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Four faculty members from Ferris State University share their experiences integrating technology into their classrooms, usingto the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. The Center assists faculty members in learning technologies to enhance their lesson plans. All four faculty members insist the technology is easy to learn and use as enrichment to coursework. The technology allows the faculty members to establish a presence, both online and on-ground, all while using technology their students are already familiar with. Faculty members, as well as information technology employees, at higher education institutions are the intended audience for this video. Each faculty member described a different technology he or she uses within the classroom (both online and on-ground). The four technologies described include Adobe Connect, iTunes U, CPS pulse clickers, and Poll Everywhere. Adobe Connect is a way for students and faculty members to engage online, including back and forth real-time discussion. iTunes U allows faculty members to share podcasts of lectures and lessons for students to listen or watch at their leisure. CPS pulse clickers enable students to take tests and quizzes during class and receive immediate feedback and grades. The CPS pulse clickers also let the professor know what material students have or have not mastered, dictating the rest of the lecture. Finally, Poll Everywhere allows faculty to poll students before, during, or after class, increasing student engagement, as cell phones are typically used to poll.

Conversation among faculty from several institutions about the benefits for students who become engaged differently in courses through technology.

This article explores the gap between expectations of faculty and students by focusing on defining the online "student". The author looks at practitioner interviews to identify "ways of talking" about students and Annemarie Mol's (2002; 1999) concept of enactment to understand who students are and how they behave in the interactive spaces of online learning. The author's argument is that understanding the category of "student" in multiple ways offers faculty a way to approach the "potentially disorienting spaces" (Bayne and Ross, 2007) of online teaching practices. Online learning presents a different environment of interaction and engagement for teaching and this article states that in order to be effective, teaching online students requires new strategies for engagement. Some of the strategies outline developing a community of learners, treating students as customers, and considering students in the context of their digital generation. This article is helpful for those who are teaching an online course or considering how to design an online offering. The author is a curriculum and academic developer for LaTrobe University in Australia.

The authors of this study are two faculty members from New Zealand who sought to improve the standard of writing for their students in their first-year courses for undecided students. They describe at length how they used similar ways to improve the students' literacy skills. The faculty focused specifically on discipline-specific writing skills by engaging the students in their digital literacy skills through course assignments and group projects. This research would be helpful to use as a guideline for faculty teaching in undergraduate disciplines who are interested in learning how best engage students by tapping into their technology skills and familiarity with using online resources. The authors point to a need for supporting the unique journey students experience through their online social interactions as well as designing the online course assignments based on an initial assessment of student learning profiles.

The author of this article is the Assistant Dean of Academic Administration at the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University. This article focuses on the benefits of lecture capture for in-class and online students. The author states that this tool changes classroom sessions for those in traditional classes and replaces classroom lectures for online courses. Increasing the interactivity in lecture captures can improve student engagement and learning outcomes as the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education is similar to good practice in lecture capture. This system captures video of the instructor, two whiteboards, and any information displayed on the instructor's computer, including PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and other software. The author mentions in a study of 29,078 in-class students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which used lecture capture to augment their classroom experience, 82 percent of the students would prefer a course in which lecture content is recorded, and 60 percent were willing to pay extra to have this technology available to them. Students cited the benefits of: making up for a missed class, watching lectures on demand, improving retention of class materials, improving test scores, and reviewing material as a complement to in-class interactions. To improve actual learning outcomes, the author suggests that instruction using lecture capture should include interactive discussions and activities and that successful course lecture capture requires a well-planned strategy. She encourages administrators to: provide a lecture capture system, define policies for use, and train faculty and students. The author cautions that faculty are educators and need to concentrate on the content and presentation, warning that they should not be expected to become technical experts. The article concludes that data which demonstrates significant increases in student learning will be a motivating fact

The author is Associate Provost and Executive Director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. The author refers to Clayton Christensen's "disruptive innovation" term to refer to the recent changes in higher education. The author argues that a key source of disruption in higher education is coming not from the outside, but from internal practices. This administrator points to the increase in experiential modes of learning, how education is moving from "margin to center", which proves to be powerful in the quality and meaning of the undergraduate experience as well as the way business is conducted. The author refers to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its publishing of a "high impact practice" list, strategies which are connected with high retention and persistence rates, such as undergraduate research, service/community-based learning, and global learning. These practices also have a significant influence because they increase (according to George Kuh) student behaviors that lead to meaningful learning outcomes. The author summarizes how technologies can play a key role as new digital, learning, and analytics tools make it possible to mimic some features of high impact activity inside classrooms, changing when and how students can engage in course content. Since the greatest impact on learning is in the innovative, integrative, and socially networked experiences, then the author argues that faculty and staff need to re-create dimensions of these experiences by bridging the classroom with life outside of it. He concludes that connections between integrative thinking, or experiential learning, and the social network should no longer be an afterthought, but the connection that should guide and reshape learning in higher education. This article would be most useful for administrators and faculty who inform decisions related to technology infrastructure and tools for teaching and learning.

The authors feel textbooks are outdated by the time of print, offer a limited perspective, force the reader to take on a passive role while learning, and are limited to their physical form. The four limitations of textbooks are adding to higher education's lack of active learning. Students today expect to be engaged while they learn, not to read from an outdated textbook or listen to static lectures. There is a potential for change, however, believed by the authors. An example is given from Old Dominion University. A team of faculty all assigned to teach the course Social and Cultural Foundations of Education to potential education students, created an assignment where the students would write their own textbook. The final result  (called a wikibook) was determined by the students and faculty using a grading rubric for each student submission. The best-written and supported sections were submitted to the final wikibook. The assignment was a huge success. A few years later when educational laws changed in Virginia, the wikibook was quite to adapt. The authors argue wikibooks may not be factually perfect, but there are quite a few benefits: a student-centered learning experience, skills are developed in researching primary sources, and the instructional design is extremely adaptive and flexible. In order for a wikibook assignment to be successful, the faculty member(s) must take a guiding approach to student learning, instead of lecturing. The conclusion argues for a pedagogical shift, not necessarily involving wikibooks, but a more general transition to faculty to encourage creativity and joy in teaching and learning. 

The article gives a basic explanation of a few useful technologies to be used within an academic setting. First, a case is built for how technology can increase engagement and learning within the classroom, whether on-ground or online. Then the use of the internet, cloud computing, and multimedia are described. The authors highlight audio (podcasts and live chats), video (simulations, films, streamed videos, and screencasts), and blogging as multimedia options to be added to the classroom. In addition to multimedia, classroom learning can occur in a more mobile fashion. Many of the previous methods mentioned are use on desktop, laptops, and tablets. More and more students are utilizing their smartphones to access academic information. BlackBoard and eCollege both offer smartphone applications, which allow students and professors to access their course management sites through their phones. iPads are mentioned, but academic uses for these devices are yet to be determined. Finally, some institutions are offering degrees through Facebook, the social networking site. The Global MBA and The University of Whales in England, both offer MBAs through courses taught using Facebook. The article nicely summarizes a few technologies to be used within the classroom to enhance the students' experience. While the list is limited, and already out of date a few months after publication, the notion of using technology in the classroom to create a more dynamic experience is conveyed. The conclusion is a call for more research and study into making technology more effective within the classroom. 

This article explains the need for e-portfolios, how they can be used as a tool, and several examples from colleges who have successfully implemented them with students. The author makes connections to the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) survey, suggesting that e-portfolios may be associated with high-impact practices to improve engagement and retention. This new way of documenting evidence of learning and learning outcomes considers students as able to exercise their voice in presenting and representing their learning, with a focus on reflective learning. The author argues that since pedagogy and curriculums are changing, the way we assess students should also change to reflect this shift. This article would be most helpful for faculty and faculty development centers looking for concrete ways to implement and maximize the use of e-portfolios. The author is Vice President for Quality and Assessment at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC & U) and writes from an assessment perspective.

This article written by Jennifer Natsu, is focused on the way learning trends have shifted to accommodate the learning styles and preferences of the present generation of students. Twenty-first century students live a connected world where they constantly communicate and share experiences through applications such as Facebook, twitter etc. Many colleges have noticeably adapted their pedagogic methods to accommodate these trends by using similar technologies to engage students. Duke University for instance, uses a "virtual hall" to engage in conversations with students in other parts of the world as well as CEOs. Harvard physics students adopt a discussion model, facilitated by small groups. This in essence, is the face the new age of education where passive learning is being replaced by more dynamic models of teaching and learning. Jennifer Natsu is a frequent contributor to e-campus news, reporting on developments in higher education.

The author of this opinion article is a professor of philosophy at Ohio State University. He summarizes how in the past he had been resistant to teaching online, but has since realized the immense benefits and opportunities of e-learning, due to several cultural changes. For example, social media, e-mail, and texting have changed personal contact so that electronic media has become a standard way of communicating. This shift along with entertainment education (referred to at edutainment) has also resulted in student preferences toward online courses. Another benefit is access, as students often want to work while attending college, or they just want the flexibility of taking classes from home without a set schedule. The faculty member shares how he transformed his traditional teaching style and gives several examples, such as turning my paper handouts into electronic slides and board work into screen-capture videos. He also shares how to keep students engaged through his delivery of content, such as speaking without notes, so there is an element of suspense through an audio recording. Utilizing content in different formats also helped him to apply techniques in another direction, as he states that many of the video clips and visuals developed for online courses can be used in traditional courses. The author ends with sharing how online teaching has increased his communication with students, through direct e-mail exchanges and conversation on the course discussion board. He concludes that students report enjoying online courses and faculty and staff need to adjust to their demands and accommodate student preferences, which troubles many faculty members who resist to teaching online. This article would be most useful for faculty as well as senior staff in academic affairs who are looking to engage faculty in teaching online.

In this case study, the author, a faculty member of a liberal arts college at a major university, explains how a near disaster influenced significant administrative change. Case studies like these illustrate not only the principles of managing technology but highlight the importance of aligning IT initiatives with administrative needs. When the campus advising office flooded, student records were in jeopardy. Not only were student files in danger of being lost due to water damage, services rendered by the department were affected by the loss of the work space. Digital file management and portability became part of a disaster recovery plan developed after the flood. The case also provides examples of how a shift in business practices opens avenues for further change, such as staff being able to meet with students outside of the office because of digital records being more portable and staffers being able to work from home which helped maintain productivity when the office was closed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

Chris Proulx, the President and CEO of eCornell, wrote an article featured in Forbes magazine. The first technological influence is the growth of online education within top tier schools. Proulx believes the second impact technology will have on higher education in 2013 is increased innovation affecting the "flipped classroom." Students no longer rely on faculty members to provide them with information. In this model, group discussions and activities are used during class time to strengthen the students understanding of the material while engaging them fully.  Hybrid programs are the third technological change influencing higher education in 2013. 2013 will bring a focus on hybrid programs, courses balanced on-campus and online. Great technological advances can be made to improve hybrid courses for students and faculty members. Proulx believes a race is on for a new instructional model within higher education during 2013.  The fourth technology is the need for a new classroom-learning model. As faculty continue to teach in a flipped classroom, the peer-to-peer and peer-to-faculty models of instruction must change.  Finally, the fifth influential technology impacting higher education in 2013 is the potential for tuition costs to decrease. Proulx believes as technologies improve, faculty will be able to reach more students using the same amount of effort as in the past. While these technologies may not exist yet, as they begin to develop, the cost of education will slowly begin to decrease. Tuition may not drop in 2013, but the industry is likely to see some financial shifts over the next few years, in reaction to advanced technologies.

This blog focuses on the current lessons learned through the trends and emphasis on using video games, sometimes known as the "edutainment" movement in higher education. The author is a technology blogger for The Chronicle of Higher Education and describes how faculty can use technology to incorporate many of these lessons. One example includes: games can be used to teach problem-solving and collaborative learning. Another point of advice is similar to how video games keep track of scores; giving frequent and detailed feedback to students is important. The author cautions faculty to test online courses before going live and incorporate user design. Other suggestions include using stories and interactive games as a way to engage students, but also warns that not every course subject works as a game, and that deep learning with assessment should always be considered in implementation. This is a helpful snapshot of how to incorporate aspects of video-games for faculty who may be less familiar with edutainment strategies.

This article explores virtual learning communities as an effective teaching method. Several stages, processes, and structures are explained in detail for the reader to understand how to gauge the learner's academic progress if they are implementing a virtual learning community within an academic course. The characteristics that define these academic communities are reviewed, setting them apart from other teaching strategies. Potential research designs and questions are also suggested as ways to further understand how the learning dynamic involved in this type of pedagogy occurs and how faculty can help to facilitate it. This article is useful as a tool for both faculty and administrators looking for ways to strategically incorporate technology through course design as a part of large-scale efforts to engage learners. The author is a faculty member from Universidad de las Américas Puebla, in Mexico and writes from a practitioner-based lens.

This article offers a theoretical perspective from authors at the University of Queensland in Australia to explain the complex nature of why faculty in higher education struggle with incorporating new technology and innovative teaching strategies into their existing coursework. First, the authors review current literature about emerging Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) capabilities. They also introduce Latane's (1981) Dynamic Social Impact Theory, which they have updated to introduce the special case of Dynamic Impact of Social Connectivity (DISC) theory and how it applies to this phenomenon of higher education academics engaging with ICTs. The authors conclude that higher education curricula must change sufficiently and sustainably to embrace emerging ICT capabilities, in order to maximize faculty connectivity and collaboration. This article would be helpful for administrators who assist faculty in further developing their teaching and familiarity with technology in their courses.