Learning with Technology

Advancement of technology can open doors to new human endeavors. Automobiles and airplanes made global overnight delivery service possible. Laundry machines and washing machines allow us to spend more time with family members. And so on.

Likewise, the advancement of computer technology can provide learners various means to explore new territories and allow educators to spend more time with their students engaging in higher cognitive skills. We are witnessing an unprecedented advancement of electronic technology and the resulting flood of educational tools. Tech-savvy or -curious educators have no shortage in options to consider to improve the learning environment for their students.

Below I list some of the tools that (I think) may merit attentive considerations.

When I consider new tools, I remind myself that “new wine is for fresh wineskins” (Mk 2:22, ESV). I believe that the converse of this dictum is also true, that is, new wineskins (technology) is best used to hold new wine (andragogy). That means I should not try to wrap my course design around my favorite electronic tools, but rather, start with concrete course goals, choose an evidence-based andragogical platform, and then seek if there are computerized tools that can support the selected goal and platform.

Perusall

Perusall makes reading assignments fun by making it a social experience. Students get access to reading assignments (textbook, notes, etc.) and read them online through Perusall. As they read, they annotate the reading material with comments and questions. Anyone can read and reply to the posted comments and annotations. These reading/annotation activities can be graded by the quality, quantity, timeliness, and distribution of the annotations.

CATME

CATME provides tools for organizing and evaluating teamwork.

Overleaf

Overleaf is a web-based $\LaTeX$ document editor and compiler. Because it is web-based, it makes sharing $\LaTeX$ documents all the easier. All of this makes teaching how to use $\LaTeX$ so much easier because the hardest part of learning $\LaTeX$ is in setting it up, and Overleaf takes care of that part; moreover, the instructor can share $\LaTeX$ templates which students can directly open via Overleaf. So the students can start editing and produce professionally looking documents in no time.