Enticing Teachers To Try Technology

While this article from The Journal focuses on K-12 technology integration, many colleges and universities are also struggling with the same issue.

Technology is a marvelous tool for enhancing the curriculum, engaging the students, and bringing life to an antiquated classroom. Most educators will agree this premise is true. But how do you get teachers to take the leap and dive into technology integration in their classrooms? One solution some districts have tried is to equip all classrooms with technology--interactive whiteboards, documents cameras, LCD projectors, etc. The expectation is that if they equip it, the teachers will use it.
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A recent Educause survey listed “faculty adoption and innovation in teaching and learning” as the number  4 challenge in Teaching and Learning.

As the Internet augments the learning landscape and students become more immersed in online environments, it’s often the instructor who is least equipped to utilize new(er) technologies.  Colleges attempt to entice faculty to enhance their technology skills with everything from free laptops (at Virginia Tech) to incentive pay (Univ. of Nebraska.)

The University of the District of Columbia is currently in the midst of formalizing many of its technology offerings and support services.    While ‘entice’ wouldn’t be the right word to use for our efforts, we’ve been excited by the attendance at our most recent technology boot camp and have reworked our fall technology offerings (see below) to better fit faculty needs.  We invite your comments on how your institution ‘entices’ faculty to try new(er) technologies.

To register for an upcoming LRD workshop, go to Blackboard [udc.blackboard.com] and click on the tab in the far right corner labeled WORKSHOPS.  Space is limited so please register early and often!