Teaching with technology, setting an example

Abstract

Providing instructional technology support for faculty requires a range of skills, from knowledge of software and hardware, to an ability to communicate, teach workshops, and relate to faculty. Teaching experience is advantageous for the instructional technology specialist in that it can be used to extend discussions of technology to the meaningful use of the technology in the classroom. For these discussions to have authenticity, the technology specialist needs to have classroom teaching experience using software in a technology-equipped classroom. Unfortunately, for the instructional technology specialist, this experience is usually limited to brief workshops, and increasingly, one on one instruction with faculty.Two Instructional Technology Specialists from Williams College team-taught a four-week long Williams College Winter Study course for college students called "Teaching with Technology." The course focused on creating learning modules using Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, Apple iMovie, and Adobe Photoshop. The course also covered copyright, pedagogy, and accessibility, and made use of a course management system. The shift in perspective for the instructors from supporting the use of technology in the classroom to actively teaching with technology helped the instructors realize the pedagogical potential of electronic classroom tools. In addition, the students demonstrated thoughtful use of the software for teaching, and a regard for copyright and accessibility. Together the students and instructors explored a range of topics relating to the use of technology in the classroom.In their roles as Instructional Technology Specialists, the instructors advise faculty on the use of technology in the classroom. By teaching the course, the instructors applied and tested their own advice and set an example of how technology can be integrated into a curriculum. This paper covers some of the insights that the authors gained from teaching the course.