Undergraduate Expectations

In the research survey Undergraduate Perceptions of the Usefulness of Web 2.0 in Higher Education: Survey Development, undergraduate expectations of Web 2.0 use in education was analyzed.

Take a few moments to answer some of the following questions through comments on this blog post.

Questions

·         What would be your answer to the two research questions?

1.    Which Web 2.0 technologies are currently used by undergraduate students in different disciplines on-campus?

2.    Which  Web  2.0  technologies  do  undergraduates  find  most  beneficial  for  learning  in  their respective disciplines?

·         Were any of the findings in this survey surprising?

·         The article makes the claim, “digital natives expect to learn with new technologies,” did you have this assumption when beginning classes? Has your experience at DePauw altered your expectations of technology use?

·         What do you currently use technology for? (word processing, email, surfing the Internet, creating content?) Since the beginning of the year, have you begun using additional technologies?

·         Based on the survey’s findings, how should Universities approach using technology in teaching and learning?

·         Will undergraduate expectations change as technology is used more frequently in teaching and learning?

Embracing Social Technology

In the article 3 Ways Educators Are Embracing Social Technology, a description of the uses of three social technologies are explored in the context of classroom application. The use of Skype, Mobile Phones, and Twitter in the classroom provides a few examples of how Educators can effectively utilize social technologies.

Take a few moments to answer a few of the following questions in a comment to this blog post.

Questions

• The article states that “budget cuts have caused ballooning class sizes,” thus Educators have attempted to utilize technology to engage students. Is this an effective approach?
•  How can Educators and Universities effectively use technology with such a vast range of devices?
•  Is there an expectation that all students be familiar with and have access to technology. Is this assumption correct or should there be steps to combat technology issues (Student Technology Support)?
•  How should Educators deal with “distracting technologies”? Is incorporating technology an effective way to eliminate the distraction?
• What are your opinions on the way Educators used the three technologies? (Skype, Mobile Phones, Twitter)
• Are there different approaches or technologies that would have been more effective in these situations?
• How can other social software be integrated into a classroom?