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Ideas on Teaching
Five Fundamental Uses of Computers in Teaching and Learning
University of Oklahoma
Abstract: Many faculty members have difficulty knowing what to do as teachers with all the new computer technology and software programs that keep coming out. They need a conceptual framework that will enable them to understand the educational significance of the many different capabilities of computer-based educational technology. This essay offers a typology of the fundamental uses of computers in teaching and learning that may help with this problem. One thing is clear about computers in higher education: They are here to stay. Increasing numbers of faculty members and institutions are using them and investing heavily in them. And those that are using them, are not turning back. However it is also clear that many faculty members are very confused about what to do with "these computers." They read and hear about this new software and that new piece of technology, and they don't have the foggiest idea what they could or should do to plug these "things" into their own activities as a college teacher. I can relate sympathetically to these teachers. As a relatively "late adopter" of computers, both in my work life generally and in my teaching, I was overwhelmed by all the specific information I was getting. Articles and advertisements kept coming out that in essence proclaimed: "Here is a piece of new equipment for projecting images; here is new software that will create more dynamic pictures; here is new software that will allow you to link student communications, etc, etc., etc." It all sounded attractive and possibly important, but I had no larger conceptual framework for making sense of all the particular information and claims. Hence I had (a) no way of evaluating the significance of the new technology, and (b) no road map that would indicate how I could or should use it. Therefore I have spent much of the past few years looking at what others were doing with computers in their teaching. Eventually this search led to the development of a conceptual framework that has been very helpful, both to me and to others. In this essay, I will describe this framework which is about five educational uses of computers. In order to set the stage for that framework, though, there are a few clarifications about the concept of "information" that are needed. Then, for each of the five uses, I will identify some of the associated technology, as well as some advantages and limitations. Finally, I will illustrate some ways that other people have combined these five functions in their teaching, as well as how they have combined computer-based teaching with other forms of teaching and learning.
Computers are correctly labeled, in my view, as "information technology." They send, receive, store, and manipulate information. They do not provide knowledge, understanding, learning or wisdom; to achieve these goals, learners must take the information and do something else with it. Keeping that distinction in mind is the key to correctly understanding how to use computers in teaching and learning However, computers do have some powerful capabilities with regard to information, and those capabilities can provide some powerful benefits for teachers and learners. Therefore, to fully understand the potential value and limitations of computers in education, we need a clear understanding of what information is and the various forms it can take. Information is a basic unit of communication and can come in several forms: words, numbers, images, and sounds (see Figure 1).
Words. Words carry information, whether they are conveyed in spoken (e.g., lecture, conversation) or in printed form. Before computers, words were by far the dominant way of conveying information. Because of society's familiarity with and reliance on words, words were also dominant in the early years of the computer age. However their relative importance may change with the maturing of the computer age. Numbers. Numbers and data were clearly the second most common carriers of information in the last half-century. In higher education, many disciplines found new lines of inquiry that became possible with statistics and quantitative analysis. New courses were added to the undergraduate and graduate curricula, and the content of some journals made a radical change from being exclusively "words" to having a large amount of numbers and formulas. Computers, from their earliest days, have been efficient at storing, manipulating, and eventually sending and receiving many kinds of quantitative information, i.e., "numbers." Images. Now the story starts to get a little more complex and interesting. Images come in at least three distinct forms: still pictures, video, and graphics (e.g., art). Only in the last few years have computers become efficient (re: widely available at a low price) enough to send images easily. But now teachers and students can easily send and receive still photographs, moving video sequences, and high quality artwork. This is the kind of information that many teachers find is being used more frequently, relative to words and numbers. People in the computer age respond easily and enthusiastically to images, and they like to communicate their ideas in the form of images, rather than just words or numbers. Sounds. This form of information is still not yet widely used on computers, but the potential is there. First, though, we need to note that we are not referring here to such things as recorded lectures. That kind of information is still "word" based, even though it happens to be spoken, i.e., "sounded" words. What we are referring to are other kinds of sounds. Two general categories here are (a) created sounds and (b) "found" sounds. A common example of a "created sound" is music. It is not word-based but it is a sound with its own information and meaning. Some examples of the second type of sound, "found" or naturalistic sounds, might be (a) recordings of bird songs or (b) recordings of heart murmurs. Such uses are not yet widespread in education but the potential (and the technology) is there. The reason it is important to have a clear understanding of the different forms of information is that we can thereby identify both the potential and limitations of computers as information technology and instructional technology. Educators have learned a lot about how to use words and numbers on computers; we have begun to use images more frequently although video is still rare; and we have barely begun to explore the use of sound as information. We also need to note that all four forms of information can be communicated in means other than computers. One can hear music, for example, in live performances, or on CD's, as well as via the computer. One can get words "live," in a book, on an overhead, as well as through a computer. In general, though, computer-based information has two major advantages over other means of communicating information: its wide accessibility (anytime, anywhere) and the ease with which the information can be manipulated.
In the following section, I will (a) describe the pedagogical need that each use fulfills, (b) identify the associated technology, i.e., the computer hardware and software, used to meet this need, (c) describe the advantage(s) of using computers to meet this need and (d) identify the limitations that teachers should keep in mind when using computers in this way. Use #1: Enhanced Audio-Visual (AV) Presentations Teachers have always felt a need to supplement their spoken communication with audio-visual materials. This has at different times taken the form of the basic blackboard, overhead transparencies, color slides, etc. Computers can also fulfill this need. Associated Computer Technology. Using computers to supply AV material simply requires one of several presentation software programs, e.g., Microsoft's Power Point, Adobe's Persuasion, Harvard Graphics, RealPlayer (for audio and video). The material created with these programs is most commonly shown in a classroom by using a portable laptop computer that has been connected to a classroom video projector. However, presentation software can also be stored on a series of webpages and accessed by students through the Internet with their computers. Advantages of Computer Technology. In the hands of a skillful teacher, computer based presentation software has all the capabilities of slides and overhead transparencies, but adds the capability of (a) dynamically building a series of images, (b) using video material, and (c) adding associated sounds. A zoology professor on our campus, for example, has built a series of Power Point images that starts with particular molecules, and then moves through a scaled sequence of cell parts, tissue, and organisms, allowing students to more easily grasp the relationship between molecular chemistry, cell structure, and animal physiology. Chemistry professors report that, with video modeling, they can illustrate the dynamics of molecular structure that would have been impossible with static overhead transparencies. A marketing professor created some computer "slides" that contained video material from (a) an American company's TV ads in the U.S., (b) their first TV ads in Japan, and (c) their later, more culturally sensitive ads in Japan. These examples show some of the benefits that can be achieved when teachers utilize the special capabilities of computers in generating AV material. Limitations of Computer Technology. There are probably three significant areas of concern with this use of computers. The first, which in some ways is no different than with other forms of AV material, is that the teacher needs to learn how to use this material effectively. I have seen teachers using computer presentation software simply to show their lecture outline while they lectured. This added nothing to what could have been done with the blackboard or overhead transparencies. Second, it takes a moderate amount of time to learn how to use the software and then to create the particular material that is desired. Third, there can frequently be technical problems at presentation time, e.g., incompatibilities between different computers or between the computer and the projector. Such problems occur often enough that presenters often prepare "back up" overhead transparencies, "just in case..." Despite these limitations or concerns, presentation software has been one of the most popular and frequent educational uses of computers so far. Use #2: New Forms of Communication Teachers need various ways of communicating during a course. Typically this communication is accomplished by live talking, or through information put on paper. The teacher tells students about assignments "live" or with low-cost, duplicated handouts; students turn in assignments on paper; and students communicate with each other by talking live to the whole class or in small groups. All of this communication can be done via computers. The teacher can put the syllabus and other course assignments on a website that is set up for the exclusive use of students in a particular course. In addition, the teacher and students can communicate with email, and students can communicate electronically with other individual students, with members of a small group, or with the whole class. If desired, students can also communicate with people outside the class, e.g., with experts on a particular question, with community organizations, with people and groups elsewhere in the world, etc. Associated Technology. The two key forms of technology used here are course-specific webpages and electronic communication, e.g., email, listservs, chat rooms, bulletin boards, newsgroups, etc.). Advantages. The major advantage of electronic communication is its accessibility. It can be accessed (sent, received, and responded to) anytime, anywhere. For programs with students who are scattered geographically or who have varied life schedules, this can be a very significant benefit. Also, unique course or degree programs can reach students in a larger geographical area by putting the course material (e.g., course syllabus, reading assignments, homework assignments) on a course-specific webpage, and then communicate with students via email or a listserv. Students can also communicate with each other via email. If all course material can be put on a website (or supplemented with printed material that is sent out), and all communication can be conducted electronically, then the course is essentially available to anyone in the world who has access to a computer and the Internet. Limitation. At the present time technical problems of compatibility are frustratingly frequent. Attachments to email sent on one platform or operating system sometimes cannot be opened on a different platform, or messages written with one software program sometimes cannot be opened by someone with a different program. More significant is the educational question of how much of the course communication can be effectively conducted in electronic form. It is not easy (yet) to achieve the rich, full, quick content of an effective small group discussion, in electronic form. Hence some teachers are choosing to (a) shift some of their communication to an electronic form, but (b) retain some class time that requires the teacher and students to be "in class", i.e., in the same place at the same time. Use #3: Access to New Forms of Information Traditionally students have obtained information about a subject from either lectures or from print materials: books, and journal articles, either purchased or borrowed from the university library. With the advent and explosion of information on the Internet, this has changed dramatically. This is the feature of the so-called Computer Revolution that is changing the way the whole world operates and "does business," literally and metaphorically. Massive amounts of information are being stored on the Internet, and students (like everyone else) have access to this inforamtion. Associated Technology. They key technologies here are websites, web browsers, and the Internet (sometimes simply referred to as the Net). Information (all forms: words, pictures, numbers and sound) can be stored on a webpage at a website, and accessed with a web browser, e.g., Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, through the Internet. Advantages. In the last few years, the number of websites available online and the information stored on them has literally exploded exponentially. In addition, computer programs have been developed that categorize and organize large numbers of websites so it is easier to find particular kinds of information. For teachers, having easy access to information on the Net has powerful benefits. Teachers can now tell students to get information from websites that the teacher already knows about, or have them search for sites on specific topics. In many areas, the information available from websites is superior to what can be provided in the classroom. For example, one professor of human physiology has his students go to a website to learn about the anatomy of the human liver. That website has pictures of the human liver that are more extensive and of a higher quality than what he could provide in a lab or even in any available text. Another professor in hydrological engineering has students go to a website that has a data set on river flows in another state; then he has them analyze that data using a calculation model that he taught in class. Limitations. The big concern with this use of information from websites is not technical but human. The information available on the Internet is so new and has increased so rapidly that it is not yet well organized. Hence one can spend a great deal of time searching for certain kinds of information without success, even when it is "out there." Second, the consumer must exercise more critical evaluation of "Net Information" than is normally needed with printed material, because there is no review process yet. Anyone can put anything on the Net, and they do, and some of it is not reliable or of high quality. By the same token, this "limitation" also represents two new skills that students in the computer age need to develop: learning how to find information on the Net and learning how to assess that information. These are skills that more and more teachers are including on their list of explicit course goals. Use #4: Pre-Packaged Learning Programs The most common form of learning in higher education has long been for teachers and students to come together and learn about a subject together. But there have also been "pockets" of instances where students were given materials along with learning instructions, and told to "learn this material on your own." Lab exercises have often been done this way; correspondence courses are another example. Computers now offer a new way of doing this. Like previous efforts of "Learn this on your own," computers can provide short or long exercises in the form of pre-packaged learning programs. Associated Technology. Such programs are usually made available to learners in two forms: on a CD-ROM or on a website. Both offer the opportunity for storing extensive amounts of information and the opportunity for learners to interact with that material. Advantages. Pre-packaged learning programs that are computer based have several advantages. The first is the accessibility (anytime, anywhere). Second, once created, they are relatively inexpensive to produce in quantity, even on a CD-ROM. Third, the computer has the capability to store large amounts of information (e.g., numbers, images, and sounds) as well as the ability to manipulate large quantities of information. One well-known learning programs available on a CD-ROM is Mathematica; it allows students to explore, interactively, many different kinds of mathematical problems. Another pre-packaged program that illustrates these advantages well comes from the field of music. A professor of music at the North Carolina Institute for Academic Computing, took a piece of classical music, put the recorded sound on a CD-ROM, along with the score, a structural analysis of the score, a dictionary and an encyclopedia of terms associated with that particular piece of music, and made it dynamic and interactive. As a user, you could (a) move forward, stop, or move back, (b) combine the sound and the score, or the sound with a visual representation of the structural analysis, or (c) call up definitions of terms or information about the composer. The fact that all these features could be combined and played with, made this learning package very inviting and exciting, more so in my view, than would have been the case by just listening to a CD recording and even viewing the score simultaneously. Limitations. The big hurdle here is on the production end. Pre-packaged learning programs require a lot of time and effort to produce well. But, once developed, they are relatively inexpensive to reproduce and can be used easily by teachers and students in many different ways. Use #5: Course Management Programs When teaching a course, there are certain tasks that are somewhat apart from the learning process itself but which are a necessary part of the teaching enterprise: keeping track of who is enrolled, keeping a record of grades achieved or points earned, what materials have been distributed, who has re-written papers and who hasn't, etc. For the most part, teachers have done this with paper and pencil records. But now computer programs have been created that allow this to be done on computers. Associated Technology. Basically this function depends on nothing more than having a course management software program that has been designed for this purpose. Some of the popular examples at the present time are Accutrack, GradeQuick, and MicroGrade. Advantages. For the teacher, having one's course records on a computer can make it easier to keep track of large numbers of students and to figure out students' overall grades, especially if there are several components or differential weighting involved in the course grade. For the student, one possible advantage is having on-going access to his or her own grades. Some institutions have made it possible for students to get information about their grades in various courses by accessing certain websites with a password, either by using their own computer or from Information Kiosks located around campus. Limitations. There are no serious limitations for the teacher, other than having to learn the software program well enough to use it easily. If the teacher or the institution take the step of making course grades available to students on a website, then security (i.e., regulating access to that information) and authentication become a major concern. But that appears to be a solvable problem by using logon ID's and personal passwords.
The five different uses described above can be seen as distinct uses, each of which has potential value by itself. One can use computer-based AV presentations alone, and that can be good. Or one can just set up a class listserv, or just put course materials on a course webpage, etc. However many teachers are also finding that it is relatively easy to combine these features and gain additional benefits. Usually the two starting points are (1) setting up a course webpage and (2) assembling the email addresses of the teacher and all students. The teacher can then put new course material on the webpage, and communicate electronically with the students about the course. The students can reply by email, either to the teacher or to other students, with their responses to the course material or their thoughts about the new subject matter. And this can all be done without taking up any class time, or it can be used to get a class ready for a class discussion. The teacher (or the students) can also go the next step and send out the addresses of websites that have information about the subject being studied (= Use #3: Access to New Forms of Information). The teacher or the students can also create some AV material (=Use #1: Enhanced AV Presentations) that can be sent out as an email attachment or put on a webpage. With a little more effort, the teacher can create (or purchase) a pre-packaged learning program (=Use #4) and create access to it on a webpage. Finally, as mentioned earlier, if the teacher uses a course management program (=Use #5), the grades created by this can be put on a secure webpage; this allows all students to privately check their grades after they have turned in some homework, perhaps submitted electronically (=Use #2: New Forms of Communication). One project on my campus that is currently in the pilot testing stage is called CourseNet, and it combines several of these five basic functions in ways that are helpful to teachers. It electronically pulls together information from existing sources on campus, much from Classroom Scheduling, and creates a unique website for every course every semester. A teacher can access this website and get a list of all the courses they are teaching in a given semester. The program automatically puts on this website a list of all students enrolled in their course and their associated directory information: name, photo, email address, etc. The teacher can easily add course materials, identify links to other websites with information about the subject, send email to the whole class or to groups of students or to individual students. The students in turn get a website that lists all of the courses in which they are enrolled in a given semester; they can read the course materials, see links to other websites, and send email to the teacher and/or other students. The value of this program is that it automatically sets up the two key requirements: a website and email addresses. From that point on, the teacher and the students can add any of the other basic components relatively easily.
Some courses or programs have been set up with computers to operate totally with a "distance learning" audience. The teacher is in one location, say Oklahoma, and the students can be in California, New York, or Europe. All transactions are done through the Internet, perhaps supplemented with printed materials sent by mail. But there are no required "live" get-togethers. However most programs are using a combination of computer-based interactions with some live classroom interaction. Two institutions offer good examples of how this can be done well, one at the University of Central Florida and the other at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. For the last several years administrators at the University of Central Florida have been encouraging faculty members to use computers in their teaching and to put their courses online. Many professors said they felt ready and able to put part of their courses online, but not the whole course. In response, the university has created four categories for all courses campus-wide: L = Live, traditional face-to-face courses (i.e., same time, same place learning) M = Computer mediated courses, with reduced seat time W = Fully online (i.e., asynchronous learning) I = Uses interactive video (i.e., same time, not at the same place) The "M" courses are the ones that use a combination of computer-based instructional and "live" classroom experiences. In a typical "M" course, the students meet only one day per week live, in a classroom. On those days, they might work on a problem in small groups, or get an overview lecture for an upcoming topic in the course, or work on a culminating project. All the rest of the course is conducted "online," with a course-specific webpage and electronic communication. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), physics professors have been using something called the "CUPLE Physics Studio" since 1993. (CUPLE = Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment) This approach uses a specially designed room that has 2-person tables arranged in concentric circles, but with students facing away from the front of the room. The tables have space on them to conduct experiments and each has a multi-media, networked computer with which they can work with data and communicate with other students and the teacher. At times, students at adjacent tables will combine to form larger teams to work on more complex problems. The professors at RPI see this approach as providing an interactive, multi-media, computer-based learning environment. It is clearly not lecture based, but it is also one where the students are interacting with more than just the computer.
As college teachers enter the computer age and try to understand what they should do with computers in their teaching, a knowledge of these five fundamental uses should eliminate some of the confusion and provide a sense of direction. Each of these uses fulfills a distinct pedagogical need, and is associated with particular kinds of hardware and software. There are several values in having a clear understanding of these basic uses. First, when reading about new technology or software, teachers should be able to connect these innovations and developments into an educational framework that will indicate the potential value for them as teachers. Second, when reading or hearing what another teacher has done with computers, this framework will clarify what the building blocks or components of the new teaching strategy or activity are. Third, this framework might enable creative and venturesome teachers to create their own innovative uses of computers. For example, they might search for ways of using new forms of information in their course, or new and unusual ways of combining computer-based learning with other forms of learning. The next few years will be exciting to watch as thoughtful teachers explore the benefits and limitations of computers in teaching and learning.
A description of these and other ways of delivering instruction
at the University of Central Florida can be found at the website
for the Center for Distributed Learning there: pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~distrib/dlucf/home.html
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