Each year a plethora of new tools are released, promising solutions to classroom problems, better student engagement, and the keys to unlocking deeper learning. But with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to select the best tool for your goals. How do you know what works? What are others already using?
Here we showcase faculty who have used instructional technology in innovative ways. Explore these examples and use them as inspiration to find new uses for old tools, and to discover emerging tools in academia.
Jeff Kim (College of Building Science)
Using VR in the classroom does not need to be complicated or expensive. In fact, you can start a simple setup for as little as $5 per student and there’s lots of VR content free on the Internet to get you going. In this showcase, I’ll demonstrate various complexities of VR that can be setup for most classrooms.
Kodithuwakku Indika (College of Sciences and Mathematics)
This presentation demonstrates using Zoom meetings to share the iPad screen during lectures. This allows the instructor to walk around the class and write on the screen from anywhere in the room. Zoom can be set up within a minute in any classroom with internet, without special requirements or prior preparation. Students can see what is written via their computer screen if needed, and even can participate in the class from anywhere in the world (with internet).
Karen McNeal (College of Sciences and Mathematics)
The World Climate Simulation is a role-playing exercise of the UN climate change negotiations for groups. This interactive computer model rapidly analyzes the results of the mock negotiations during the event. This technology can be used to build climate change awareness and enable our students to experience some of the dynamics that emerge in the UN climate negotiations. All the materials and tools for World Climate are available for free at the and many are available in multiple languages.
Paris Strom (College of Education)
This presentation will explain the purposes and process for using the Teamwork Skills Inventory to assess teamwork demonstrated by each student in a group of 4 to 6 members. The system is web-based and is being offered for use for free to Auburn University faculty to be used with their students in courses that make use of periodic team-based learning, cooperative learning, and similar approaches.
For more information, Auburn Faculty may contact Paris Strom at stromps@auburn.edu or read more information online at the Teamwork Skills Inventory website.
