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Videoconfere

Using Clickers (Personal Response Systems) to Facilitate Active Learning in the Classroom Clickers allow instructors to assess students’ understanding of the subject matter, receive immediate feedback and reinforcement for what is being learned, get shy and under-prepared students to participate, poll students’ opinions and preferences instantly, observe student misconceptions, and encourage peer instruction.

Using Clickers (Personal Response Systems) to Facilitate Active Learning in the Classroom Clickers allow instructors to assess students’ understanding of the subject matter, receive immediate feedback and reinforcement for what is being learned, get shy and under-prepared students to participate, poll students’ opinions and preferences instantly, observe student misconceptions, and encourage peer instruction. Improving In-Class Discussion with Technologies Use principles of priming, integrating and reinforcing to improve in-class discussions. Use available technologies as tools for supporting these principles.

Blackboard SMU uses the course management system Blackboard.  For help creating Blackboard courses and learning the basics, consult Academic Technology's Blackboard help page, as well as this Blackboard online tutorial. Access your Blackboard courses here. Presentation Software Sometimes it's helpful to provide visual aids to complement teaching, stimulate discussion, or allow out-of-class teaching. Tools designed for this purpose, such as PowerPoint, can be used well or used badly. Click here for resources that provide advice for thoughtful use of PowerPoint, as well as a few additional presentation tools. Classroom Response Systems ("clickers") One way to encourage student engagement is by using electronic devices that allow students to record their answers to multiple choice questions and allow you to instantly display the results. The anonymity encourages participation, and their answers help the teacher know when further discussion is needed.  Use of clickers can also serve as a catalyst for discussion.  Click here to learn more about using response systems effectively.

Converting a Face-to-Face Course to an Online Course Teaching online, whether in a hybrid course or a wholly-online course, requires different techniques and different tools.  Without the F2F contact, professors will need to be even clearer about setting and articulating expectations for digital work and participation.  Encouraging interaction between professor and student and among students is an additional challenge, as is monitoring student learning as the course progresses.  The online environment requires the use of basic technologies to digitize course materials as well as mastery of the university's learning management system.  And various tools like Skype allow synchronous communications, while blogs and Twitter can encourage asynchronous interaction.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

“What was the most important thing you learned today?” “What was the most confusing topic today?” “What important question remains unanswered?”

Pausing every few minutes to see whether students are following along with the lesson not only identifies gaps in comprehension, but helps break up lectures (e.g, with Clicker questions) or online lessons (e.g., with embedded quiz questions) into more digestible bites. 

Having students work in pairs or small groups to solve problems creates space for powerful peer-to-peer learning and rich class discussion. Instructors and TAs can roam the classroom as students work, helping those who get stuck and guiding those who are headed in the wrong direction.

can deepen student learning by supporting instructional objectives

ind creative and constructive ways to integrate technolog

y into your class.