Technology Solutions for Teaching and Research

Academic Technology has a new home!

For more information on who we are and what we do, visit http://www.doit.wisc.edu/academic-technology/

Find Ideas

Find ideas for ways your teaching or research needs might be helped through technology.

Get Help & Support

We offer advice and custom development: Learn@UW, web design, streaming media & more.

Discover Technologies

What technologies are available, being used, and recommended at UW-Madison & elsewhere?

Evaluate Effectiveness

Find research papers, survey instruments & results to evaluate how well a solution or method is working.

Recent Blog Posts

2011 ECAR National Study on Undergraduate Students and Information Technology

Submitted by Cheryl Diermyer on Fri, 12/16/2011 - 10:18

Educause has completed the 2011 ECAR National Study on Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. They also have a nice visualization to illustrate their key findings.

Some interesting tidbits:

LTDC West Regional Showcase

Submitted by John Thomson on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 08:17

The UW-System Learning Technology Development Council (LTDC) is holding regional conferences for faculty and instructional support staff to discuss learning technology. Madison is in the West region, and our event will be held in Platteville on Friday, October 7th (program).

Twitter users can follow/post to the #LTDCWRS hash tag. Posts to that tag, as well as comments made during the Showcase will appear in CoverItLive, below.

The short URL for this page is - http://tinyurl.com/ltdcwrs

Building in the Basics: Fundamental of Incorporating Technology into the Classroom Setting

Submitted by Chad Shorter on Thu, 09/15/2011 - 15:08

DoIT Academic Technology and L&S Learning Support Services invite you to join us for the seminar series Principles and Practices of Integrating Technology and Teaching. The first seminar, "Building in the Basics: Fundamental of Incorporating Technology into the Classroom Setting," will be held on September 21, 2011 from 3-4pm in 254 Van Hise Hall. Chad Shorter (DoIT Academic Technology) and Theresa Pesavento (Learning Support Services) will be directing this first seminar.

This year-long seminar series for instructors of all levels explores the practical intersection between technology and teaching, presents various applications for technology in and out of the classroom, and addresses the concerns, questions, and possibilities of teaching with technology.

Email theresa@lss.wisc.edu to RSVP. You can also email her to be added to the seminar series email list to get automatic updates and seminar news.

Guidelines for effective online discussions

Submitted by Chad Shorter on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 14:05

Guidelines for effective online discussions
This resource will help you, as an instructor, consider many factors that contribute to a successful implementation of online discussion in your course.

Variation and incremental development
Not every suggestion provided in this resource will fit every situation. You’ll need to find what works best for your students in the context of your course; an iterative approach will likely be necessary in order to meet your learning goals. Variables like class size and personality, scheduling, and topic might require adjustments. A group with a sense of community established through in-class interaction might seamlessly continue discussions online, while another groups might require more attention.

Risky assumptions

Doing the flip

Submitted by John Thomson on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 12:42

The Active Class has a great post today about doing "the flip." For those of you who are not familiar, the idea behind the flip is to swap when lectures and homework takes place.