Existing and Emerging Technology in Teaching and Learning | Prof. Linglingay McDermott

The session introduces a discussion on existing and emerging technologies in teaching and learning, followed by a framework for selecting tools. The technologies are categorized into activity, video, assessment, gamification, social media, authoring, collaboration, and virtual worlds. The selection criteria for these tools are that they must be web-based, require no downloads or installation, and be free.

Activity tools are divided into discussion, whiteboards, infographic, presentation, and timeline makers. Discussion tools include Collaborize Classroom and Google Hangouts. Whiteboard tools like AWW, SketchLot, Twiddla, and Studyl are ideal for brainstorming. Infographic tools such as Canva, Piktochart, and Venggage (which offers analytics) help students summarize visually. Presentation tools include PhotoPeach and Glogster, while History Capsules and TimeLiner are useful for creating timelines.

Videos are highlighted for their engaging, demonstrative, and problem-solving qualities. Tools for video editing include YouTube Editor and Powtoon for animated videos. Emerging interactive video tools like Vialogues, EdPuzzle, and PlayPosit allow for questions and discussions within videos. Audio editing can be done with Chebot and Audacity. Programming tools like Codecademy, Scratch, and Khan Academy offer courses in various programming languages, making coding accessible to many.

Assessment tools like ClassTools.net, Quiz Revolution, and Yapaka help create or utilize existing quizzes and puzzles. Gamification is supported by Kahoot for creating games and onlinebadge.com for issuing achievement badges. Educational game websites include Education.com, FunBrain.com, ScienceBob.com, BrainPOP.com, and the Utah Education Network. Social media tools like WordPress, Blogger, and Wix are good for blogging, while Google Hangouts, Line, and Viber facilitate messaging. Facebook Groups and Google+ can be used for group collaboration.

Authoring tools such as EasyGenerator, SmartBuilder, and Screencast-O-Matic (which captures screen activity) assist in creating self-contained modules. Collaboration tools include Google Hangouts for video conferencing, Yammer and Basecamp for project management, Google Apps for Education (e.g., Docs, Sheets) for document collaboration, and WikiSpaces. Second Life is mentioned as the sole virtual world tool, though it requires a download and installation.

A framework by Littlejohn and Regular, based on Lori Lording's conversational model, helps in selecting tools based on activity types: assimilative, adaptive, communicative, productive, and experiential. Assimilative activities involve processing information (e.g., lectures, videos) and can use word processors or presentation software. Adaptive activities, where environments change based on learner input, utilize virtual worlds, simulations, and interactive videos.

Communicative activities involve discussions (asynchronous or synchronous) and can use electronic whiteboards, discussion boards, instant messaging, and video conferencing. Productive activities focus on students creating something (e.g., reports, essays), utilizing image editing, infographic tools, timeline makers, and other project collaboration tools. Experiential activities are interactive and problem-solving focused, involving case studies, virtual labs, or interactive videos. The discussion concludes by encouraging teachers to use this framework to select appropriate tools.