Should Professors Be Required To Teach With Tech?

An anonymous reader writes "Are professors who don't update their teaching methods like doctors who fail to keep up with the latest ways to treat disease? Or are professors better off teaching old-school? From the article: 'It is tough to measure how many professors teach with technology or try other techniques the report recommends, such as group activities and hands-on exercises. (Technology isn't the only way to improve teaching, of course, and some argue that it can hinder it.) Though most colleges can point to several cutting-edge teaching experiments on their campuses, a recent national assessment called the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement suggests that old-school instruction remains the norm. Only 13 percent of the professors surveyed said they used blogs in teaching; 12 percent had tried videoconferencing; and 13 percent gave interactive quizzes using 'clickers,' or TV-remotelike devices that let students respond and get feedback instantaneously. The one technology that most teachers use regularly — course-management systems — focuses mostly on housekeeping tasks like handing out assignments or keeping track of student grades.'"

Comments

Re:Teaching Gimmicks and the decline of teaching

[tsm_sf]

Unfortunately, most students are too lazy or too stupid to learn on their own and need someone to do the song and the dance going with the lesson.

Yeah, like those shiftless fuckers in first grade. We should let the free market sort this out.

Re:Its not always needed

[MoonBuggy]

Note: if your teacher is using chalk in a room equipped with a large whiteboard, it may be a good time to double check their technological competence.

Use iPads in the classroom, dammit

[Anonymous Coward]

Why aren't people buying more iPads?

Please, use that government money to buy iPads for the kids, instead of hiring more, better instructors.

Technology is no panacea

[Adrian Lopez]

Only 13 percent of the professors surveyed said they used blogs in teaching; 12 percent had tried videoconferencing; and 13 percent gave interactive quizzes using 'clickers,' or TV-remotelike devices that let students respond and get feedback instantaneously.

You forgot Twitter. You can't have a proper classroom without Twitter!

Also, there is the eraser!

[Anonymous Coward]

I once took a class ( it was in high school ) where the teacher was in the habit of throwing the eraser at sleeping students. Aside from chalk marks, no harm was done to the no longer sleeping student. You can only do that with old technology.

Re:Its not always needed

[Oewyn]

Note: if your teacher is using chalk in a room equipped with a large whiteboard, it may be a good time to double check their technological competence.

Does technological competency (which in /. means "computer gadget competency") matter if the subject is statistics, calculus, physics, or even algorithm analysis or theory of automata?

Shit, even in Computer Science/Software Engineering, I wouldn't care if my professor hasn't programmed in, say, the latest JEE stack or what not. For subjects like distributed computing, algorithms, or networks, it really doesn't matter.

Gimme a good old' school professor with chalk dust all over his head any day of the week!

*Whoosh*

Re:Yes.

[frank_adrian314159]

he recommended we listen to "Lazy" by Deep Purple when studying mathematical successions

Damn. You got mislead. Everyone knows "Lazy" is for integration. "Smoke on the Water" is for mathematical progressions.

Re:Tell /.'rs no tech is dangerous

[ralphbecket]

Ha ha, when I was an undergrad my friend's supervisor for one course told his students, "Most supervisors do not realise you have other courses to study for and expect you to spend 100% of your time on their course alone. I do understand, and only expect you to spend 80% of your time on mine."

Re:Yes.

[i.r.id10t]

Glad I use OpenOffice Impress instead then!