The Right Stuff: Making Technology Fit

Technology has become an integral part of life, both personal and professional. Different technological innovations are used daily for everything from preparing for the day to completing daily tasks, and this is also the case in the workplace. Educators find designing strategies for delivering the curriculum to millennial learners a puzzling task. Millennial learners are assured, ambitious, shielded, old-fashioned, under a lot of pressure, and love working in teams. The perceptions of millennials are diverse and extensive. They learn through a variety of experiences such as; using technology, working in teams, and entertainment in order to develop critical thinking skills. These students multitask; are used to instant feedback; and wish to be rewarded when they successfully complete a task or behave in a desirable manner. Today, the amount of technology that is available to faculty is overwhelming. Finding ways to creatively integrate the use of technology tools into pedagogical strategies to deliver content will be explored. The presentation will prepare faculty to incorporate technology in their courses to delivery content in an online, blended, and/or face-to-face environment. It is essential to determine that the technology use does not add distracters or decrease the value of education. Barriers to integrated technology include: access, technology, time, expertise, resources and support. Shared will be how to use technology you currently have available and use it to your advantage in the learning environment. How one can locate and select free/low cost applications/tools that will work for the course content. Introducing technology in the classroom can be time consuming and at times stressful yet productive. There are a few things you can do to minimize the first byte and use technology to assist you in the integration of content and promote an active learning environment. Considering the interconnections between content, pedagogy, and technology (TPACK) you can effectively integrate technology into the classroom while promoting engagement. This presentation we will introduce you to the TPACK and the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model (SAMR) to provide a framework for exploring the use of technology tools. Choosing the right stuff is essential to aligning course outcomes while utilizing evidence-based teaching strategies.