Tech Thursday: Discovering New Tools
Before I share a new tool or technique, I test it out, seeing how it works and whether it’s truly helpful for teaching professors.
I started the Tech Thursday series about a year ago, as I discovered that the questions about using technology to support teaching were frequent, and were a different genre of article than the regular Tuesday Tips. I started with the tools I used most often in my own teaching: Google Drive applications, Canvas, and Zoom.
Google: “Publish” from Google Drive / Google Classroom updates / “Make a copy” function in Google Drive / Working in shared Google docs / Collaborating in Google Slides / Turn Google Forms into a formatted document
Canvas: Canvas chat / Custom dashboard labels / Canvas “What-if” grades / Deliver assignment instructions as a Quiz
Zoom: Name Breakout Rooms / Screen share in Zoom / How to Zoom in in Zoom
Over time I explored different tools and techniques to support student engagement in online/hybrid/HyFlex classes:
Student engagement: Free Chat / Climer cards / Digital exit tickets / Interactive quizzing / Online question management for classes & presentations / Wheel of Names (random name generator) / Providing audio feedback
Tools to support the thoughtful design of materials, particularly for students consuming materials via their computer or mobile device:
Accessibility: Accessibility Infographics / Two programs to reduce eyestrain
Using images: Extract text from images / Remove distracting backgrounds from photos / Using screenshots
Design: Choosing Fonts / More on Fonts
And finally, different tools to help faculty in our non-teaching work:
Research: Managing references / Find free versions of articles / Text Capture Apps
Productivity: Set times for tasks / Finding OERs / Study Skills Videos / Keeping Notes on Students / Keyboard shortcuts / Text Expanders / Mailbird email program / Voice-to-text options / Custom URLs & QR codes / DropBox Paper for collaboration
As I discover new uses for these tools that many of us use regularly, I continue to share them, but part of what makes writing this newsletter so personally valuable is your input on new tools. If there’s something you’ve seen and want to learn more about, or have heard of but haven’t tried out yet, please let me know.
In digging through suggestions, comments, and ideas shared on social media, I have been able to discover new tools that I might not otherwise have uncovered. Before I share a new tool with you, though, I spend time trying it out, seeing how it works and whether it’s truly helpful for teaching professors.
It’s helpful to have a starting point for this discovery. Education students at the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, have curated an annotated list of technology tools for teaching - check out their Online Tools for Teaching & Learning page for a very helpful exploration of tools - some of which I haven’t had the opportunity to try out yet. Their annotations are brief, but enough for a reader to get the general idea, and decide if further investigation might be helpful.
If you find one of the tools on this list to be promising, please do let me know!
