Leveraging Technology Effectively: Part 4

In the fourth article in this series, we’ll explore ways that learners can make progress toward meeting the Leveraging Technology competency.

By Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning

In this fourth article of the series on the Leveraging Technology Student Competency, we'll explore ways that learners can develop the skills needed for this competency. Included in each section are suggestions for activities and links to resources.

Modelling the leveraging of technology

If we want learners to use GenAI responsibly, we need to model that for them, not just tell them to do it. The same is true if you want learners to create Panopto videos, clear and concise PowerPoint slides, or to evaluate web resources.

The following are some resources and supports for instructors who want help developing their own competencies related to learning technologies. You can also contact the GMCTL for assistance.

Low-stakes practice for learners

Students learn best when they are able to practice demonstrating what they've learned, particularly under low-stakes circumstances. Formative assessment, which involves ungraded practice and feedback, is a key part of good assessment practices. Some formative activities for individual students related to leveraging technology include:

  • Have learners use USearch to find a peer-reviewed article on a topic they are planning to do a larger project on. Have them send you a link to the article and a brief justification as to why they chose it.
  • Have learners use Copilot to draft an outline for a paper or project based on ideas and themes they've developed through in-class discussions. They'll need to polish it, check for accuracy and ensure that any sources indicated are valid.
  • Have learners choose an appropriate technology for a task related to a larger assessment. They'll need to include a justification of why they chose that technology.

Resources that may be useful for instructors and learners include:

Collaboration

Among the other USask Student Competencies is the competency Nurturing Successful Relationships. Learners can develop key skills through collaboration, including with learning technologies, while gaining competency in developing and maintaining both personal and professional relationships. Some potential activities include:

Learning from a guide

Students often need a guide when learning something new. This may be an instructor, librarian, another student, or even online resources from outside of the institution. Some examples of what this might look like for instructors at USask are:

  • Hire a graduate student (you can access funding for this!) to help with an open pedagogy project using Pressbooks, where the graduate student shows the learners how to use Pressbooks for the project.
  • Schedule a time for your Library Liaison to introduce students to using USearch.
  • Either the course instructor or another instructor in the program can demonstrate how to use discipline-specific technologies and provide opportunities for learners to practice using them. 

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In the final article in this series, we’ll share ideas to navigating changes in technologies used and ideas how to integrate and leverage technology at the program level.

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Articles in the series - Leveraging Technology Effectively:

 

Title image credit: Armin Rimoldi on Pexels.com
This resource is shared by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, under a CC BY-NC-SA license.