CRLT Instructional Technology Services & Programs
CRLT provides consultation services to individuals and departments on the integration of technology into teaching, including distance education. Consultation services and programs can include:
Assistance in selecting appropriate technologies for teaching
Technology such as the Internet and the Web can provide invaluable resources for our students both in and outside of class. It is, however, a challenge to choose technologies that can help instructors achieve their instructional goals. CRLT helps faculty learn and understand various technologies and select tools that can enhance teaching and learning. CRLT supports all UM faculty in their efforts to learn to use technology by providing individual consultations, seminars, and demonstrations.
Discussion of issues related to teaching with technology
For most faculty, teaching with technology is a novel experience, though it may soon become as common as teaching with the chalkboard, the overhead, and the VCR. Faculty may have various questions and concerns about using technology in teaching. Through informal gatherings such as brown bags and rountables, CRLT provides opportunities for both novice and experienced technology users to engage in general and discipline-specific dialogues about teaching with technology.
Evaluation of the impact of technology on learning and teaching
Faculty may wonder whether technology enhances teaching and student learning. CRLT staff can assist faculty in evaluating the impact of technology on teaching and learning in a single course, a program, or an entire curriculum. CRLT staff can help faculty plan and design evaluation instruments through individual consultation or collaboration with colleagues in the Duderstadt Center (using the Flashlight program).
Exploration of new ways of teaching with technology
CRLT plans or sponsors organized programs that provide faculty with opportunities to learn how technologies can be used to support scholarly endeavors and meet pedagogical goals and learning objectives. CRLT assists faculty participants in designing courses that use technological tools and computer applications to support learning and teaching and encourages them to share ideas about the effective design and pedagogical use of technologies in the classroom.
Individual coaching and consulting related to instructional software
This service is provided especially to those instructors who have limited technology skills and/or find that most workshops do not fit their learning needs. CRLT provides individual coaching and consultation to those instructors who want to use university-supported instructional software programs such as CourseTools, web page editors, and PowerPoint.
Design and development of instructional materials
When instructors start using technologies, they may need to re-design and develop their courses. This process might include rethinking student learning activities and class assignments, reexamining course objectives, and developing some new instructional materials and resources such as course web pages and online discussion boards. CRLT can assist instructors who are planning to teach with technology and help them design and develop courses through collaboration with other support units on campus.