Faculty Technology Profile

This brief survey of 16 questions gathers information on how you are using technology in your teaching. The results will be used to help your school design a professional development program that best meets your needs. The first section of the survey collects information on your teaching assignment and your technology. The following six sections cover the ways you use technology in your courses, in your teaching, for communication, with media, for productivity, and for research. The last section gathers your thoughts on professional development. In each section, please read carefully all the responses, then choose the statement that best describes you. When you reach the end of the survey, please click the Submit button. If you have any questions about this survey, contact Jim Lengel, jim@lengel.net. No personally-identifiable information is collected in this survey. 1. The name of my school is: Select school... AISGZ Cinema School City Polytech Global Learning Collaborative Global Technology Prep Grace Dodge High School Guilford Schools Innovation Diploma Plus iSchool Quest 2 Learn UA Green Careers UA New Tech Just testing the system 2. I mainly teach: Business Education Engineering English Fine Arts Foreign Language History Mathematics Humanities Life Sciences Physical Sciences Social Sciences Select field... 3. To the best of my knowledge, most of my students: Select... Own a laptop computer and bring it to class with them Own a laptop but don't bring it to class Own a desktop computer Don't own their own computer 4. To the best of my knowledge, most of my students: Own an iPod or similar device Don't own an iPod or similar device Select... 5. The computers I use the most are: Select operating system... Linux Macintosh Unix Windows 6. About technology: Choose the phrase that best describes you. I use basic computer and network tools when it is necessary to get my work done. I accept my students’ work from computer sources, but I neither encourage nor assign such work on a regular basis. Technology is not a central aspect of my teaching, but I’ll use it if I must. I apply the basic technical tools – word processor, email, and the internet – to my research and teaching. Technology is here to stay, and may be important for my students to use. I’ll use it in the classroom when it works, and when it’s under my control. Technology allows students to employ multiple forms of expression in my classes, and I assign many projects that call for them to employ different media to help them learn a variety of topics. I want my students to have the opportunity to learn with today’s tools; it’s essential to their development. I look forward to learning new technologies as they appear, and then quickly apply them to my teaching. Technology has enabled me to invent new ways of engaging my students with the content they need to learn. Technology has helped me to transform the learning environment in my classroom. I experiment with new technologies as they appear. Technology is central to all that we do in class; it’s the way we do our work. 7. In your courses: Choose the phrase that best describes you. I stick to tried and true approaches in my teaching, using standard textbooks, lecture, and discussion as appropriate. If my students use technology at all, it’s on their own, for research and writing their papers. I encourage students to employ the technology most appropriate to their work. I expect papers to be done on a word processor. I occasionally assign projects that require students to use digital technology. I often design new assignments that take advantage of the capabilities of the new technologies to develop key concepts. In fact, many of the activities in my classroom involve computers in one way or another, including a good deal of online learning. Most of my learning materials are posted online, and students use them to develop key concepts and higher-level thinking skills. More and more of their assignments involve the application of digital tools to the solution of key problems, and most are submitted online. My courses direct students to employ cutting-edge technology tools to investigate concepts and solve problems. All relevant references and materials are posted online, and students often work on their assignments independently in collaborative groups. 8. In your teaching: Choose the phrase that best describes you. Most of the assignments in my courses involve written papers, as well as tests and quizzes done with paper and pencil. Use of the computer or the network by me or my students is incidental to the regular teaching in my courses. In my classroom, technology is used occasionally to deliver slide shows or display web pages, and my students are allowed (but not encouraged) to develop their assignments with digital media tools. My students often initiate projects that use technology, and many of my assignments expect them to employ computers in their work. Though multimedia projects are not easy to assess, I have developed criteria to judge the academic value of this kind of work, some of which my students create in cooperative group activity. I encourage my students to take the lead in finding new problems to solve and topics to explore, and bring them into class. They often locate useful online learning resources of which I was unaware. The results of their investigations become part of an online resource bank for my courses. Students in my courses initiate their own investigations into the course content, and use a variety of technical tools in this work. In large part they manage their own learning, and they design and publish their work as web sites and podcasts that are often consulted as learning resources by other students. 9. For communication: Choose the phrase that best describes you. I use email when it’s the only way to communicate, at home and for certain required tasks on campus. Most of my academic and personal communication employs the standard modes of telephone, face-to-face meetings, and written notes on paper. Many colleagues and students communicate with me by email, and I encourage this. I’ve even tried instant messaging with a few of them. Some of my announcements to students and colleagues are published on the web for more efficient dissemination. Many of the assignments and materials for my classes are posted online. I have also found it valuable to use email, IM, and other online forums and chats to share ideas with students, other faculty and off-campus professionals. My web site has become a comprehensive resource-bank for me and my students, with most assignments posted online. Students develop collaborative projects that are published on the web, and they often use instant messaging (including audio and video) to get this work done, among themselves and with me. Using instant messaging, videoconferencing, podcasts, and blogging, my students extend their learning across the globe, and often collaborate across cultural and language barriers. They have begun to develop learning communities that are in constant touch with one another for the accomplishment of academic objectives. 10. With media: Choose the phrase that best describes you. If students include multimedia in their work I accept it, but do not expect such work as a matter of course. I use a digital camera at home for family photos, but seldom in my teaching. I know how to make a simple slide show on the computer, but I don’t do so very often. Some of my course assignments require students to develop simple projects on the computer that include images. My own presentations to the class often include slide shows to illustrate key points. In my courses, my students and I occasionally develop multimedia projects that explore key concepts. They have learned to use audio and video editing software, and can produce simple podcasts of their reports. The complexity of their digital storytelling is increasing. In my courses, the students and I regularly produce original multimedia works in in our field of study, and publish these on the web, on DVD, and as enhanced podcasts. The multimedia projects produced in my courses are aimed at a broad audience, and contain mostly original material developed from primary sources, in whatever media is most appropriate to communication and understanding. 11. For productivity: Choose the phrase that best describes you. Student writing assignments that are done on the computer are acceptable to me, and most of my composing is done with a word processor. I know how to save my files to the disk, and get the documents I need from the campus server. I prefer that students do their writing on a word-processor, and I welcome their questions over email. It’s common for me and my students to use word processing, spreadsheets, and computer slide shows in their assignments. I know how to store these files on the campus server. In class, we often analyze quantitative information with a spreadsheet or database to help us understand key concepts, and we also use computer tools specialized to our field. Students have learned to mark up each other’s writing online using their word processors. In class or in the lab, we build simulations of natural and historical phenomena with spreadsheets and other digital tools. With these, students are able to design and carry out their own analyses of complex data. They frequently use the campus network for collaboration, and for organizing their research materials. My students and I often devise new ways to use word processors, spreadsheets and databases to explore the information in our field. I jump at the chance to learn a new software or hardware tool as soon as it appears, and apply it to my teaching and research. 12. For research: Choose the phrase that best describes you. Most of the information in my courses come from print sources, but I allow internet research, and sometimes use online sources for my lectures and discussions. I can find what I need on the internet some of the time, but would rather work in the library. As a complement to their library research, students in my courses often find information on the Web, usually through sources that I identify for them. Online research is an occasional part of the assignments in my courses. To help develop higher-order thinking skills, I use online sources that send students to a wide range of information and ideas. Online research complements the books we used to use. I’ve begun to create an online archive of the most valuable sources in my field. My students are good at locating and evaluating new sources of academic information online, and use these sources to raise issues and solve new problems. Internet research has pretty much replaced book research in my course, and the web has become the chief method for students to publish their own findings. The students and I publish our work in a variety of formats, including web sites, podcasts, and video documentaries. These works are often consulted by other students, scholars, and the community because of their educational value. 13. Please rate the kinds of professional development you need most, if you are to integrate technology into your teaching.   Not at all A little Some Quite a bit Learning to use the new software tools that come with the computer Becoming aware of how technology applies to my subject area Developing presentations and assignments that employ technology in my courses Developing skills for using digital communication tools such as email, instant messaging, and web publishing Learning how to post course materials online, and to receive student assignments electronically. Developing skills for using digital media tools for incorporating images, sound, and video Learning to use online research sources and tools Learning how to use word processing, spreadsheets, and other productivity tools in teaching Learning how to develop project-based learning assignments that employ new technologies Other 14. Please rate the styles of professional development that would best meet your needs.   Not at all A little Some Quite a bit Hands-on workshops on campus Teaching myself by trying out and learning new things on my own Learning informally from colleagues or campus technology specialists Learning informally from my students Online, self-paced courses that provide ideas and structured instruction Online courses with an expert who evaluates my progress Other 15. Please rate the following obstacles to your integration of technology in teaching.   Not an obstacle A little Some Big obstacle Lack of administrative encouragement and support. Lack of effective professional development opportunities Lack of on-campus expertise and technical support Not enough computer access for my students Computers that are inadequate to our educational tasks Lack of ideas for technology applications in my field Software that is not appropriate to our needs Slow or unreliable network connections Other obstacles Thank you for completing the Faculty Technology Profile. Click the Submit button below to send your survey to the database.