Technology-Based Instructional Supplements for Your Class - How are They Changing Instruction and Learning Outcomes?

In this session the presenters along with the audience will explore the use of technology-based supplements that are marketed as a tool to assist faculty with instruction and students with improved learning outcomes.  The... [ view full abstract ]

In this session the presenters along with the audience will explore the use of technology-based supplements that are marketed as a tool to assist faculty with instruction and students with improved learning outcomes.  The goal of the discussion will be to share the experiences of the authors with the attending faculty; encourage participation by sharing experiences of those attending; discuss the value of these supplements; and talk about what supplements can add to or detract from the learning environment of a class.  

Particular attention will be paid to currently available supplements that accompany the books faculty use and require the students to purchase.  How the publishing company book representatives market the whole package of textbook and the supplemental products will be discussed as well.  Book representatives may offer to package the many combinations at a reduced cost as part of the bargaining process to adopt their products.  To support using these supplements they provide statistics of improved student grades with the use of their supplements.  Like any tool its effectiveness depends on the quality of the tool but also on how the tool is used.

For the typical textbook adoption there are many things to consider in addition to the actual textbook itself.  Many of the textbooks come with the options of choosing hard backed text, paperback text, loose leaf notebook style or electronic version of the text.  Then for the textbook supplements it has become typical to have faculty lecture slides, student lecture slides, student solutions manual, homework on-line, lecture videos, computational software and possibly simulation software.  Faculty have to decide what they will require for student purchase and what is optional for use at the student’s discretion.

This session will encourage audience members to join in this discussion by sharing their experiences with classroom supplements.  Faculty can make better selections by learning from others about the things that have worked and the things that have failed to achieve the desired or expected results.  The supplements session participants can learn of the best practices of others in the overall desire of most faculty to improve the delivery process of information in the classroom.  Participants will also be able to share their students’ reactions to the use of the technology-based supplements.