Paradigm Shift toward Student Engagement in Technology Mediated Courses

Abstract

University recruitment websites continue to show students happily using technology in the higher education environment. Exactly how technology is used in the teaching and learning process continues to challenge and frustrate university instructors and students. A frequent depiction of college classrooms consists of an instructor lecturing from the front of the classroom and reprimanding students for talking to each other. In this paradigm, the professor is the “sage on the stage” and is the single transmitter of knowledge. Is this teaching and learning approach the most effective way to educate students? With recent discoveries about how students learn most optimally, and how technology can augment the process, a paradigm shift is required towards appropriate and intentional implementation of technology tools for engaging students to use higher-order thinking skills. This chapter explores the use and application of free digital tools that both improve and in turn enhance the learning process.