Beyond the Disciplinary Divide:
The Role of Technology in the Classroom
 

Tami Eggleston
Brenda Boudreau

            One of the most exciting things about using technology beyond the obvious positive impact it has in the classroom is the ability to collaborate with colleagues across disciplines.  In the past, much of our collaborative work was done with individuals within our own fields (in our cases, psychology and English).  Through our use of technology in the classroom, however, we are no longer restricted to our own discipline-specific teaching and scholarship.  In crossing this disciplinary divide, we have found ways to productively work together on a variety of projects, enriching and energizing our understanding of the pedagogical potential of a technologically enhanced classroom.  Perhaps most importantly, we have found that to use technology in the classroom effectively, one must first take the time to articulate pedagogical objectives before using the technology.

             We will admit that in the beginning of our experience we simply used the technology because we could.  We label this stage of our development as the “bells and whistles” stage; we simply used the technology because we thought it was exciting and new.  As we worked together, however, we realized that no matter how clever a particular technology tool might be, if it was not enhancing learning in some significant way, it was basically useless.  We therefore started to clearly articulate the pedagogical rationale behind the activities we we were using within the classroom.  Of course, these are steps individuals can take, but we have found that sharing new ideas and insights with other people with whom one can collaborate encourages people to articulate their pedagogical rationales, but it also helps morale.  It helps to bounce ideas off of each other, to describe frustrations or difficulties, and to share effective strategies and assignments.

 We have been fortunate through this grant from Ameritech to travel to many campuses  throughout  Illinois.  As we have met colleagues across the state, we find that we have many of the same issues and concerns involving technology in the classroom.  Simply knowing that we are not alone is reassuring.  As we share ideas with other faculty, we find that many of us  are facing the same challenges and opportunities.  Some of the common issues include funding for new technology, priorities for spending and implementation, the function of a technology advising committee, filtering of internet information, student usage of the internet (e.g., music and video), technology for the library, academic versus administration computing needs, effective staffing of computer labs, faculty training, and rewarding faculty for involvement in technology.  As we visited these colleges, we also took several pictures of some interesting things that different colleges are implementing-- from the information technology student worker bulletin board in Augustana this is kind of confusing description here (see picture 1) to the innovative lab design of stacked computer workstations at Illinois Wesleyan (see picture 2).  What we have found as we collaborate with other individuals is that ideas that they view as small and simple can be wonderful additions or starting points for other educators.

 In addition, through our involvement with the Associated Colleges of Illinois, we have been involved in a program called “Teaching and Learning Mentors (TLMs). ” doesn’t need the quotes around it. As TLMs we have had the opportunity to attend ACI/Ameritech workshops on such topics as the flip curriculum, the writing process and technology, and Flashlight. Not only has technology helped us to cross the disciplinary divide, but thanks to these initiatives,  technology has also helped us to form bridges and networks with other like-minded colleagues across the state.

We are proud to say that many of the articles in this online journal come from the group of TLMs in Illinois with whom we have had the pleasure of working. e hope to continue working together with Illinois educators on the challenges and opportunities of technology  in the future.  We hope that some of the articles will inspire you to try new technologies and to help you articulate your pedagogical challenges and utilize some of the interesting technologies available. The first section includes articles on a wide range of topics.  Several of the articles are particularly relevant to faculty members in education. In his essay “Undergraduate Educational Technology Course Development,” Jon Basden describes an undergraduate educational technology course for education majors taught at McKendree College. In Ken Grodjesk’s essay “An Electronic Portfolio Project,”  he describes his portfolio project at Monmouth College.  In the next essay, Anne Jordon Baker and Judy Fiene from Elmhurst College provide us with an innovative way to use electronic mailing lists in their essay “Addressing the State’s Teacher Shortage: Mentoring Pre-Service and Novice Teachres to be Reflective Practitioners Via an Electronic Mailing List.” 

Technology is changing the way we understand education in broader ways as well, as is made clear in the essay “The Book-Past, Present and Future: (r)Evolutionary (e)Books.” In this essay William Harroff of McKendree College and Charlotte Johnson of Southern Illinois University share exciting ideas about electronic books; it is clear that technology is changing the way we think about books and libraries. 

Many of the articles also offer more practical advice for using technology.  So, for example, Donna Oestreich-Hart from Greenville College encourages us to the get the most out of Microsoft Word in her essay “Making Paper Grading Easier Using Macros.”  In the “Technology Tips” Shawn Beattie from Augustana College shares his expertise on videoconferencing and provides information on i-movies  Pat Petit from Millikin University provides steps to use Excel for gradebooks, which can often be exported from course management systems. 

 We also invited contributions from a more distant college to suggest how these concerns really do cross disciplinary as well as geographic boundaries.  In Digital Internships: Augmenting I/O Internships With an Online Course in Organizational Psychology" Daniel L. C. DeNeui from Elon University in North Carolina shares ideas for using electronic mailing lists with internships.  Gabie Smith, also from Elon University, provides us with student perceptions of technology in the classroom through a survey she conducted with students, reminding us all that we share the same objective--improving student learning.

 We want to thank this first set of pioneers in technology who were willing not only to try these innovative things, but to share them. Many of the individuals did not that their ideas were important or significant enough to share with others. We believe, however that many of the ideas will be novel and new to many of the readers and all of the ideas can be expanded and modified to fit your own particular needs and challenges. As you can see from the essays included here, , technology clearly crosses the disciplinary divide.  Equally exciting is that it allows educators to cross a geographical divide—we can work with colleagues from around the state to help us use technology to enhance student learning in the most effective ways.