personal technological devices, such as phones and laptops, are ubiquitous in society as well as the classroom. their use is banned outright by some professors and encouraged by others, but just as outside of the classroom, the exact role and extent they should be used is still being explored. dr. daniela d\u2019eugenio<\/strong>, a senior lecturer in the department of french and italian, may have found a balance. she uses her innovative and selective policies for students\u2019 use of technology to maximize their learning.<\/p>\n
nowhere in d\u2019eugenio\u2019s syllabi does she ban phones or laptops. in fact, her syllabi specifically mention students will need a device capable of recording their voice, such as a phone. this is because, rather than just have students conduct a monologue or dialogue in front of her, she\u2019ll have them record and then send them to her. d\u2019eugenio developed this technique out of necessity when teaching at a large university in which she couldn\u2019t get to each student during a single class. now here at vanderbilt, d\u2019eugenio still finds that this use of technology benefits students\u2019 learning.<\/p>\n
d\u2019eugenio has found that recording with a phone makes students more comfortable. it turns a nervous recitation in front of a professor into a more conversational, student-driven activity that could also be done in a non-academic context. it makes the process of learning another language less intimidating and encourages student agency as well as self-review, because they have a record of their performance. additionally, it spawns problem-solving because any knowledge gap or miscommunication must be worked through without d\u2019eugenio directly supervising.<\/p>\n
other forms of selective technology use in d\u2019eugenio\u2019s classrooms include top hat and interactive google docs that the class can access to guide activities or accompany videos watched in class. for example, she uses hypertext and video<\/a> to help students understand a text that teaches them about italian fashion and reflexive verbs. the technology here allows students who are just beginning their second semester of italian to understand text that would otherwise be beyond their grasp.<\/p>\n
for more ideas about selective technology use in the classroom, check out the cft\u2019s leading lines ed tech podcast<\/a>, cft director derek bruff\u2019s upcoming book, intentional technology<\/a>, and our cft quick-start guide to top hat<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"