The influence on education of technologies and the ever-expanding tools and resources of Web 2.0 and their learning spaces cannot be denied (Pollard & Pollard, 2004-05; Grant et al., 2006; JISC, 2009, Hung & Yuen, 2010). This is evidenced by growing numbers of online courses, increasing budgets for hardware and software, proliferation of educational technology corporations and abundance of digital technology use surveys and research studies. As a result of these technological developments, “higher education has a key role in helping students refine, extend and articulate the diverse range of skills they have developed through their experience of Web 2.0 technologies” (JISC 2009, p. 9).
This presentation will discuss what university instructors say about their experiences with and knowledge of digital technologies for teaching and learning and how digital technologies impact content, pedagogy and culture in higher education classrooms. The research data come from a review of the literature and a version of the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) survey (Schmidt et al., 2009-10; used with permission) administered to instructors at our university, as well as face-to-face interviews. TPACK is a framework for both research and teaching that measures three domains of knowledge—content, pedagogy and technology—and their interconnectedness. The findings will contribute to the understanding of instructor competencies and shift in university culture required for full integration of technology with content and pedagogy and will inform future professional development activities at our institution.
Of Interest to: Online and distance education, Post-secondary education, K-12 educators, Instructional designers, Researchers, Educational technologists, Administrators
