Why and How Colleges and Universities Should Leverage Technology Mentoring to Maximize Faculty’s Technology Integration Efforts

Abstract

The demand for postsecondary and online courses is rising, requiring colleges and universities to turn to technology to keep up with the trend. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the higher education transition to online teaching, forcing faculty to use technology to teach. Although technology is ubiquitous in higher education and indispensable for meeting students’ needs, many institutions struggle to train faculty to teach with technology. Simply put, traditional technology training and workshops fail to prepare faculty for success in technology-driven teaching environments. Conversely, research indicates that technology mentoring seems promising in enabling faculty to learn and use technology. Consequently, this paper, informed by three components of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework, draws on the literature on technology mentoring to discuss why and how more colleges and universities should leverage technology mentoring to develop their faculty members’ technological, pedagogical, and technological pedagogical knowledge. Suggestions for future research are provided.