This week finds me in Orlando, FL attending an EDUCAUSE conference on technology in higher education.  I'll submit a separate entry on my presentation on data modeling for enrollment management (I'm sure you're now breathless with anticipation), but wanted to use this experience to comment on the role technology can and should play in getting the most out of your college education.  One of the themes that emerges at every education technology event I've ever attended is that students will want the latest and flashiest new technology to be integrated into their college education (an argument pushed particularly hard by technology companies) while many faculty are slow to change their approach to teaching to embrace new technology (a lament commonly expressed by campus technology department staff).<\p>

But what do college students say about the use of technology in their education?  In a national survey of college students conducted by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research student do express a desire to experience a variety of technology during their college careers, and to be supported in developing skill in using computer technology. However, students recognize that technology doesn't need to be present in every class in order for them to achieve this goal.  In a discussion I had with students as Seattle University about their technology expectations, there was a consensus that forcing faculty to use technology in their classes when they didn't know how to use it well actually distracted from learning rather than supporting it.

 So how can faculty who may be less comfortable than students with technology still support the students' desire to experience that technology and learn how to use it well? By doing what facutly do best, developing assignments which push students to take on new challenges and then to give them feedback on what they did well and what they could do better. If I assign students to develop a multimedia presentation designed to encourage viewers to take some positive action, I can evaluate the effectiveness of their presenations even if I don't understand how they built it. If I really don't know the technical details, but want my students to learn about the effective use of technology, I could build into the project a period of discussion between class members about what tools they used, what problems they encountered with the tools, and whether and how well they were able to overcome those challenges.  Students already do this when they teach each other how to do new things on social networking sights, cell phones or iPods, so why not tap that peer mentoring skill many students already possesss, but ask that it be used to raise the performance level of students to a more professional level.

Such a tactic is part of a larger educational transition sweeping college. Colleges everywhere are being encouraged to promote more active and engaged learning in our students.  We are being asked to challenge students to learn by doing, and if at all possible by doing something real that they really care about. The benefit of technology is that it provides flexible tools that students can use to do real work.