Design: Engaging learners

Characteristics of your students

What is the technology environment familiar to your students?

If your students are generally school leavers, it is likely they will use social media, and be familiar with mobile apps; whereas mature age students may be more familiar with work-related technologies.

What is the technology environment of the industry in which they will work as graduates?

Employers might expect graduates to be familiar with online videoconferencing for meetings, or the use of cloud-based information management or project management tools, or the use of industry-specific technologies, such as AutoCAD.

During their studies students may benefit from flexibility of time and place where content delivery online is preferred to a traditional lecture. Knowing the circumstances of your students can help you decide on online learning experiences which will facilitate their learning.

The most important decisions for technology-enhanced learning are your students’ needs. Consider the following:

  • Are you trying to include technology as an example of what students may use in their careers, for example, the use of a particular industry modelling software?
  • Are you using the institution’s digital learning environment to facilitate student learning? For example, a Learning Management System provides access to digital and multimedia resources and is good for the management of learning (tracking of submissions and marking, etc.).
  • Is student learning being enhanced by the use of digital tools? For example, a blog that can be shared with a world-wide audience to expose learners to a variety of perspectives.
  • Are you using asynchronous collaborative tools (e.g. discussion boards, wikis, blogs) to enable a more inclusive environment for more introverted students, or students whose first language is not English, as well as helping to build a learning community?
  • Are you attempting to future-proof the learning experience? For example, by including mobile technologies and recent innovations such as wearable technologies or artificial intelligence. Refer to the Horizon Report Links to an external site. (Adams Becker et al., 2017) to consider emerging technologies and examples of how they are incorporated in learning and teaching around the world. 

 

Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/laptop-computer-gadget-monitor-2559798/