Below are some tips for introducing a new technology into instruction.
- Focus on only 1 or 2 new technologies per semester or instructional cycle. More may be too demanding for you and your students.
- Use any tool yourself before introducing it to students. You will catch some pitfalls that way.
- Provide documentation or training for students in the new technology. A link to help may be sufficient for some tools. Others may require demos or bringing in someone to show the tool to students.
DON’T assume students will “pick it up” on their own. Skills do vary and students may be less motivated to learn a new skill in an instructional setting. - Look for solutions that work on multiple platforms whenever possible. In some cases you may want to provide recommendations for each platform.
- Look for use cases/articles of other instructors using the same or a similar technology to learn effective strategies.
- Ensure that technologies are easily available to students. Consider cost and availability in the Penn State Student Computing labs among other factors.
