What’s the best way to get faculty to engage with emerging technologies and incorporate new learning spaces into their teaching? Five institutions share their experiences in this Campus Technology article. The five institutions are North Carolina State, Western Michigan, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Ohio University. Here’s a summary of the ways each institution has helped faculty engage with emerging technologies.
- When institutions invest in new technologies, they should also invest in expertise, positions that can help faculty envision ways to engage with the next technology.
- Pay careful attention to faculty workloads, and provide information and support when and as they are able to fit it into their schedules.
- Develop a seminar series or other recurring event where faculty members come to engage the new technology and envision new ways to incorporate it into their instruction.
- Encourage and make available virtual immersive environments as a cost-savings measure, cutting the cost of taking international or domestic travel trips.
- Fund the lower cost of VR for faculty so they can implement and engage the technology in their classes.
CoP Note: While these ideas may not all work at SPCS, what kinds of efforts would help you engage with emerging technologies and incorporate them into your teaching? Are there technologies you’d like to try out? Are there technologies you believe students should experience in order to be better prepared for the digital workforce? What other ideas can you offer that would help you engage with emerging technologies?
