Session 7b: Technology in the classroom
Tentative schedule

Format:
Short presentations alternating with active work in groups: sharing information, discussion, and making plans

8:00 a.m. Overview

Presentation (15 min), selected items:

• Why technology (in the classroom)?
• Many different purposes and uses (incl. experimentation, data acquisition, data analysis and numerical analysis, theoretical analysis, visualization, simulation,  presentation, communication, assessment, program organization and administration, ... )
• Proliferation of new and rapidly evolving technologies versus slowly moving traditions: Faculty, student, third party perspectives
• Challenge: Integrate technology into curriculum (as opposed to add-on)

• Workshop participants work in groups according to disciplines (25 min)

(designated leaders for different groups),
(still need volunteers for some disciplines, contact kawski@asu.edu)
• Survey what hard-/software is in use at different institutions
• If any group members are unfamiliar with specific technology, give short introduction/description
• Summarize the purpose and objectives for each technology in use
• Compile available student and faculty resources for each technology at each institution

(compare e.g. Basic EXCEL skills and Basic MAPLE-skills, itemized listings and tutorials from ASU).
• Survey how students are introduced to the technology or how they are expected to master it
• Provide examples how technology is integrated into the curriculum
• Each discipline gives a 10-15 minute presentation summarizing the discussion in each discipline group (total 60 min)

(written summaries to be collected, reproduced, and made available to all participants)
Possible items to be emphasized or be explicitly mentioned:
• Do different institutions use widely different or same/similar technologies?
• Introduce primary technologies from each discipline to participants from other disciplines who may not at all be familiar with purposes, capabilities, etc.
  (here only very brief summaries, more detailed looks in next section)
• Summarize whether resources are adequate, or specify needs and opportunities for coalition wide resources (both for students, e.g. tutorials, and for faculty, e.g. model uses)

10:00 a.m. Featured technologies: A few closer looks (total 60 min)

    Additional volunteers are invited, 5-10 minutes each: Contact  kawski@asu.edu
• ????: Physics, ULI-sensors
• Ron Roedel: Data acquisition using Video-capture
• Louis Everett: Working Model (simulate mechanical systems)
• ????: Data analysis and numerical integration, using EXCEL to even solve PDEs
• ????: Computer algebra systems for exploration, calculation, and visualization
• Matthias Kawski: Visualization and sophomore curriculum-integration using JAVA
• Ed Mottel: Professional presentations by students using Powerpoint
• ????: Assessment using the WWW
• ????: Student communications beyond e-mail, e.g. WWW-forum

Again grouped by disciplines (10 min)
• Report successful cross-diciplinary utilization of technologies
• Identify which other technologies from other discipline might be useful in one's own discipline
• Prepare a "sales pitch" targeted at other discipline to utilize "our" technology in "their" classes
Present a summary of findings to entire group, followed by discussion (total 20 min)
 

• Short presentation: (5 min)
• The need to time the introduction of new software packages so students are not overwhelmed
• Perceived lack (by students) of formal assessment of acquired technology literacy
• Grouped according to fresh(wo)men/sophomore/third year programs, by institutions or other interest groups (15 min)
• Create a week-by-week calendar when students will be introduced to various technologies
• Identify conflicts, and possible improvements to better coordinate when to introduce major new software (emphasizing cross utilization)
• Identify who (e.g. person or which discipline) will be responsible for coordinating introduction of shared technologies (computer accounts, navigating campus networks, network printing, e-mail, WWW, Windows, Office Suites,...)
• Identify ways to utilize coalition infrastructure to share resources: Clearly identify individuals who will be responsible for locating or creating resources.
• Identify when and how acquired technology literacies will be formally assessed (or explain why this is not needed)
• Brief presentation from each group summarizing achievements of this workshop (total 10 min) (also: Plus-Delta forms to be collected)

(e.g. what was learnt, which calendars, programs, improved coordination, which plans for future actions have been made)