread.
Digital feedback platforms and practices offer a number of benefits to students for purposes of accessibility, archiving, flexibility, and digital literacy. Since electronic comments allow students to modify size and mode of delivery, they can receive comments in their most effective manner. Furthermore, electronic comments can be saved and/or replayed, which allows students to understand comments in context and to return to them at a later time ("Facilitating Digital Peer Review," Stanford University).
The list to the left has been curated for tools that support authentic, formative feedback. These tools offer a platform to respond to students (often verbally) about their writing rather than correcting or editing their work. These tools for assessment and feedback should make the process of responding to student writing more effective in terms of the level of response, use of your time, and usefulness to students.
To see the various tools, scroll through the slideshow with the arrows on either side or by clicking on the slide squares along the bottom.
Tools for Blogging, Making Websites, and Digital Pages
WIX
This free, intuitive, and easily customizable website and blog builder has hundreds of professional-looking templates (this website was created on Wix) that you can edit. Users of Wix have limitless possibilities with the free version, but you can also choose to pay for a premium plan, buy particular items, or own the domain. The free version will include the Wix domain and minimal ads, but the interactive design capabilities such as parallax strips, hover boxes, and multimedia integration is well worth it.
For student projects, you can use Wix to create digital essays, personal blogs, or build full websites with a low learning curve. After setting up the sites and discussing expectations, students need little oversight for designing their projects. If you are on the fence about using Wix, check out this website about Why to Use Wix for Composition 2.0 or Digital Composition and Design on Wix.
To see the various tools, scroll through the slideshow with the arrows on either side or by clicking on the slide squares along the bottom.
This slideshow includes popular tools for blogging, making websites, and digital pages in the university classroom. As part of a much larger collection, this list has been curated to illustrate free, versatile, and education-friendly platforms.
These platforms can serve a variety of platforms. Students can build websites for group projects, for class portfolios, or for research reviews. Blogs can be used as electronic journals or notebooks, to keep class notes, or to maintain class discussion.
For more information on creating web-based, digital essays and student websites, visit this website on creating a digital-rich classroom.