This half-day, ComETS program was sponsored by the Libraries and DoIt. Dr. Carl Berger shared research done at the University of Michigan and a university in Australia to take results from technology surveys to begin to identify characteristics of particular groups of users (e.g. faculty who are digital natives). The presentation focused on the characteristics of “millennial instructors,” or individuals who have both a teaching and learning role on college campuses (TAs, instructors pursuing additional degrees).
I found a few aspects of Berger’s research particularly interesting:
- students and faculty were given identical questionnaires so that comparisons could be conducted across groups. Berger’s presentation provided a variety of comparisons across groups that I hadn’t seen before.
- Most faculty felt proficient using technology in their research, but relatively few felt proficient using technology in their teaching. What can we learn from the use of technology in research that we could use to promote use of technology in teaching?
The breakout groups considered examples of instructors we worked with to consider a central question: ours was about how to share innovations (pedagogical and effective use of technology in the classroom) across courses. The notes from the breakouts will be available on the ComETS web site.
