Introduction

• "I don't have time to work on instructional technology. I don't have enough time to do what I already have to do."
• "What's the value of all this high-tech rigamarole in class? I've been teaching my subject the same way for years, and I think I'm doing a pretty darn good job."
• "This is going to take a lot of time, and it isn't going to help me get tenure."
• "I don't know how."

The Challenges of Instructional Technology

Some writers believe that networked information technology will transform the academy in the most fundamental ways, as happened with the advent of printing, or perhaps even with the adoption of writing as a pedagogical tool. It is strangely comforting to think that there were those who mourned the adoption of writing, saying it would surely undermine the practice and consequently the power of memory. But while most of us cannot recite the Iliad without recourse to a printed volume, our learning and our lessons are no longer limited by the practical requirements of immediate personal contact.

Information technology brings many things to teachers: opportunities, power, complexity, anxiety. This Primer will introduce current classroom technology, and provide some practical information on implementation. While not a panacea, instructional technology has a great deal to offer. This Primer is a work-in-progress, and your comments and suggestions are very much welcome.

Even if you do not immediately intend to implement in class the technologies we discuss below, it is worth trying to understand what they are, and how they might be used. We are taking steps into a new, networked age. Into what form these technologies will develop is not always clear. But it is clear that they will continue to have greater and greater implications for the business of higher education.

What is Instructional Technology?

Instructional technology refers simply to any form of technology that is applied to enhancing teaching and learning. Chalk, filmstrips, videotapes, vinyl records, CD-ROMs, computers, digital media and laboratory equipment all fall under this rubric, along with much more. At Trinity, these technologies are supported jointly by Academic Computing and Media Technology Services.

In recent years, an explosion has occurred in the power, complexity, and academic potential of computing and communications technologies. Computing and communications are at the core of an instructional technology revolution that is gathering momentum and already has pedagogic, sociological, and political ramifications.

Here are just a few examples of instructional technologies:

• in-class use of electronic mail

• use of computer projection to demonstrate dynamic models

• in class and out-of-class use of electronic discussion forums to extend class discussion

• data collection equipment to a networked computer in a teaching lab

• requiring that students write a Java program as part of this week's homework

• using digital video to demonstrate/explain a concept through a web page or on Blackboard to save valuable class time

• providing students the option of presenting material they have researched in a digital format such as a web page, an interactive map, a multimedia PowerPoint presentation, or a digital video

There are many forms of instructional technology. However, not all of them are appropriate for every class, for every faculty member, or for every student. For a given circumstance, only the instructor can determine what is worth trying. But in order to do so, he or she must have a general understanding of the technology and its application.