The Interfolio Blog

In an article in Campus Technology yesterday, Trent Batson discusses the struggle those is higher ed have had with technology in recent years, and makes a compelling and refreshing argument as to why technology matters... even if you aren't using it. 

Many times, I think professors are comfortable with the argument that they don't need to incorporate technology into their classrooms, nor do they have to. It's not too hard to see why many would argue a 19th century literature class isn't in desperate need of a technological update.

But, Batson argues, this is no reason to assume you don't need to understand the latest technology from another vantage point - the human vantage point. Even if you're not using the latest technology or joining Facebook and Twitter, many of your students are, and they are using smartphones, laptops and other technologies daily. 

This impacts the way they see the world, the way they look for and engage with information, the way they research, the way they connect with the other people important to them, the way they form groups, and the way they learn. Technology has had an integral and long-lasting effect on the classroom, and the professor's acceptance of and interest in technology will affect how the student learns, regardless of subject. As Batson notes, "To a student in a class who is busy e-mailing or texting with someone outside the classroom, the classroom walls are permeable and irrelevant: Conversations for him or her are going on that either compete with or augment in-class conversations, depending on whether the teacher is resistant to or comfortable with social media."

The main point is that even if you're not using technology in the classroom on a regular basis, you still need to understand its significance to the people you are instructing. Making this shift in understanding why technology is a major aspect of teaching across every discipline could be a huge step in helping universities and colleges bring their faculty into a less-resistant relationship with new tools and technologies for years to come.