[MUSIC] Knowing which technology to use for your online teaching can be difficult. This episode discusses several issues you should keep in mind before making any decisions. Such as; the importance of considering pedagogy before technology, the benefits of starting with something simple, and the importance of providing technical support to your students. The associated PDF document for this episode, also discusses the educational applications of different technologies in more detail. >> The benefits an of online teaching and learning approach, particularly, you know, blended delivery can be many, provided that the introduction to the technology is contextually appropriate. >> There's no one answer to this. It, it's really about your circumstances as an educator, what your student's needs are. >> It's the capacity to make an informed and effective choice of the technology that's the important distinction for the staff, who are teaching into any given field. >> Any integration needs to be fit for purpose. So just using the latest gadgets, and the latest technology, because it's there, is not going to sustain itself. Students very quickly see through that facade. They value technology when it adds to their learning, not when it's just seen as a, as a gadget and a bolt on. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> It's not the technology that is going to solve the issues that people have when it comes to teaching and learning. >> The technology needs to add, or challenge their learning or add to their learning. >> Each individual case, we look at, at the tools we, we're confident in using and just pick the best ones for that specific for that specific project. And we always try and let the content drive the tool that we use, rather than the other way around. >> When you use online components you can use multiple technologies. But the technology is just a means to an end. You need teaching strategies to support them. >> So I think about what are the key pedagogical ideas and how that technology can support it. >> What do we want the students to achieve. What skills do we want them to learn. >> Coming up with activities that are educationally valid and also will stimulate and aid learning. >> We use technologies that represent or reflect the real outcomes that we want students to learn. In choosing a technology, they gotta decide using something in which they're comfortable with foremost. Okay, and, this may be a piece of technology that they're using currently or something like that, or it, it's a piece technology that's easy to pick up. >> It is very tempting, when you come across a new technology, to just use it. And use every single, tool or every single feature that they have. >> If you're completely uncomfortable then, start smaller. Do little steps. >> Sticking to the basics can be good for someone who's just, getting to know an online learning environment. However, it's all a case of building blocks. >> And picking the right one for the right purpose is quite important. Making sure that that aligns with the student experience. That the students who are new to blended or online learning, I think that you can't start using all the bells and whistles that might be more suitable to a more experienced group. >> A simple system is better than something that has got lots of bells and whistles and allows lot, everything, you know, all kinds of bits and pieces. >> Like too many cooks spoil the broth. So, you probably don't want to introduce too many different tools in one subject. If you're using, let's say four to five you know, new tools, students do get distracted and they find it very overwhelming to cope with. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> One thing that I've learned is that you really need to teach the students about the online environment. >> The students, when they use it for entertainment, that's a very different mindset. When, and when they're asked to use it for teaching and learning that's a very different mindset to them again. >> I think that thorough teaching of how to use this is important, because you can't expect everybody to be good with technology. >> Whenever you're using a tool for certain purposes, you need to tell them, why is it important they use this tool, how it will benefit them, and what's the outcome they will get out of it. >> And encourage students to showcase the tools that they're thinking of using and approaches they're taking. That can be just as useful a learning experience as, as you demonstrating something, indeed, probably more so. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> At the end of the day, why the internet works for online education is, is not because it's an educational technology. It's not some special thing that only academics and students use. The internet's a profound part of our contemporary society, and so we have to base what we do on the way the internet works in our society. It's not some special thing that we do just at university. [BLANK_AUDIO]