Friday
Dec311999
140 - Trouble Teaching Old Faculty New Tricks
December 31, 1999
1. Trouble Teaching Old Faculty New Tricks: Study Released - Kristin Barton, our Director of Development, passes along the following study hot off the press. The study found that a large percentage of faculty in
higher education institutions were slow adopters of technology for teaching and were feeling some difficulty in keeping up with the ever changing world of technology. Here is a segment of the story from the Associated Press:
"As college students research papers on the Internet and manipulate numbers on spreadsheets, their professors are feeling a little less in tune with the newest computer trends. Two out of three professors say they are stressed trying to keep up with the emerging technology, surpassing traditional troubles such as publishing pressure and teaching loads, according to a new national survey of university faculty.
Researchers say they may be not be using the technology because they are scared by it, which means they never learn how it works or how to handle it calmly.
"The level of stress resulting from information technology is quite likely a reflection of the time faculty invest in computer use," said Linda Sax, a researcher who directed the faculty survey at the University of California,
Los Angeles.
Nearly nine in 10 college instructors agreed that "student use of computers enhances their learning." But only 35 percent use the Internet to conduct research, and just 38 percent use technology to create class presentations.
By contrast, 87 percent use computers to send e-mail and 85 percent use them to write memos or letters.
Like most of his peers, Thomas King, a theology professor at Georgetown University, said he doesn't use computers for classroom presentations.
"I just don't have the time. I don't have the time to use everything they come up with," he said. King uses e-mail, calling it a "very nice development" for keeping up with friends and colleagues. But he said even
that can be cumbersome. "I just get so many messages that it's a real chore," he said.
The 34,000 faculty members surveyed by mail in the 1998-99 academic year represent 378 of the nation's two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The survey suggests that colleges, like the nation's
elementary and secondary schools, have a way to go in preparing teachers for their technically savvy students."
2. TechLearn '99 Case Studies Announced! Corporate Training Managers Present Inside Perspectives: Training managers from over 30 major corporations including McDonald's, Chase Manhattan Bank, NatWest Group, The Limited, Proctor & Gamble, NASA, Oracle, The World Bank, The National Guard, Hills Pet Nutrition and many others are leading one hour structured discussions on their implementation of learning and technology. A list of over 30 of these case studies is now online at http://www.techlearn99.com/cstudy/ Each corporation will answer these questions about their implementation:
* What was the business problem or challenge?
* What were your choices for solutions and why did you choose this one?
* What happened - the nuts and bolts! Cost, resources, steps and decisions.
* What were the positive and negative results?
* If you were to do it all over again, how would you do it differently?
Registration for TechLearn '99 (Oct 31 to Nov 3, 1999 in Orlando, FL) is now 1,903...with a design limit of 2,500 paid attendees. If you would like to make a reservation (while space is still available), go to
http://www.techlearn.com
3. Nancy Weingarten Leaves Post as Editor of Inside Technology Training Magazine. Nancy Weingarten, a long time colleague and sometimes competitor, has announced her final issue as Publisher of Inside Technology Training Magazine (which was recently sold by Ziff Davis to Lakewood Publications). Nancy has served the learning industry for over 20 years and has birthed many of the key conferences and publications. Nancy brought the spotlight to the world of IT Training (then called Data Training) and has consistently advocated for the growth of the learning and technology industry. While Nancy and I had competitive conferences over the years, we also had a great time chatting about the world of learning and the
possibilities for technology as a tool for corporate training. We look forward to seeing Nancy's future efforts in this field. Hats off to you, Nancy!
4. Learning Quotation: Deming
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
- W. Edwards Deming
Upcoming MASIE Center Events:
TechLearn '99 - http://www.techlearn.com
higher education institutions were slow adopters of technology for teaching and were feeling some difficulty in keeping up with the ever changing world of technology. Here is a segment of the story from the Associated Press:
"As college students research papers on the Internet and manipulate numbers on spreadsheets, their professors are feeling a little less in tune with the newest computer trends. Two out of three professors say they are stressed trying to keep up with the emerging technology, surpassing traditional troubles such as publishing pressure and teaching loads, according to a new national survey of university faculty.
Researchers say they may be not be using the technology because they are scared by it, which means they never learn how it works or how to handle it calmly.
"The level of stress resulting from information technology is quite likely a reflection of the time faculty invest in computer use," said Linda Sax, a researcher who directed the faculty survey at the University of California,
Los Angeles.
Nearly nine in 10 college instructors agreed that "student use of computers enhances their learning." But only 35 percent use the Internet to conduct research, and just 38 percent use technology to create class presentations.
By contrast, 87 percent use computers to send e-mail and 85 percent use them to write memos or letters.
Like most of his peers, Thomas King, a theology professor at Georgetown University, said he doesn't use computers for classroom presentations.
"I just don't have the time. I don't have the time to use everything they come up with," he said. King uses e-mail, calling it a "very nice development" for keeping up with friends and colleagues. But he said even
that can be cumbersome. "I just get so many messages that it's a real chore," he said.
The 34,000 faculty members surveyed by mail in the 1998-99 academic year represent 378 of the nation's two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The survey suggests that colleges, like the nation's
elementary and secondary schools, have a way to go in preparing teachers for their technically savvy students."
2. TechLearn '99 Case Studies Announced! Corporate Training Managers Present Inside Perspectives: Training managers from over 30 major corporations including McDonald's, Chase Manhattan Bank, NatWest Group, The Limited, Proctor & Gamble, NASA, Oracle, The World Bank, The National Guard, Hills Pet Nutrition and many others are leading one hour structured discussions on their implementation of learning and technology. A list of over 30 of these case studies is now online at http://www.techlearn99.com/cstudy/ Each corporation will answer these questions about their implementation:
* What was the business problem or challenge?
* What were your choices for solutions and why did you choose this one?
* What happened - the nuts and bolts! Cost, resources, steps and decisions.
* What were the positive and negative results?
* If you were to do it all over again, how would you do it differently?
Registration for TechLearn '99 (Oct 31 to Nov 3, 1999 in Orlando, FL) is now 1,903...with a design limit of 2,500 paid attendees. If you would like to make a reservation (while space is still available), go to
http://www.techlearn.com
3. Nancy Weingarten Leaves Post as Editor of Inside Technology Training Magazine. Nancy Weingarten, a long time colleague and sometimes competitor, has announced her final issue as Publisher of Inside Technology Training Magazine (which was recently sold by Ziff Davis to Lakewood Publications). Nancy has served the learning industry for over 20 years and has birthed many of the key conferences and publications. Nancy brought the spotlight to the world of IT Training (then called Data Training) and has consistently advocated for the growth of the learning and technology industry. While Nancy and I had competitive conferences over the years, we also had a great time chatting about the world of learning and the
possibilities for technology as a tool for corporate training. We look forward to seeing Nancy's future efforts in this field. Hats off to you, Nancy!
4. Learning Quotation: Deming
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
- W. Edwards Deming
Upcoming MASIE Center Events:
TechLearn '99 - http://www.techlearn.com
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