This document discusses using technology to improve teaching and learning. It provides reasons for using technology such as interactivity, content delivery, collaboration, and assessment. Technology allows students more control over learning and helps teachers guide students and identify those at risk. While some students in 1998 noted limited technology use, by 2008 students reported technology being essential and used for communication, notes, and assessments. However, technology skills varied between lecturers. The document promotes planning technology use carefully and providing educational advice and resources to help teachers integrate it effectively.

1. Using Technology to
Improve Teaching and
Learning
Beth Cavallari
Acting Associate Director

2. Why use technology?
• Interactivity
• Content delivery/revision
• Managing learning and resources
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Sense of cohort
• Variety of teaching and learning preferences
• Formative and summative assessment

3. How does this help?
• Allows students more control of their own learning
• Allows lecturers to guide more, teach less
• Allows student to build up knowledge, and become
part of the teaching process
• Can provide some really engaging learning
experiences
• Teachers can provide “scaffolding” and safety nets
• “At risk” students can be identified more quickly
• Collaborating can be very well supported

4. Students’ Experiences (1998)
‘We have excellent hardware and software but the
lecturers don’t use it much for teaching. Some of
them put their lecture notes on the Web.’ (Multimedia
Student)
‘All Computing Science subjects have lecture notes
on the Web, but none of the other subjects use
computers at all, which is just as well because the
machines crash all the time.’ (Computing Science Student)

5. Students’ Experiences (1998)
‘I expected to have to use computers all the time. In
fact, we rarely use them, not even in subjects like
accounting, where we have to do everything
manually.’ (Commerce Student)

6. Students’ Experiences (2008)
‘Computer use is essential in all courses. We have
access to course notes, essays, past exams,
electronic journals, the course handbook and course
overview. We often use email to communicate with
other students, lecturers and tutors.’ (History Student)

7. Students’ Experiences (2008)
‘Blackboard, PowerPoint, emails and electronic
journals are used very effectively, but nothing very
innovative happens. There was some online
assessment in first year.’ (Commerce Student)
‘Smaller class sizes in Science meant less use of
PowerPoint than in some of my other courses. There
is very mixed use of technology, depending on the
skills of the lecturer. Some lecturers are useless and
upload the wrong files, or their files don’t work.’
(Science Student)

8. Students’ Experiences
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

9. Technology Development Cycle
• What’s the problem?
• What’s the best way of tackling it? (Can technology
help?)
• Planning
• Development
• Testing
• Evaluation
• Improving

10. What can Teachers do?
• CDs
• Websites
• Blackboard sites
• Web-CD combinations
• DVDs
• Print
• Planning, educational advice, Project Management
• http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/edResources/what-cd.html