TECHNOLOGY IN THE TEACHING OF NEUROSCIENCE: ENHANCED STUDENT LEARNING

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Griffin

The primary motivation for integrating any form of education technology into a particular course or curriculum should always be to enhance student learning. However, it can be difficult to determine which technologies will be the most appropriate and effective teaching tools. Through the alignment of technology-enhanced learning experiences with a clear set of learning objectives, teaching becomes more efficient and effective and learning is truly enhanced. In this article, I describe how I have made extensive use of technology in two neuroscience courses that differ in structure and content. Course websites function as resource centers and provide a forum for student interaction. PowerPoint presentations enhance formal lectures and provide an organized outline of presented material. Some lectures are also supplemented with interactive CD-ROMs, used in the presentation of difficult physiological concepts. In addition, a computer-based physiological recording system is used in laboratory sessions, improving the hands-on experience of group learning while reinforcing the concepts of the research method. Although technology can provide powerful teaching tools, the enhancement of the learning environment is still dependent on the instructor. It is the skill and enthusiasm of the instructor that determines whether technology will be used effectively.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 634-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Walls

This article focuses on the non-medical prescribing (NMP) module for community prescribers in a nurse education context. The module mainly attracts registered nurses (RNs) from community settings (such as health visiting, school nursing, district nursing and practice nursing), and is provided in higher education institutions (HEIs) as part of a specialist programme or a continuing workforce development module. The article discusses changes to the way the module was taught that can enhance student learning within the NMP module and facilitate wider success and confidence among community nurse prescribers. The move from Nursing and Midwifery Council standards for prescribing to a single competency framework from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has encouraged academics to revisit teaching strategies and consider an approach that offers wider student participation in learning. The use of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) in HEIs is part of national recommendations to improve the student experience and increase success.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Andres Neyem ◽  
Juan Diaz-Mosquera ◽  
Jose I. Benedetto

Capstone project-based courses offer a favorable environment for the development of student skills through an approach incorporating theoretical and practical components. However, it is often difficult to successfully coordinate between students, stakeholders, and the academic team. The absence of suitable tools for addressing this issue, along with time constraints, often prevents students from attaining the expected course outcomes. This raises the question “How can we improve project management skills in computing majors through the use of technology-enhanced learning environments?” This paper presents a Cloud-based mobile system for supporting project management under a framework of best practices in software engineering capstone courses. The Kanban approach was used as a core of the proposed system. Kanban boards are very popular in the software industry today. It has been empirically shown that they provide increased motivation and project activity control due to their inherent simplicity. This helps the students and academic team be aware of the project context as it aids in preventing ambiguities, flaws, or uncertainties in the development of software artifacts.


Author(s):  
David L. Neumann ◽  
Michelle M. Neumann ◽  
Michelle Hood

<span>The discipline of statistics seems well suited to the integration of technology in a lecture as a means to enhance student learning and engagement. Technology can be used to simulate statistical concepts, create interactive learning exercises, and illustrate real world applications of statistics. The present study aimed to better understand the use of such applications during lectures from the student's perspective. The technology used included multimedia, computer-based simulations, animations, and statistical software. Interviews were conducted on a stratified random sample of 38 students in a first year statistics course. The results showed three global effects on student learning and engagement: showed the practical application of statistics, helped with understanding statistics, and addressed negative attitudes towards statistics. The results are examined from within a blended learning framework and the benefits and drawbacks to the integration of technology during lectures are discussed.</span>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gülsüm Aşıksoy

Technology enhanced learning is a wide area that covers all uses of digital technology to support learning and teaching activities. The computer-based concept mapping has shown potential in enhancing meaningful learning in education. Concept mapping is an important tool that is used in the field of education to help students in understanding the basic concepts and the relationships between them. This research proposes a computer-based concept mapping (CBCM) environment combined with Google classroom to help students reduce their misconceptions and to improve their problem solving skills. Furthermore, it examines the effect of CBCM on the sustainability of concept learning according to student views. The participants were first-year engineering students. The study was conducted in a physics class, and a true-experimental design was used. The experimental group students learned with the Google classroom combined with computer-based concept mapping (CBCM), while the concept group students learned with Google classroom and the traditional method. Data were collected from a physics concept test, problem solving inventory, and semi-structured interviews. The research results indicated that teaching in the CBCM environment combined with Google Classroom provides meaningful learning by correcting the misconceptions of the students. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the problem solving skills of the experimental group as compared to the control group. According to the students’ views, it was determined that CBCM enhances the sustainability of concept learning. The results of this study can help educators and researchers to integrate computer-based concept mapping (CBCM) techniques into Google Classroom.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Casanova ◽  
António Moreira

This paper presents a comprehensive model for supporting informed and critical discussions concerning the quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Blended Learning programmes. The model aims to support discussions around domains such as how institutions are prepared, the participants' background and expectations, the course design, and the learning process. The research that supported the design of this model was framed by a Grounded Theory method, combining different approaches to empirical data collection with a review of evaluation models on aspects of the quality of Online and Distance Learning. Throughout the paper, arguments are made that Higher Education institutions need to be more critical with regard to the use of Technology-Enhanced Learning, and to support it as a counterpart to face-to-face learning and teaching. The model provides a framework for teachers in Higher Education to reflect and discuss the quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in their Blended Learning programmes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hall

PurposeThis paper sets out to argue that the strategic implementation of technology is implicated in a range of crises or socio‐economic disruptions, like peak oil, climate change and the rising environmental costs of energy consumption. It aims to argue that institutional technological implementation is contested, complex and should not be treated deterministically, but that technologists might usefully consider the impact of these disruptions on their practices. The paper seeks to amplify how a focus on resilience, rather than marketised outcomes, can enable higher education to use technology to overcome or adapt to disruption and crises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a critique. A conceptual analysis of the place of current research into the use of technology‐enhanced learning in higher education is critiqued in light of peak oil and climate change, in order to align strategic developments with disruptions and potential responses. The strategic response of one institution is outlined as a programme‐of‐work, and is related to a second university's approach.FindingsThe paper highlights five areas that require strategic responses to the use of technology in and for HE. These are: the place of TEL in the idea of the University; complexity in the use of technology, linked to shared values; adapting to disruption; institutional planning; and competing priorities for the use of technology.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the educational connections that are made between the politics of technology, shared values and socio‐environmental disruption. It also analyses a programme of work that is designed to engage with and adapt to disruption.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-205
Author(s):  
Chin-Chung Tsai

Purpose The purpose of this papers is to provide an overview of how students and teachers in Taiwan conceptualize learning, especially in technology-enhanced learning environments. Their conceptions of learning reveal the extent to which the prevalence of technological use in education has facilitated students to cultivate a more advanced conception of learning and develop a deeper learning approach. Design/methodology/approach It reviews a total of nine relevant case studies, covering the contexts of conventional schools (from elementary schools to college, and cram schools) as well as technology-enhanced environments (internet-assisted learning and mobile learning); and participants from Grade 2 students to adult learners as well as teachers. Their conceptions of learning and preferred learning approaches are summarized. Findings Results of the studies show the Taiwanese students’ and teachers’ conceptions of learning in general and of technology-enhanced learning in particular. The students tended to be passive learners to receive instructions and considered examinations as a short-term goal for their study, with surface learning approaches commonly adopted. Despite technology may help to promote their cultivation of a more sophisticated conception of learning, many of them still opted for rote memorization and practice as the major ways to study. The potentials of technology in enhancing learning thus have not been fully realized. Originality/value The results shed light on an Asian-specific educational culture which is exam oriented. They reveal the challenges regarding the use of technology in education, which hinder the promotion of students’ advanced conceptions of learning. They also highlight the directions of future work to create a more accessible and gratifying technology-enhanced environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinan Gürleyik ◽  
Elif Akdemir

Developing curriculum to enhance student learning is the primer purpose of all curricular activities. Availability of recent tools supporting to teach various skills including reading, listening, speaking and writing has opened a new avenue for curricular activities in technology-enhanced learning environments. Understanding the perceptions of students utilizing technology-enhanced learning environments to learn second language skills is important to develop the curriculum. This study is organized to investigate the perceptions of students towards second language learning in technology-enhanced learning environments in which students can develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills for the second language learning. The survey was used to collect data from 875 undergraduate students involved in technology-enhanced second language learning environments in a university. Contrary to general expectations, results of the study indicated that technology-enhanced learning environments do not positively influence the perceptions of undergraduate students for the second language learning. Further research should concentrate on investigating the reasons behind these findings using qualitative studies.


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